Controlling AI Agents: A Guide to Securing Non-Human Identities
As organizations move deeper into the digital landscape, AI agents have evolved from mere tools into autonomous digital workers that interact with critical systems, APIs, and identities across enterprise environments. The challenge for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) in 2025 is not just to secure human users but also to effectively manage non-human identities (NHIs), including AI assistants, bots, robotic process automation (RPA) processes, and machine-to-machine (M2M) services.
With AI agents capable of authenticating into Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, executing workflows, and triggering sensitive business processes, the attack surface expands significantly. A compromised AI identity can lead to fraud, espionage, or even supply chain vulnerabilities, indicating that AI Agent Governance is the next frontier in enterprise cybersecurity.
Executive Summary
This guide outlines a CISO-level framework aimed at securing AI agents and NHIs. Key takeaways include:
- AI agents as the new insider threat, possessing API keys, tokens, and privileged access.
- Traditional Identity and Access Management (IAM) is inadequate; organizations must implement AI Identity Governance (AI-IG).
- CISOs must establish ownership, lifecycle management, and monitoring for every non-human identity.
- Defensive controls should incorporate Privileged Access Management (PAM) for bots, zero-trust for machine accounts, and continuous behavioral monitoring.
- Regulatory bodies are expected to enforce stricter AI agent governance, making proactive measures a compliance necessity.
Background: Rise of AI Agents & Non-Human Identities
Historically, cybersecurity models have focused on human users. Authentication methods like Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) were designed for people. However, by 2025, over 50% of enterprise accounts are expected to belong to non-humans, such as API keys, bots, microservices, and AI agents. This shift necessitates a reevaluation of traditional security practices.
Unlike standard automation, AI agents are adaptive and decision-capable. They can escalate privileges, chain API calls, and interact across systems, creating identity sprawl and new attack pathways.
Security Risks Posed by AI Agents
The presence of AI agents introduces several security risks that legacy IAM systems are not equipped to handle:
- Credential & API Key Exposure: AI agents often require long-lived API tokens or OAuth secrets. If compromised, attackers gain persistent access to enterprise systems.
- Autonomous Exploitation: Compromised AI agents can scale attacks rapidly, executing multiple API calls and exfiltrating vast amounts of data in minutes.
- Identity Sprawl: Without proper governance, organizations accumulate numerous unmonitored AI identities across various platforms.
- Insider Risk Amplification: A hijacked AI agent can function like an always-on insider threat, circumventing traditional user behavior analytics.
- Supply Chain Manipulation: Vulnerable AI agents embedded in vendor ecosystems can introduce hidden backdoors, compromising the entire enterprise.
Control Framework: IAM vs AI-IG
Traditional IAM was designed for human identities. In contrast, AI agents necessitate a new framework known as AI Identity Governance (AI-IG), which requires different control pillars:
| IAM (Human Identities) | AI-IG (AI Agents & NHIs) |
|---|---|
| User onboarding/offboarding | Agent lifecycle management (creation, revocation, expiry) |
| MFA for login sessions | Key rotation, ephemeral tokens, just-in-time access |
| UEBA (User Behavior Analytics) | ABEA (Agent Behavior & Execution Analytics) |
| Role-based access control (RBAC) | Context-based dynamic AI access policies |
AI agents must be treated as first-class citizens in identity governance.
Privileged Access for Bots & Agents
Just as human administrators require elevated privileges, AI agents often need privileged access. CISO strategies for PAM for Bots should include:
- Vault API Keys: Centralized, encrypted vaults for credentials with automated rotation.
- Just-in-Time (JIT) Access: Granting AI agents temporary privileges when needed.
- Session Recording: Logging all bot-driven privileged activities for forensic visibility.
- Zero-Trust Enforcement: Validating each bot-to-service request against established policies and contexts.
Case Studies: When AI Agents Went Rogue
Several real-world incidents highlight the risks associated with AI agents:
- Case 1: Financial Bot Abuse: A fintech firm’s AI trading bot was compromised due to exposed API keys, resulting in unauthorized trades worth millions.
- Case 2: Supply Chain AI Backdoor: A SaaS vendor shipped a chatbot with weak authentication, allowing attackers to pivot into customer systems.
- Case 3: Cloud RPA Breach: A compromised RPA script in an insurance provider’s system led to large-scale data exfiltration.
CISO Playbook 2025
To manage AI agents effectively, a structured governance model is essential. The playbook includes:
- Inventory & Classification: Keeping a comprehensive list of all AI agents and their associated risks.
- Ownership & Accountability: Assigning business owners to each AI identity and tracking their lifecycle.
- Strong Authentication & Token Hygiene: Utilizing short-lived credentials and automatic key rotation.
- Continuous Monitoring & ABEA: Implementing analytics to detect anomalies and unusual activities.
- Compliance & Regulation Readiness: Preparing for forthcoming mandates on AI agent governance in various sectors.
Defense Strategies for Securing AI Agents
Securing AI agents requires implementing trust boundaries:
- Zero-Trust AI: Treating every AI agent as untrusted until verified.
- PAM for Bots: Applying least privilege and recording sessions.
- Agent Sandbox: Containing AI agents within restricted environments.
- API Gateways: Utilizing gateways for request validation and anomaly detection.
- Kill Switches: Ensuring every AI agent has an immediate disable option.
By adopting these strategies, organizations can secure their AI agents and mitigate potential risks associated with non-human identities.
