Microsoft yesterday launched Project Perception, a new cybersecurity platform based on autonomous AI agents. The company also unveiled MAI Cyber 1 Flash, its first dedicated AI model for cybersecurity missions.
Microsoft says the launch comes amid increasing use of AI by attackers to develop high-speed and large-scale attacks. Thus, instead of adding AI capabilities to existing security products, Microsoft has built a new architecture in which AI agents are a central part of the defense system.
The agents operate continuously, collecting data from different sources in the enterprise, locating vulnerabilities, examining their risk level and helping to address them before they can be exploited for an attack. The aim, Microsoft says, is to move defense from a reactive model, in which events are handled after they have occurred, to a model that tries to reduce risk in advance.
Next generation of cybersecurity systems
Microsoft's R&D center in Israel plays a central role in the process. The MDASH system, developed in Israel and first presented at the Build conference last month, will be the first system to incorporate MAI Cyber 1 Flash.
The system is designed to detect and analyze software vulnerabilities using AI, and is one of the first examples of the practical application of Project Perception. According to Microsoft, a significant part of the capabilities on which the new platform is based were developed in Israel. This means that one of the first capabilities to be used within the framework of the new architecture relies on development carried out at the local R&D center.
Beyond the technological announcement, this is also a strategic move. The cybersecurity market is currently in a race to develop systems based on AI agents, which can perform an increasing part of the work of security teams autonomously. Through Project Perception, Microsoft seeks to strengthen its position against leading cybersecurity platform providers such as Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike, SentinelOne and Cisco, which are also investing in developing similar capabilities.
The difference, Microsoft stresses, is not just adding AI capabilities to its security products, but building an entire platform around AI agents. From Microsoft's perspective, the more attackers rely on AI, the more defense systems will have to operate at the same speed and scale. Therefore, it claims, AI agents are expected to become a central component of the next generation of cybersecurity systems.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on July 28, 2026.
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