Key Takeaways
- Kiteworks and Reco have formed a strategic partnership to close the governance gap created by rapid AI‑agent adoption.
- Reco provides continuous discovery and risk intelligence for agents, identities, and SaaS apps; Kiteworks supplies a unified control plane that enforces data‑level policies in real time.
- The combined solution lets enterprises govern AI agents with the same policies, encryption, and audit trails used for human users, delivering a single enforcement layer for both human and non‑human identities.
- Research shows fewer than 31% of organizations have any AI containment control, while 65% have found employees using unauthorized AI tools with corporate data—underscoring the need for integrated discovery + enforcement.
- The partnership supports regulated industries by linking identity risk discovery to auditable data‑activity evidence, aligning with FedRAMP, FIPS 140‑3, HIPAA, CMMC 2.0, GDPR, PCI DSS, and other frameworks.
- Executives from both companies emphasize that visibility alone is insufficient; the joint offering ensures that once risk is identified, it is instantly governed at the data level.
- Kiteworks will showcase its Compliant AI capabilities at AI4 2026 (Booth #1141, The Venetian, Las Vegas) and Reco will exhibit at Black Hat USA (Booth #1644).
Partnership Announcement Overview
Kiteworks, a provider of secure data exchange and risk‑management platforms, announced a strategic partnership with Reco, a leader in Agent Ecosystem Security. The collaboration aims to give enterprises greater visibility and control across their agent and application ecosystems while addressing the governance challenges stemming from the rapid adoption of AI agents. By integrating Reco’s agent‑and‑identity risk intelligence with Kiteworks’ control plane, the joint solution delivers a governed approach that spans agent discovery, risk identification, data access, and policy enforcement.
How Reco Contributes Visibility
Reco continuously discovers and maps SaaS applications, human and non‑human identities, and AI agents operating throughout an enterprise environment. This process identifies application sprawl, misconfigurations, and excessive permissions that often go unnoticed. Under the partnership, Reco’s identity and risk intelligence feeds directly into the Kiteworks control plane, allowing security teams to see exactly where agents exist, what they can reach, and which data they might interact with.
Kiteworks’ Control Plane and Real‑Time Enforcement
The Kiteworks Data Policy Engine consumes risk signals from Reco and responds in real time by applying view‑only permissions, SafeEDIT possession‑less editing, encryption, or outright blocking of access. Additionally, the Kiteworks Secure MCP Server extends these governance capabilities to AI agents built using the Model Context Protocol. Consequently, AI agents can be governed using the same policies, encryption controls, and audit trails applied to human users, creating a unified enforcement layer for both human and non‑human identities.
Addressing the AI Governance Gap
The partnership emerges at a time when a growing disconnect exists between AI risk visibility and effective enforcement. According to Kiteworks’ research, fewer than 31% of organizations have implemented any form of AI containment control. Simultaneously, 65% reported discovering employees using unauthorized AI tools with organizational data in the past year, yet fewer than half subsequently put technical controls in place to prevent recurrence. These statistics highlight the urgent need to couple identity and AI‑agent discovery with concrete, data‑level enforcement mechanisms.
Compliance and Regulatory Alignment
For organizations operating in regulated sectors, the partnership is designed to satisfy compliance requirements by linking risk discovery with evidence of actual data activity. Kiteworks holds FedRAMP High In Process, FedRAMP Moderate Authorized, FIPS 140‑3 certifications, and maps to frameworks including HIPAA, CMMC 2.0, GDPR, and PCI DSS. This enables joint customers to maintain audit‑ready evidence that traces the journey from identity discovery through the underlying data event, rather than relying solely on abstract risk scores.
Executive Perspectives on the Collaboration
Sean Kelley, Global Director of Strategic Alliances at Kiteworks, noted that while tools like Reco have solved the visibility problem, enterprises still face an enforcement gap: knowing an agent exists and what it can reach is not the same as governing what it does with sensitive data. He emphasized that the partnership connects those two halves—Reco identifies risk, and Kiteworks governs it the moment it touches sensitive data, regardless of whether the identity behind it is a person or an agent. Zoe Hillenmeyer, Chief Operating Officer of Reco, added that enterprises are adopting agents across their third‑party ecosystem faster than they can govern them, exactly the gap Reco was built to close. By partnering with Kiteworks, Reco extends its value, giving customers a direct path to enforce data governance on what agents can access and do.
Upcoming Industry Events and Demonstrations
Kiteworks will showcase its Compliant AI capabilities at AI4 2026, where Craig Pfister, Global VP of Solutions Architect, will present “Controlling Data Access and Use by AI Agents for Compliant AI” on Wednesday, August 5, from 2:25–2:45 PM in Delfino Ballroom 4104 at The Venetian in Las Vegas (Booth #1141). Reco will additionally exhibit at Black Hat USA, occupying Booth #1644. These events provide opportunities for security professionals to see the joint solution in action and learn how to govern AI agents effectively.
About Kiteworks
Kiteworks’ mission is to empower organizations to effectively manage risk in every send, share, receive, and use of private data. The Kiteworks platform delivers a secure data exchange that unifies data governance, compliance, and protection within a single control plane. It tracks, controls, and secures sensitive data moving within, into, and out of an organization, significantly improving risk management and ensuring regulatory compliance on all private data exchanges. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Kiteworks protects over 100 million end‑users and thousands of global enterprises and government agencies.
About Reco
Reco secures the ecosystem so enterprises can enable agents with confidence. The Reco Platform comprises three components: Reco Factory, which builds deep third‑party agent and app integrations in hours rather than weeks; Reco Library, the market’s largest agent and app catalog offering pre‑classified risk profiles from day one (over 260 integrations to date); and Reco Graph, which maps every agent, app, and connection across four dimensions—identity, permissions, connectivity, and activity—so nothing runs unmonitored. Backed by top‑tier investors such as Insight Partners, Quadrille, SentinelOne Ventures, Workday Ventures, TIAA Ventures, Zeev Ventures, boldstart, and Angular Ventures, Reco has been recognized as a Global Infosec Awards winner (2024, 2026), a CRN® Stellar Startup (2024, 2025), and a 2025 SINET16 Innovator. More information or a demo can be booked at www.reco.ai.
Media Contact and Community Invitation
For press inquiries, contact David Schutzman, PR Manager at Kiteworks, via email at [email protected]. Readers are also invited to join the LinkedIn group “Information Security Community!” to stay updated on the latest developments in cybersecurity and data governance.