CrowdStrike is extending Project QuiltWorks, a coordinated framework designed to secure every layer of frontier AI risk, to small and medium businesses (SMBs) globally. The expansion utilizes the company’s deepest channel partner ecosystem, including global distributors and cloud marketplaces, to bring enterprise-grade security to organizations that previously lacked access to such programs at scale.

Strategic Partnerships

The rollout relies on a coalition of key technology distributors and security providers. Arrow Electronics, Ignition Technology, Nord Security, Pax8, TD SYNNEX, Westcon-Comstor, and Zip Security are bringing QuiltWorks down market through their networks. These partners leverage their relationships with managed service providers (MSPs) and managed security service providers (MSSPs) to extend the program’s reach.

The partnership structure enables the delivery of three core components:

• AI-driven vulnerability discovery and prioritization
• Expert-led remediation services from leading systems integrators
• Financial protection from cyber insurance industry leaders

Addressing Frontier AI Risks

As advanced AI models become more accessible, adversaries can discover, chain, and exploit vulnerabilities at machine speed and scale. This dynamic places organizations of all sizes at significant risk. Project QuiltWorks addresses this by uniting CrowdStrike’s AI-driven capabilities with external resources to create a comprehensive defense mechanism.

The framework is powered by frontier models from OpenAI and Anthropic. It integrates CrowdStrike’s vulnerability discovery with adversary-informed prioritization. This technical layer is supported by remediation services from systems integrators and hardened cloud infrastructure provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS). Additionally, the program includes financial protection from leaders in the cyber insurance industry.

Market Access and Scalability

Most SMBs lack the internal resources and expertise to operationalize these capabilities independently. By leveraging existing distributor and marketplace networks, QuiltWorks establishes a direct path to organizations across various regions. The partners are already delivering managed security services to SMBs, providing a proven framework to secure them as frontier AI changes the cybersecurity landscape.

This approach allows partners to build repeatable, scalable frontier AI businesses on the Falcon platform while extending critical security protections to smaller enterprises.

CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) announced the launch of a $100,000 international AI security challenge in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to address emerging risks in autonomous machine identities. Titled AI Unlocked: Agents of Chaos, the virtual red teaming game begins on August 31 and challenges participants to secure AI agents against manipulation techniques such as prompt injection. The initiative highlights a critical shift in enterprise security, where traditional defenses are insufficient for autonomous agents that execute code and access systems at machine speed.

The competition is structured across three distinct acts, each offering specific prize pools and running concurrently or sequentially through September 29. Players must navigate a fictional scenario involving a shadow organization weaponizing AI agents, requiring them to use adversarial techniques to stop malicious actions before their cover is blown. The stakes reflect CrowdStrike’s position as a pioneer in AI Detection and Response (AIDR), aiming to gamify the learning process for security defenders facing novel threats like agent hijacking and rogue AI behavior.

Competition Structure and Prizes

The $100,000 total prize pool is distributed across three acts, with pre-registration open globally. An on-site gameplay experience will also be available at Fal.Con 2026. The schedule and rewards are detailed below:

Players earn points for solving puzzles while managing token consumption, with the highest score at the close of each act winning the respective prize. Participants can replay puzzles to refine their approach, simulating the iterative nature of real-world security defense.

Strategic Context

Jennifer Johnson, chief marketing officer at CrowdStrike, stated that prompt injection and agent hijacking are no longer theoretical risks, noting that agents are already breaking containment in enterprise environments. She described the challenge as an interactive way to give defenders hands-on experience with these novel threats. As organizations deploy AI rapidly, every agent becomes a new identity to govern and a new attack surface to defend, necessitating specialized tools like CrowdStrike’s Falcon AIDR platform.

The challenge underscores the limitations of traditional security architectures, which were not built to secure autonomous machine identities that move data with real credentials. By providing a live gaming environment, CrowdStrike aims to educate the security community on how agents can be manipulated and why runtime security is essential. The event runs from August 31 at 12:00 PM PT to September 29 at 11:59 PM PT, open to participants of majority age in their jurisdiction.