airlock vs AI security tools
Cisco AI Defense, Palo Alto Prisma AIRS and CrowdStrike Falcon AIDR watch AI traffic for threats. airlock decides which tools are allowed in the first place. They solve different problems and work side by side. Here is the breakdown.
EU-hosted · AWS Frankfurt
GDPR-aligned · built for the EU AI Act
Live Aikido security badge
OpenAPI-to-MCP in ~60s
01 / Feature by feature
How they compare
Scored the same way as the full comparison, airlock's losing rows included. ✓ full · ~ partial · ✕ none · roadmap known but unshipped.
| Capability | airlock | AI security tools |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | ||
| Coverage & portability | ||
| Govern people's AI tools, across vendorsGovern the AI clients people use day to day, across every vendor. | ✓Fronts Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor across every vendor, through one connector. | ~Sees any vendor's AI traffic, but controls it by blocking threats, not by deciding which tools people may use. |
| Run autonomous agentsHost and run agents executing on their own, with their own identity. | roadmapDoes not run agents yet; agent runtime hosting and identity are on the roadmap. Agent config is governed as objects (see below). | ✓Guardrails and identity for live agents. |
| Overlay, not a destinationSits in front of the tools you already use, instead of being its own app. | ✓Sits in front of the tools you already use. | ✓Sits over your existing AI traffic. |
| Governance & security | ||
| Policy, approvals & kill switchSet rules, pause risky actions for approval, and disable instantly. | ✓Policy, HITL approvals and kill switch, all live. | ~Blocks and kills in the flow; thinner on human approvals. |
| Skills & agents as governed objectsSkills and agent definitions as reusable, verified building blocks with version history. | ✓Skills and agent configs as versioned, signed, portable objects. | ~Scans skills and MCP for risk, not a governed catalog. |
| Enforce your AI use policyTurn the written AI policy into enforced rules and a required sign-off. | ✓Versioned AI use policy; each person signs to continue, access pauses until they do, and flagged actions need approval. | ~Enforce security policy at run time, not a company AI-use policy. |
| Credential vault / agent identityKeys stay server-side; each agent has a governed identity. | ~Vault is live; Entra SSO and SCIM are roadmap. | ✓Strong agent identity and credential brokering. |
| Audit log + SIEM exportEvery action recorded and streamable to your security tooling. | ✓Every call logged, SIEM-exportable. | ✓Feeds the security team's tools directly. |
| Runtime threat protectionDetect attacks, block injection, cover devices and feed the security team. | ~Scans tool calls and redacts PII; not full threat detection, device or security-team coverage. | ✓Their core strength: detection, injection blocking, device and security-team coverage. |
| Shadow-AI discoveryFind unsanctioned AI tools people already use. | ✕Sees only what routes through airlock; cannot discover tools that bypass the connector. | ✓Continuous shadow-AI discovery across devices and the network. |
| Data-leakage / DLPStop sensitive data going into AI tools. | ~Redaction on tool I/O, not the conversation. | ✓Strong built-in data-loss controls and content checks. |
| Fit & commercial | ||
| No-code / non-engineerSet up and run it without engineers. | ✓One connector; OpenAPI-to-MCP in 60s. | ✕Security platforms run by the security team. |
| Per-engagement isolationA separate, walled scope per client engagement. | roadmapA formal per-engagement project hierarchy is on the roadmap; not yet a productised per-client tenant. | ✕Built for one company's own setup. |
| Reseller programBuyable and resellable through partners. | roadmapReseller program announced; still being built. | ✓Sold through established security resellers. |
| Compliance (EU) | ||
| EU data residencyData stored and processed in the EU. | ✓EU-hosted · GDPR-aligned, built for the EU AI Act. | ~EU regions, but US-headquartered; varies by deployment. |
| EU AI Act tooling / evidenceEvidence and templates for EU AI Act compliance. | roadmapLive audit trail; packaged Evidence Pack is roadmap. | ~Framework alignment, not Act-specific tooling. |
| Certifications (SOC 2 / ISO 27001)Third-party security certifications. | roadmapNone held yet; ISO 27001 and SOC 2 in progress, with a live Aikido security badge published. | ✓Established enterprise certifications. |
02 / When to choose each
Pick the one that fits
Choose airlock
airlock is the better fit if you:
- Need to decide which AI tools, skills and agents are allowed, across vendors
- Want policy, approvals and a kill switch on what people can use
- Have no engineering or dedicated security team to run a platform
- Want EU data residency and a per-call audit trail
Choose AI security tools
AI security tools are the better fit if you are:
- A security team whose first concern is catching threats as they happen
- Focused on prompt injection, data-loss prevention and device coverage
- Already running Cisco, Palo Alto or CrowdStrike and want AI traffic in the same pane
- After continuous shadow-AI discovery across the network
03 / Pricing
What each costs
airlock
Free, then €19 per user per month.
AI security tools
Enterprise, quote-based, typically five-to-six figures.
04 / Switching & fit
They work side by side
This is not an either-or. AI security tools watch the traffic for threats; airlock governs what is allowed in the first place. Most teams run both: the security tools handle runtime detection and DLP, airlock decides which tools, skills and agents people can use and keeps the audit trail. They sit at different layers and complement each other.
05 / FAQ
Common questions
Aren't AI security tools like Cisco, Palo Alto and CrowdStrike already doing this?
They solve an adjacent problem. Cisco AI Defense, Palo Alto Prisma AIRS and CrowdStrike Falcon AIDR watch AI traffic for threats as it happens (prompt injection, data leaks, device coverage, security-team workflows), where airlock does not compete. airlock governs which tools, skills and agents are allowed in the first place.
Does airlock replace AI security tools?
No. They watch AI traffic for threats; airlock decides what is allowed in the first place. Most teams run both: the security tools handle runtime detection, airlock handles which tools, skills and agents people can use.
Where do AI security tools win?
On real-time threat detection, prompt-injection blocking, data-loss prevention, device coverage and shadow-AI discovery. airlock is partial on those by design; its job is governing what is allowed, not catching threats in the flow.
What does airlock add on top of AI security tools?
Policy on which tools, skills and agents are allowed, human-in-the-loop approvals, a kill switch, skills and agents as versioned governed objects, and a per-call audit trail, all no-code and across every vendor.
What do AI security tools cost?
They are enterprise, quote-based, typically five-to-six figures. airlock is Free, then €19 per user per month.
Is airlock EU-hosted?
Yes. airlock runs on AWS Frankfurt, is GDPR-aligned and built for the EU AI Act, with a full audit trail by default.
Govern the AI tools your team already uses.
Link any tool once, reuse everywhere, audit forever. One layer over every MCP-compatible client, set up without engineers.
EU-hosted · GDPR-aligned
Built for the EU AI Act