SailPoint has released a new research report titled ‘AI agents: The new attack surface. A global survey of security, IT professionals and executives.’ The report highlights an urgent need for improved identity security as AI agents gain widespread adoption.
According to the report, 82% of organisations already use AI agents, but only 44% of organisations report having policies in place to secure them. The report also presented a striking paradox: 96% of technology professionals consider AI agents a growing risk, even as 98% of organisations plan to expand their use of them within the next year.
The terms “AI agent” or “agentic AI” broadly encompass autonomous systems that perceive, make decisions, and take action to achieve specific goals within an environment. These agents often require several different machine identities to access needed data, applications and services, and they introduce additional complexities like self-modification and the potential to generate sub-agents. Notably, 72% state AI agents pose a greater risk than machine identities. Factors contributing to AI agents as a security risk include:
AI agents’ ability to access privileged data (60%)
Their potential to perform unintended actions (58%)
Sharing privileged data (57%)
Making decisions based on inaccurate or unverified data (55%)
Accessing and sharing inappropriate information (54%)
“Agentic AI is both a powerful force for innovation and a potential risk,” said Chandra Gnanasambandam, EVP of Product and CTO at SailPoint. “These autonomous agents are transforming how work gets done, but they also introduce a new attack surface. They often operate with broad access to sensitive systems and data, yet have limited oversight. That combination of high privilege and low visibility creates a prime target for attackers. As organisations expand their use of AI agents, they must take an identity-first approach to ensure these agents are governed as strictly as human users, with real-time permissions, least privilege and full visibility into their actions.”
Today, AI agents have access to customer information, financial data, intellectual property, legal documents, supply chain transactions, and other highly sensitive data. Yet respondents reported deep concerns over the ability to control the data AI agents can access and share, with an overwhelming 92% stating that governing AI agents is critical to enterprise security. Alarmingly, 23% reported their AI agents have been tricked into revealing access credentials. Additionally, 80% of companies say their AI agents have taken unintended actions, including:
Accessing unauthorised systems or resources (39%)
Accessing or sharing sensitive or inappropriate data (31% and 33%)
Downloading sensitive content (32%)
AI agents are not just part of systems; they are a distinct identity type. With nearly universal plans (98%) to expand their use of agentic AI in the next year, comprehensive identity security solutions that not only govern human identities but also AI and machine identities are essential. These solutions must have the ability to discover all AI agents within the environment, provide unified visibility, enforce zero standing privilege and ensure auditability—helping organisations strengthen security and meet regulatory requirements. In an era of widespread data breaches, poorly governed AI agents only increase risk.
