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By The Device Desk · Endpoint AI Finder · Published 2026-10-11
Desk research from public vendor pages read on 27 September and 11 October 2026. Profiles follow our published method; we did not run the products.
Vendor pages read September and October 2026 · updated 2026-10-13
| Fact | AI Access Security | Workforce Protector | Bay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control map | |||
| Owner | None | Akamai (formerly LayerX; acquisition date not stated on the page) | None |
| Positioning | Palo Alto Networks' control for employee use of GenAI apps, linked from its Prisma Access and SASE pages: visibility into shadow AI across 4,000+ GenAI applications, control over their use, and protection against sensitive data loss and malicious responses. | Akamai Workforce Protector, formerly LayerX, is a browser extension for Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari that controls prompts, responses, agent actions and data exchanges across AI, SaaS, web and desktop applications, including agentic browsers and AI assistants, without proxies or a browser replacement. | An endpoint-first control layer for AI agents, coding assistants and MCP servers on employee devices. Bay describes itself as a fully preventive, agentless platform that classifies, governs and prevents risks across every AI agent and tool on enterprise endpoints. |
| How it reaches devices | Part of Palo Alto Networks' SASE offering, linked from Prisma Access; the page does not describe an endpoint component. Source: Palo Alto Networks: AI Access Security · Read 11 Oct 2026 | A browser extension for Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari; Akamai says it needs no proxies and no browser replacement. Source: Akamai Workforce Protector (formerly LayerX) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | Deploys through your existing EDR or MDM, with no new agents and no new tools; Bay says it scans in minutes and exits cleanly. Source: Bay homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| On-device controlDiffers | Not in our sourcesNot described on the pages we read. | Partly describedThe page says its controls reach desktop applications; how that works on the device is not described on the page we read. Source: Akamai Workforce Protector (formerly LayerX) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | DescribedInventories AI agents, MCP servers, tools, credentials and extensions on the device, and its Enforcer returns Allow, Ask or Deny locally on prompts, pre-tool calls and post-tool responses on supported agent surfaces. Delivered as Wave, an ephemeral binary that runs through your existing MDM or EDR. Policies can be scoped by agent, group, endpoint or device. Source: Bay blog: Ghostjacking (re-read) · Read 11 Oct 2026 |
| Browser extensionDiffers | Not in our sourcesNot described on the pages we read. | DescribedA browser extension for Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari that controls prompts, responses, agent actions and data exchanges. Source: Akamai Workforce Protector (formerly LayerX) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | Not in our sourcesNo browser extension is described. Bay's Application Control can allow or block browsers and extensions as applications, which is a device rule, not a control on what goes into browser AI. Source: Bay blog: Ghostjacking (re-read) · Read 11 Oct 2026 |
| Network or SSE proxyDiffers | DescribedVisibility into shadow AI across 4,000+ GenAI applications, control, and protection against sensitive data loss, delivered with Palo Alto Networks' SASE. Source: Palo Alto Networks: AI Access Security · Read 11 Oct 2026 | Not in our sourcesNot described on the pages we read. | Not in our sourcesNot described on the pages we read. |
| AI or MCP gateway | Not in our sourcesNot described on the pages we read. | Not in our sourcesNot described on the pages we read. | Not in our sourcesNot described on the pages we read. |
| Names the coding agents it coversDiffers | Not in our sources | Not in our sources | MatchesManaged settings for Claude Code, Codex and Claude Desktop lock permission rules, preserve managed hooks, restrict MCP servers and constrain plugin sources. Source: Bay blog: Ghostjacking, an AI agent attack (August 2026) · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| Decides on a tool call before it runsDiffers | Not in our sources | PartlyControls agent actions, including in agentic browsers; decisions on coding agent tool calls are not described. Source: Akamai Workforce Protector (formerly LayerX) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | MatchesEvaluates prompts, pre-tool calls and post-tool responses and returns Allow, Ask or Deny locally, which Bay states takes under 4ms with no cloud round-trip, on supported agent surfaces. Source: Bay blog: Ghostjacking (re-read) · Read 11 Oct 2026 |
| Controls what goes into browser AIDiffers | PartlyPrevents sensitive data loss in GenAI apps; prompt-level controls are not detailed on the page. Source: Palo Alto Networks: AI Access Security · Read 11 Oct 2026 | MatchesControls prompts and data exchanges, with warn, redact, block and guide. Source: Akamai Workforce Protector (formerly LayerX) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | Not in our sources |
| Rolls out through EDR or device management you runDiffers | Not in our sources | Not in our sources | MatchesDeploys through your existing EDR or MDM; no new agents. Source: Bay homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| Can warn or ask instead of only blockingDiffers | Not in our sources | MatchesWarn and guide are actions alongside redact and block. Source: Akamai Workforce Protector (formerly LayerX) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | MatchesAsk is one of three answers, with Allow and Deny. Source: Bay homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| Can block an agent, tool or actionDiffers | PartlyControl over GenAI app use is listed; the actions available are not detailed. Source: Palo Alto Networks: AI Access Security · Read 11 Oct 2026 | MatchesBlock is one of its actions. Source: Akamai Workforce Protector (formerly LayerX) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | MatchesDeny stops an action. Rules cover MCP servers (an allow or block list, and per-tool rules for read, create, update, delete and execute), applications, CLIs, browsers, IDEs and extensions, credentials and files, network egress allow lists, and capability rules such as shell execution, package installation and cloud CLIs. Source: Bay blog: Ghostjacking (re-read) · Read 11 Oct 2026 |
| Has a watch-only or simulation modeDiffers | Not in our sources | Not in our sources | MatchesSimulation Mode runs a rule without enforcing it. Source: Bay blog: Ghostjacking, an AI agent attack (August 2026) · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| Records who or what took each actionDiffers | Not in our sources | Not in our sources | MatchesRecords who triggered an action, whether a human was involved, and the chain from prompt to system action. Source: Bay homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| Also covers SaaS, cloud or homegrown AIDiffers | Not in our sources | PartlyCovers AI inside SaaS and web applications through the browser. Source: Akamai Workforce Protector (formerly LayerX) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | Not in our sources |
| Has a public price or tiers (vendor site or marketplace) | Not in our sources | Not in our sources | Not in our sources |
| Built into | None | None | None |
| Works with | Part of Palo Alto Networks' SASE offering, linked from Prisma Access. Source: Palo Alto Networks: AI Access Security · Read 11 Oct 2026 | None in our sources | None in our sources |
| Price | Not published. Source: Palo Alto Networks: AI Access Security · Read 11 Oct 2026 | Not published (demo request only). Source: Akamai Workforce Protector (formerly LayerX) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | Not published. Bay's site has a demo request and no pricing page (re-checked 11 October 2026). Source: Bay homepage (re-read) · Read 11 Oct 2026 |
Head-to-heads for this line-up
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