Every KubeCon tells a story about where the cloud native world is headed. In 2025, that story is about the evolution of AI from a bad movie script to a core part of enterprise solutions. Cloud native applications and artificial intelligence are now part of the same conversation, with security emerging as the vital connection between them.
Aqua Security is at the center of this transformation.
As the pioneer in container security, Aqua has spent years helping organizations secure applications built on containers, Kubernetes, and cloud native infrastructure. That same foundation is now shaping how enterprises protect AI applications. Aqua is extending its proven leadership in container security to address the next frontier o…
Every KubeCon tells a story about where the cloud native world is headed. In 2025, that story is about the evolution of AI from a bad movie script to a core part of enterprise solutions. Cloud native applications and artificial intelligence are now part of the same conversation, with security emerging as the vital connection between them.
Aqua Security is at the center of this transformation.
As the pioneer in container security, Aqua has spent years helping organizations secure applications built on containers, Kubernetes, and cloud native infrastructure. That same foundation is now shaping how enterprises protect AI applications. Aqua is extending its proven leadership in container security to address the next frontier of risk.
At KubeCon North America, Aqua will showcase how the Aqua Platform is advancing to meet this challenge, combining runtime protection, supply chain security, and new capabilities that secure AI applications throughout their lifecycle. Visitors to booth 230 will see this evolution in action through live demos of Aqua’s Secure AI capabilities and a first look at a new Trivy experience inspired by feedback from its global open source community.
Advancing the Aqua Platform with Secure AI
Modern applications are built across multiple environments, connected through APIs, and increasingly supported by AI automation. That complexity expands the attack surface in ways that static controls cannot manage. Aqua’s answer is a platform that protects applications across their entire lifecycle, from development to runtime.
The Aqua Platform unifies posture management, vulnerability scanning, and runtime security across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
“What sets Aqua apart in 2025 is our full lifecycle approach to cloud native security, built on over a decade of research and practical experience. Unlike point tools that rely mainly on static scanning, Aqua delivers continuous protection from code to cloud to runtime.”
Matt Richards, CMO Aqua Security
Now, Aqua is applying that same philosophy to AI. Secure AI extends protection to AI applications that have become essential to modern business. Using lightweight runtime technology, Secure AI observes model behavior and data flow without requiring code changes or SDKs. This allows security teams to identify issues such as data exfiltration, model tampering, or prompt abuse in real time.
Richards explained, “AI changes the threat surface, and runtime protection is non-negotiable. With the majority of AI-based apps being deployed within containers, AI protection begins with container security.”
Aqua’s recent collaboration with Akamai expands that coverage further, combining Aqua’s runtime defense with edge-based prompt validation. The result is a single platform that secures everything from containers and clusters to the AI models that run inside them.
Research from Aqua Nautilus continues to show why this unified approach matters. More than half of attacks on cloud workloads now use concealment techniques to avoid detection, and attackers are increasingly using AI to accelerate these campaigns. Aqua’s unified approach brings visibility and control to every stage of the process, helping enterprises stay ahead of threats without slowing development.
As Richards summarized, “Enterprises can embrace cloud native and AI innovation with the confidence that their workloads are resilient against today’s most pressing threats.”
The Trivy Community Keeps Growing
While the Aqua Platform continues to evolve, Trivy remains one of the most influential open source projects in cloud native security. With more than twenty-seven thousand GitHub stars and over one hundred million annual downloads, Trivy has become a daily part of the developer workflow. It is trusted for its accuracy, performance, and simplicity, scanning everything from container images to infrastructure as code with ease.
Richards describes Trivy as “often the first line of defense developers add to their tool chain.” Its impact across the open source ecosystem is significant, serving as the foundation for countless security integrations and CNCF projects.
At KubeCon, Aqua will celebrate that community and share a preview of a new Trivy experience that builds on what users love most. Visitors can share feedback directly with the team and help shape Trivy as it continues to grow.
Aqua is also expanding the reach of Trivy through Trivy Partner Connect, a program that enables vendors to integrate their vulnerability intelligence directly into the Trivy Platform. The program brings together data providers, open source contributors, and technology partners to make security insights more accessible and actionable for users everywhere. By opening Trivy’s ecosystem to external partners, Aqua is strengthening collaboration across the industry and helping developers access broader, more diverse security coverage without leaving their existing workflows.
Aqua will also host a Trivy user happy hour on November 12 at STATS Brewpub in Atlanta. It will be a relaxed evening for users, contributors, and community members to connect, exchange ideas, and celebrate Trivy’s continued growth.
See What’s Ahead at KubeCon
Aqua has been part of the CNCF community from the beginning, helping organizations secure the technologies that define modern application development. From pioneering container security to advancing runtime defense and now extending protection to AI applications, Aqua continues to evolve alongside the technologies that drive innovation. At KubeCon North America 2025, Aqua will showcase that evolution in full.
Visit booth 230 to explore the Aqua Platform and Secure AI, experience the latest updates to Trivy, and connect with the team shaping the future of cloud native and AI security.
To learn more about Aqua’s vision for securing the next wave of applications, read Matt Richards’ full VMblog interview.
Erin Stephan is the Director of Product Marketing for Aqua’s Cloud Security portfolio. Erin has more than 10 years of product marketing experience in data protection and cybersecurity. She enjoys connecting with people, helping to articulate their challenges, and bringing products and solutions to the market that help solve those challenges. In her free time, you can find her catching a flight to a new city, shopping for new home décor, or taking a spin class.