Cybersecurity Blog / AI Security

AI Agent Identity and Access Management

AI agents that can read email, update CRM records, create tickets or trigger workflows should be treated as identities with controlled permissions, not as invisible background software.

Core principle: Every agent should have a known owner, a defined purpose, limited access and an audit trail for important actions.

Give agents distinct identities

Avoid sharing personal administrator credentials with automation. Where platforms support it, use dedicated application identities or service accounts so activity can be attributed and access can be revoked independently.

Apply least privilege

Grant only the systems, records and actions required for the agent's task. Separate read access from write or administrative capability whenever practical.

Protect credentials

API keys, secrets and tokens should be stored using appropriate secret-management controls rather than embedded in source code, prompts or shared documents.

Require approval for high-impact actions

Financial transactions, destructive changes, broad outbound communications and security administration may warrant human approval before execution.

Log meaningful activity

Record important agent actions, configuration changes and failures. Logging helps with troubleshooting, accountability and incident investigation.

Plan for offboarding

When an agent, integration or vendor is retired, revoke its credentials and connected application permissions. Dormant automation should not retain access indefinitely.