AI Agents Pose Growing Security Risks Amid Rapid Adoption
A SailPoint survey shows 82% of organizations use AI agents, but only 44% secure them, raising concerns over data breaches and unintended actions.
A new report from SailPoint highlights the rapid adoption of AI agents across organizations, alongside significant security gaps. Titled 'AI agents: The new attack surface', the survey reveals that 82% of organizations already use AI agents, but only 44% have policies to secure them. Despite 96% of tech professionals viewing AI agents as a growing risk, 98% of organizations plan to expand their use in the next year.
Key Findings:
- AI agents (or agentic AI) are autonomous systems that perceive, decide, and act to achieve goals, often requiring multiple machine identities to access data and services.
- 72% of organizations believe AI agents pose a greater security risk than other machine identities.
- Top concerns include:
- Access to privileged data (60%)
- Unintended actions (58%)
- Sharing sensitive data (57%)
- Decisions based on inaccurate information (55%)
- Accessing/sharing inappropriate content (54%)
Security Incidents Already Occurring
- 23% of respondents reported AI agents being deceived into revealing credentials.
- 80% said their AI agents took unintended actions, including:
- Accessing unauthorized systems (39%)
- Sharing sensitive/inappropriate data (33%)
- Downloading sensitive content (32%)
Expert Insight
Chandra Gnanasambandam, SailPoint’s CTO, warned: "Agentic AI is a powerful force for innovation but also a potential risk. These agents operate with broad access and limited oversight, creating a prime target for attackers." He urged an identity-first approach with real-time permissions and least-privilege access.
Call to Action
The report stresses treating AI agents as distinct identities and implementing comprehensive security solutions with:
- Unified visibility
- Zero standing privilege
- Full auditing for compliance
The survey, conducted by Dimensional Research, included 353 global security and IT professionals.
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About the Author

Michael Rodriguez
AI Technology Journalist
Veteran technology journalist with 12 years of focus on AI industry reporting. Former AI section editor at TechCrunch, now freelance writer contributing in-depth AI industry analysis to renowned media outlets like Wired and The Verge. Has keen insights into AI startups and emerging technology trends.