This book examines the evolving AI-driven threat landscape and explains how generative and agent-based models can be integrated into zero-trust security architectures. It presents practical frameworks for designing security-oriented AI agents, detailing their architectural components, reasoning and decision-making processes, and deployment. Dedicated chapters analyze real-world applications, including intrusion detection, proactive threat hunting, digital forensics, malware analysis, and critical infrastructure protection. This book further addresses governance, risk management, system resilience, and the strategic implications of increasingly autonomous cyber defense ecosystems.

H. L. Gururaj is an Associate Professor and Program Head for Cybersecurity at the School of Computer Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology, Bengaluru. His research interests include cybersecurity, blockchain technology, wireless sensor and ad‑hoc networks, the Internet of Things, data mining, cloud computing, and machine learning.

J. Shreyas is an Assistant Professor at the School of Computer Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology, Bengaluru. His research interests include blockchain technology, cybersecurity, wireless sensor and ad‑hoc networks, the Internet of Things, data mining, cloud computing, and machine learning.

Vinayakumar Ravi is an Assistant Research Professor at the Center for Artificial Intelligence, Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University, Khobar, Saudi Arabia. His research interests include data mining, artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, biomedical informatics, cybersecurity, image processing, and natural language processing.

B. C. Soundarya is a Researcher at Manipal Institute of Technology Bengaluru. Her research interests include biometrics, cybersecurity, machine learning, and deep learning.