Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) announced the launch of Next-Generation Trust Security (NGTS), a platform designed to automate digital certificate lifecycle management. The company made the announcement on March 23, 2026, according to a press release.

NGTS addresses challenges arising from shortened certificate renewal cycles, with the industry moving toward a mandatory 47-day certificate renewal period. The platform integrates certificate lifecycle management with network visibility and enforcement capabilities.

The system aims to automate certificate discovery, renewal, and replacement processes that have traditionally required manual coordination across multiple teams. Anand Oswal, Executive Vice President of AI & Network Security at Palo Alto Networks, stated that expired or non-compliant certificates can cause outages affecting business-critical applications and cloud services.

The platform incorporates machine identity intelligence from CyberArk and operates as a network-native solution. Certificate lifetimes have decreased by over 90% compared to previous standards, according to the company's statement referencing industry baseline requirements.

Emanuel Figueroa, Senior Research Analyst at IDC, noted that the solution moves certificate management from manual processes into an automated network platform. The analyst described this as transitioning cryptographic maintenance from a periodic task to a continuous automated process.

NGTS is positioned to support post-quantum encryption standards as organizations prepare for evolving cryptographic requirements. The platform is available immediately, according to the company's announcement.

The solution addresses what the company describes as "shadow" certificates and aims to prevent certificate-related service disruptions through automated identification and refresh capabilities.