Out of band threat prevention

A system includes a data processing unit (DPU). The DPU is to receive a notification associated with a virtualized computing environment on a host system coupled to the DPU. The DPU is associated with a security characteristic. A threat type associated with the threat is identified. Based on at least one of the threat type associated with the threat or the security characteristic of the virtualized computing environment, a threat prevention operation to address the threat is determined. The threat prevention operation is caused to be performed on the host system.