Monday Morning Impact – January 12

Published On: January 11, 2026Categories: Buzz

Palo Alto Networks: AI Driving Massive Attack Surface Expansion

The rapid adoption of enterprise AI is fueling an unprecedented surge in cloud security risks, according to the annual “State of Cloud Security Report 2025,” by Palo Alto Networks.

As cloud infrastructure grows to host the influx of AI workloads, it has become a critical target, with 99% of respondents reporting at least one attack on their AI systems within the past year, according to the company. Simultaneously, the rise of GenAI-assisted vibe coding, used by 99% of survey respondents, is generating insecure code faster than security teams can review it. Of the 52% of teams that ship code weekly, only 18% are able to fix vulnerabilities at that pace, leaving unaddressed risks compounding rapidly across cloud environments.

Based on a survey of over 2,800 security executives and practitioners across 10 countries, the report claims that attackers are rapidly pivoting to exploit the foundational layers of the cloud, targeting API infrastructure, identity and lateral network movement, overwhelming already strained security teams.

As agentic AI relies heavily on APIs to operate, this explosion in usage has greatly expanded the attack surface, turning APIs into a primary entry point for sophisticated threats. Among respondents, 53% indicate lenient identity and access management (IAM) practices as a top challenge, confirming that insufficient access controls are now a leading vector for credential theft and data exfiltration.

Meanwhile, 28% of respondents point to unrestricted network access between cloud workloads as a growing threat, allowing attackers to pivot freely across environments and turn minor compromises into major incidents.

Multivendor complexity and tool sprawl are compounding risk, making unification of cloud security and the SOC a strategic necessity. Managing an average of 17 cloud security tools from five vendors creates fragmented data and context gaps, slowing incident response. Consequently, 97% of respondents prioritize consolidating their cloud security footprint.

Channel Impact^®
As organizations aggressively scale cloud investments to power AI initiatives, they are inadvertently opening the door to sophisticated new attack vectors. Channel partners can play a key role in helping to stem the tide.

ServiceNow Boosts Security Through Armis Acquisition

ServiceNow has entered into an agreement to acquire Armis, a cyber exposure management and cyber-physical security company that focuses on IT, operational technology (OT), medical devices, and other environments for companies and governments. The acquisition, priced at $7.75 billion, is expected to extend and enhance ServiceNow’s Security, Risk, and OT portfolios and drive increased AI adoption by strengthening trust across businesses’ connected environments.

“ServiceNow is building the security platform of tomorrow,” said Amit Zavery, president, chief operating officer, and chief product officer at ServiceNow. “In the agentic AI era, intelligent trust and governance that span any cloud, any asset, any AI system, and any device are non-negotiable if companies want to scale AI for the long-term. Together with Armis, we will deliver an industry-defining strategic cybersecurity shield for real-time, end-to-end proactive protection across all technology estates.”

“AI is transforming the threat landscape faster than most organizations can adapt. Every connected asset has become a potential point of vulnerability,” said Yevgeny Dibrov, co-founder and CEO, Armis. “Together with ServiceNow, customers will have a powerful new way to reduce their exposure and strengthen security at scale.”

As longtime partners, ServiceNow and Armis already offer multiple integrations that connect Armis’ data and insights to ServiceNow’s workflow action.

Channel Impact^®
ServiceNow and Armis plan to create a unified, end-to-end security exposure and operations stack that can see, decide, and act across the entire technology footprint by connecting real-time asset discovery, threat intelligence, and risk prioritization with automated remediation and response workflows. The acquisition is expected to more than triple ServiceNow’s market opportunity for security and risk solutions and accelerate ServiceNow’s roadmap to autonomous proactive cybersecurity.

Alphabet to Acquire Intersect to Advance U.S. Energy Innovation

Alphabet has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Intersect, which provides data center and energy infrastructure solutions, for $4.75 billion in cash, plus the assumption of debt. Google already owns a minority stake in Intersect from a previously announced funding round.

Intersect delivers infrastructure for data centers and other energy-intensive industries by co-locating industrial demand with dedicated gas and renewable power generation.

Included in the transaction are Intersect’s team and multiple gigawatts of energy and data center projects in development, or under construction, from its existing partnership with Google. Intersect will also explore a range of emerging technologies to increase and diversify energy supply, while supporting Google’s U.S. data center investments to meet its Cloud customers’ and users’ demand.

Intersect’s existing operating assets in Texas, and its operating and in-development assets in California, will not be part of the acquisition. Those assets continue to operate as an independent company, supported by existing investors.

Intersect’s operations will remain separate from Alphabet and Google under the Intersect brand and will be led by Sheldon Kimber. It will partner closely with Google’s technical infrastructure team, continuing work on in-development, and new, joint projects; this includes the companies’ first announced co-located data center and power site, under construction in Haskell County, Texas.

“Intersect will help us expand capacity, operate more nimbly in building new power generation in lockstep with new data center load, and reimagine energy solutions to drive US innovation and leadership. We look forward to welcoming Sheldon and the Intersect team,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet.

The deal is subject to customary closing conditions and anticipated to close in the first half of 2026.

Channel Impact^®
The acquisition is expected to enable more data center and generation capacity to come online, faster, while accelerating energy development and innovation.

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