This comparison is about identity and access controls for AI agents and other non-human identities (NHIs)—not model safety, prompt-injection defense, or runtime inspection of an agent’s content. The five alternatives below are Oasis Security, Entro Security, Permiso Security, Token Security, and Cisco’s Astrix capabilities. They are candidates to evaluate, not a ranked list or a claim of feature parity.
There is an important availability distinction: Astrix says it is now part of Cisco and stopped standalone sales of new licenses on June 30, 2026. Existing customers continue under their current agreements, while Astrix capabilities are being brought into Cisco over time. Aembit is included as a reference point, not counted among the five alternatives. Astrix’s current status
What counts as an alternative for agent identity security?
For this comparison, an alternative is a product or platform worth assessing for controlling how AI agents and other NHIs authenticate to services and access resources. That does not mean every company listed offers the same controls, supports the same agent workflows, or can replace Astrix or Aembit in a particular environment.
The Cloud Security Alliance’s 2026 agentic AI security market map includes Aembit, Astrix Security, Oasis Security, Entro Security, Permiso Security, and Token Security. A separate CSA note identifies Oasis, Entro, and Aembit as purpose-built NHI vendors in its discussion of the Astrix/Cisco consolidation. These sources support treating the companies as market candidates; they do not establish comparable capabilities or a “best” ranking. CSA agentic AI security market map · CSA note on the Astrix/Cisco consolidation
#1 Best Overall
The five alternatives to investigate
1. Oasis Security
Oasis Security appears in the CSA market map and is identified in the CSA consolidation note as a purpose-built NHI vendor. That makes it a reasonable candidate for an NHI and agent-identity evaluation. The available sources do not establish its specific agent discovery, credential, authorization, MCP, audit, or deployment capabilities; verify those directly with the vendor before treating it as a substitute.
2. Entro Security
Entro Security is also listed in the CSA market map and named as a purpose-built NHI vendor in the CSA note. Those references establish market relevance, not feature equivalence with Astrix or Aembit. Ask Entro to demonstrate the identity and access controls relevant to your agent workflows and validate coverage against your systems.
Rank #2
3. Permiso Security
Permiso Security is named in the CSA market map as part of the agentic AI security landscape. The sources available here do not substantiate specific product capabilities for agent identity security, so its inclusion is a shortlist lead rather than a finding that it directly replaces either title product.
4. Token Security
Token Security likewise appears in the CSA market map. The listing makes it relevant for further evaluation, but does not establish its current product scope, supported integrations, or controls for agent credentials and authorization. Confirm those details with Token Security before comparing it feature by feature.
5. Cisco’s Astrix capabilities
Astrix is no longer a straightforward standalone new-license alternative: its site says standalone new-license sales ended June 30, 2026, following its move into Cisco. Existing customers remain under their current agreements, and the company says Astrix capabilities are being incorporated into Cisco over time. If you are an existing customer, assess continuity under your agreement. If you are evaluating a new purchase, ask Cisco how the relevant capabilities are packaged and sold now. Astrix’s current status
Use Aembit as a reference point, not one of the five
Aembit describes AI agents as workloads and applies workload identity and access management to their access. Its documentation describes short-lived credentials issued under access policies, isolation of backend credentials from agents, and centralized audit trails. For user-driven agents, its “blended identity” model can consider both the authenticated user and the agent workload identity in an access decision. These are vendor-described capabilities, not independently tested performance results. Aembit’s agent identity and access documentation · Aembit documentation
Rank #4
This provides a concrete evaluation reference: ask each candidate to show how it represents an agent identity, decides what that identity can access, prevents an agent from handling backend secrets directly, and records activity. Do not assume that another vendor supports Aembit’s approach—or that Aembit supports a particular integration—without current product documentation or a demonstration.
How to compare the platforms for your environment
The available market sources do not provide a validated cross-vendor feature benchmark. Use the following questions in a technical evaluation, and record evidence from current vendor documentation or a hands-on demonstration rather than inferring capabilities from market-map inclusion.
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Discovery and inventory
- Can the platform find custom-built, third-party, and shadow agents, as well as MCP servers and the NHIs associated with them?
- Can it show who owns each identity, which resources it can reach, and whether it is active or abandoned?
- Can your team distinguish an agent identity from the service account, API key, or user identity it may otherwise share?
Identity and credential handling
- Does the platform issue or broker short-lived credentials, or does it rely on credentials managed elsewhere?
- Can the agent use a credential without exposing the underlying backend secret to the agent?
- Are credentials bound to a distinct agent identity, and can they be revoked when an agent, owner, or workflow is retired?
Authorization model
- Can policy scope access by user, agent, target resource, context, or action?
- For workflows initiated by a person, can a decision account for both the user and the agent acting on that person’s behalf?
- Can the platform limit access to the minimum required for a task and make policy changes traceable?
MCP and integration coverage
- Which MCP clients and servers are supported, and what does “support” mean in practice?
- Which identity providers, cloud services, secrets vaults, and enterprise systems can it connect to?
- Are integrations available in your edition and deployment model, and are there limitations in how credentials or actions are handled?
Governance and audit
- Can you assign ownership and manage the identity lifecycle, including review, rotation, and revocation?
- Do audit records link an action to both the human user and the agent identity when both are involved?
- Can records be sent to your existing logging and security operations systems in a form your team can investigate?
Availability and commercial fit
- Confirm current packaging, licensing, deployment options, regional availability, support, and roadmap with each vendor.
- For Astrix capabilities, specifically confirm Cisco’s current product packaging; the stated end of standalone new-license sales means old standalone assumptions may no longer apply.
- Ask vendors to map required controls and integrations to the exact product edition and agreement being proposed.
How to run a useful shortlist evaluation
- Define the workflows. Select representative agent use cases, including user-driven agents and unattended workloads, and list the systems and data each must reach.
- Map identities and secrets. Document the human identities, agent identities, service accounts, and backend credentials involved in each workflow.
- Set evidence requirements. For each evaluation dimension above, ask for current documentation or a demonstration using your intended configuration. Separate demonstrated behavior from roadmap statements.
- Test the access lifecycle. Verify how access is granted, constrained, audited, and revoked when an agent or its owner changes.
- Confirm procurement fit. Check availability, regional and deployment constraints, licensing, and support directly. Treat Astrix’s Cisco transition as a packaging question for new buyers, not as evidence that every Astrix capability is already available in Cisco products.
What the market shortlist does—and does not—tell you
The CSA sources help identify vendors worth investigating, but they do not prove that Oasis, Entro, Permiso, or Token Security has a particular feature, that any candidate matches Aembit’s documented model, or that one is superior. Product scope and commercial terms can change, so a shortlist should lead to direct verification rather than a purchase conclusion.
Quick Recap
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