IBM is bringing frontier AI capabilities into security operations to help enterprises counter machine-speed threats.

The tech giant has launched an application security service that uses the cyber capabilities of OpenAI’s models to help organisations identify and validate software vulnerabilities with greater speed and precision.

As part of this, it has joined the OpenAI Daybreak cyber partner programme.

Building on the recently announced Project Lightwell, IBM is working with OpenAI to apply AI capabilities to be deployed defensively inside enterprise workflows where they can help organisations understand and reduce their exposure.

The application security service (www.ibm.com/services/security) can go beyond traditional code scanning to identify and validate vulnerabilities using OpenAI cyber capabilities. AI-driven analysis assesses application code and prioritises areas with highest potential to contain flaws and exploitable paths. The security harness, powered by IBM Consulting Advantage – an AI platform for delivering consulting services to clients – connects client application environments to AI in a controlled, secured and governed way. Operating within the client’s environment, with read-only access to code repositories and bounded execution, it enables large-scale exposure analysis.

Delivered as a managed, enterprise-ready service, clients can begin with focused evaluations of key applications and expand to continuous monitoring to reassess risk over time as code changes and new threats emerge.

Participation in OpenAI Daybreak (openai.com/daybreak/) reflects IBM’s ongoing role in shaping how frontier AI is deployed across enterprise workflows. Together with OpenAI and other partners, IBM is helping define standards for safeguards including for controlled analysis to help enterprises strengthen resilience.

Project Lightwell (www.ibm.com/products/lightwell) combines an enterprise security clearinghouse with a global force of engineers to patch, validate and manage open-source code across the software supply chain. Supported by a $5bn commitment from IBM and Red Hat, the initiative will use OpenAI’s cyber capabilities alongside other frontier AI models to help with code review and remediation.

“Attackers are already using AI to probe, exploit and scale threats at machine speed,” said Mark Hughes from IBM (www.ibm.com). “Defenders need the same advantage, with the security and control enterprises require. The OpenAI Daybreak cyber partner programme expands our access to a broader set of advanced AI capabilities, which we deploy within our clients’ environments to help surface the most relevant risks faster and help them act with confidence.”

Dane Stuckey, chief information security officer at OpenAI (openai.com), added: “Security is central to realising the benefits of advanced AI. Through the OpenAI Daybreak cyber partner programme, we are collaborating with AI pioneers like IBM to use frontier models to accelerate defensive security workflows and support enterprises, governments and other organisations as they identify risks, strengthen resilience, improve security and ultimately deploy AI with the trust, controls and compliance their environments require.”