Check Point Software has launched Agentic Exposure Validation (AEV), a new AI-driven capability within its Exposure Management platform that uses autonomous agents to reason like attackers and provide security teams with hard evidence of what is genuinely exploitable in their environment, before adversaries can act on it.

The launch comes as the threat landscape undergoes a fundamental shift. Frontier AI models are now capable of autonomously identifying and weaponising vulnerabilities at machine speed, compressing the mean time from CVE disclosure to confirmed exploitation from 2.3 years in 2018 to roughly 10 hours in 2026. At the same time, 72.7% of exploited CVEs in 2026 are hitting as zero-days, up from just 16.1% eight years ago.

Beyond Severity Scores

Traditional vulnerability management has long relied on static severity scores, leaving security teams to sift through thousands of flagged issues without knowing which represent a real, reachable risk. AEV takes a materially different approach: rather than assigning a score and moving on, it deploys AI agents that work through each potential exposure using logic that mirrors attacker reasoning.

The agents correlate exposure data with asset context, live threat intelligence, existing control coverage, and known exploit research to determine whether a path to compromise actually exists. When a route is blocked by an existing control, AEV pivots to an alternative attack path. If no viable path exists, the threat is discarded. If exploitation is feasible, the system produces direct evidence, giving security teams the confidence to prioritise and act.

Early customer engagements have already shown the capability of generating novel exploits for dozens of vulnerabilities that had no previously published exploit code, illustrating the analytical depth of the agents.

Closing the AI Arms Race Gap

Yochai Corem, General Manager of Exposure Management at Check Point, said the product addresses a problem that has become existential for enterprise security teams: “The era of autonomous, AI-driven exploitation is here. Frontier AI models are attacking critical vulnerabilities at scale, without human steering. Security teams are already inundated and cannot effectively address that emerging threat.”

Corem added that AEV is designed to put defenders on equal footing: “Agentic Exposure Validation is our answer: AI agents that reason like attackers reviewing your organisation’s digital surface from the outside with our unique threat intelligence context, and prove what is actually exploitable, providing security teams the evidence and the remediation to act smartly and effectively before attackers do.”

A Critical Piece of CTEM

Check Point positions AEV as a validation layer within Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) programmes, moving organisations from discovery and prioritisation into evidence-based exposure reduction. The validation step has historically been manual, slow, and resource-intensive. AEV’s safe proving loop, analysing assets and CVEs, enriching findings with live Check Point threat intelligence, verifying whether existing controls already block the path, and building targeted validation without disruptive techniques, is designed to make that step autonomous and continuous.

Agentic Exposure Validation is available now as part of Check Point Exposure Management. Organisations can request a complimentary AEV scan to see what an agentic attacker would uncover on their external attack surface.

The post Check Point Launches AI Agents That Think Like Attackers as Autonomous Exploitation Reaches Critical Threat Level appeared first on IT Security Guru.

Swiss privacy company Proton has rolled out a significant update to Proton Mail that allows users to connect their Gmail accounts directly to the platform. The feature, announced on 28 May 2026, enables Gmail messages to be imported into Proton Mail and allows users to send and receive emails from their Gmail address, all without toggling between separate inboxes.

The integration is aimed at users looking to transition away from Google’s ecosystem but who face the practical challenge of updating contacts and switching services one by one. Rather than forcing an abrupt departure, Proton is offering a bridge: a managed migration path where Gmail activity is gradually absorbed into Proton Mail.

What the Feature Does, and What It Does Not

When a user activates the Gmail connection via Proton’s Easy Switch tool, their most recent Gmail messages are imported into Proton Mail. Going forward, new emails arriving in Gmail will continue to appear automatically in the Proton inbox. Crucially, Proton says the connection is strictly one-directional in terms of access: connecting Gmail does not grant Google any visibility into the user’s Proton Mail inbox.

From a security standpoint, this is a meaningful distinction. Proton positions the feature as a transitional tool rather than a permanent hybrid solution. The company acknowledges that Google continues to read emails received by a Gmail account, including any sensitive communications. The feature is designed to shrink that exposure over time, not eliminate it overnight.

Privacy Protections Applied to Gmail Traffic

Proton says it applies its standard email protections to Gmail content viewed through the Proton Mail interface. That includes tracker removal, ad stripping, and spam filtering. Unlike Gmail, which the company describes as fundamentally built around advertising, Proton does not scan email content, build advertising profiles, or use user data for AI training purposes.

Proton also highlights an encryption benefit: when both parties in a conversation use Proton Mail, messages exchanged between connected Gmail addresses become end-to-end encrypted, meaning Google cannot read those communications. This incentivises users to encourage their contacts to make the same switch.

A Gradual Exit Strategy from Big Tech

Proton is explicit that the feature is not a long-term solution. The company frames it as part of a broader, gradual transition away from Google, designed to make the process manageable. The recommended approach is for users to update all their important accounts to their Proton address, after which Gmail receives only low-priority mail. Users can then disconnect Gmail entirely from Proton Mail and, if they choose, delete their Google account altogether.

The feature is rolling out gradually, meaning not all users will see it immediately. Setup is straightforward: users open the Easy Switch section in their Proton Mail settings and connect their Gmail account. In addition to Gmail, Proton supports email imports from Outlook, Yahoo, and Apple Mail via the same Easy Switch tool or a standalone import utility.

Wider Context: Google’s Data Practices Under Scrutiny

The launch arrives against a backdrop of sustained criticism of Google’s data harvesting practices. Google uses Gmail activity, including which emails are opened and interacted with, to build user profiles that feed its advertising ecosystem. The company also uses approximate location data derived from email activity to personalise ads. By routing Gmail through Proton’s interface rather than Google’s own apps, users can reduce their exposure to this data collection, even while maintaining their Gmail address.

For IT and security teams advising organisations or individuals on reducing Big Tech data exposure, Proton’s new approach represents a pragmatic middle ground: it acknowledges that cold-turkey Gmail abandonment is impractical for many users and provides a structured, privacy-improving alternative.

The post Proton Mail Lets Users Send and Receive Gmail Directly Without Giving Google Access to Proton Inbox appeared first on IT Security Guru.