Cisco open-sources AI agent detection tool Quarry, which can analyze multi-step operations to identify suspicious behavior

Cisco open-sourced the AI agent behavior detection tool Project Quarry, which helps security teams identify suspicious behavior by analyzing the tool calls, execution results and operation order during an agent's task execution; the source code and documentation are public on GitHub. Security personnel can use a dedicated rule language to set detection conditions, and a detection engine analyzes the agent's operation records; they can also optionally combine AI models for semantic judgment, for example checking whether tool-returned content contains prompt injection instructions or whether the agent's operations deviate from the original task. Cisco says Quarry has been applied in its own AI security product AI Defense. Enterprises using Quarry need to retain agent operation records; storing only user input and the model's final answer may be insufficient to reconstruct the operation process; according to its usage documentation, existing execution records can be used to test and adjust detection rules to reduce the risk of misjudging normal operations, and Quarry can also be integrated into security check processes during agent execution.