# What is AI Agent Security? As organizations rapidly adopt AI agents and large language models (LLMs), securing these systems has become critical. AI agents present unique security challenges that traditional security tools cannot adequately address. Akto provides comprehensive protection for AI-powered applications through specialized security capabilities designed for the evolving threat landscape of 2025. ## The AI Security Challenge AI agents and LLMs introduce novel attack vectors beyond traditional application vulnerabilities. These systems can autonomously execute actions, access external tools, maintain persistent memory, and make decisions that directly impact business operations. The OWASP Top 10 for LLM Applications 2025 identifies critical risks including prompt injection, supply chain vulnerabilities, data poisoning, excessive agency, and sensitive information disclosure. Agentic AI systems expand the attack surface through: * **Autonomous Decision-Making**: Agents can plan, refine, and adapt strategies, potentially evading guardrails * **Tool Integration**: Direct access to APIs, databases, and external systems creates new exploitation paths * **Persistent Memory**: Context retention across sessions introduces data leakage and manipulation risks * **Dynamic Workflows**: Complex, multi-step operations increase the potential for cascading failures *** ## Akto's Four Pillars of AI Security ### **1. AI Agent & MCP Discovery** Understanding your AI attack surface is the foundation of security. Akto automatically discovers and inventories all AI-related endpoints, agent workflows, and LLM integrations across your infrastructure. **Key Capabilities:** * Automated detection of AI agents, LLM endpoints, and vector databases * Classification of prompt data, embeddings, and AI-specific payloads * Mapping of agent tool calls, function invocations, and external integrations * Real-time tracking of AI workflow changes and new agent deployments * Identification of shadow AI implementations and unauthorized LLM usage **What It Detects:** * OpenAI, Anthropic, Google AI, and custom LLM agentic endpoints * RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) system components * Agent orchestration platforms and tool registries * Vector stores and embedding services * Prompt management and template systems *** ### **2. AI Red Teaming** Proactive vulnerability assessment specifically designed for AI systems. Akto performs comprehensive AI Red Teaming aligned with OWASP GenAI Security standards and real-world attack patterns. **Key Capabilities:** * 1000+ AI-specific probe templates covering OWASP Top 10 for LLMs * Automated red-teaming with adversarial prompt generation * Scanning for prompt injection, jailbreaking, and system prompt extraction * Supply chain vulnerability scanning for models and dependencies * Data poisoning and model manipulation detection * Excessive agency and unauthorized tool usage validation * CI/CD integration for continuous AI Red Teaming **Advanced Scanning Scenarios:** * **Prompt Injection Attacks**: Direct, indirect, and multi-turn injection attempts * **Model Extraction**: Attempts to steal model weights or training data * **Adversarial Inputs**: Crafted inputs designed to cause misclassification * **Resource Exhaustion**: Scanning for unbounded token consumption * **Cross-Plugin Request Forgery**: Exploiting agent tool interactions * **Training Data Leakage**: Extracting memorized sensitive information *** ### **3. Runtime AI Protection** Real-time guardrail detection and prevention specifically engineered for AI workloads. Akto monitors and protects against AI-specific attacks while maintaining system performance. **Key Capabilities:** * Instant blocking of prompt injection and jailbreak attempts * Runtime validation of agent actions and tool calls * Behavioral analysis to detect anomalous AI usage patterns * Token consumption monitoring and rate limiting * Output filtering for toxic, biased, or non-compliant content * Protection against model inversion and extraction attacks * Memory poisoning and context manipulation prevention **Protection Mechanisms:** * **Input Sanitization**: Removes malicious patterns before reaching models * **Output Validation**: Ensures responses comply with security policies * **Tool Call Authorization**: Validates agent permissions for external actions * **Semantic Firewall**: Blocks requests based on intent, not just patterns * **Hallucination Detection**: Identifies and flags potentially false information * **PII Redaction**: Automatically removes sensitive data from outputs *** ### **4. AI Security Posture Management** Comprehensive visibility and governance across your entire AI security landscape. Akto provides continuous assessment and policy enforcement aligned with industry standards. **Key Capabilities:** * Unified dashboard showing AI risk scores and security metrics * Compliance monitoring for OWASP, NIST AI RMF, and EU AI Act * Policy enforcement for data governance and model usage * Security posture trending and predictive risk analysis * Integration with SIEM, SOAR, and existing security tools * Automated remediation workflows and playbooks **Compliance & Standards:** * **OWASP Top 10 for LLMs 2025**: Full coverage and continuous updates * **MITRE ATLAS**: Adversarial threat modeling for AI systems * **NIST AI Risk Management Framework**: Implementation guidance * **ISO/IEC 23053 & 23894**: AI trustworthiness and risk management * **EU AI Act**: Compliance tracking and documentation **Security Metrics:** * Agent authorization violations and excessive permission usage * Prompt injection attempt frequency and success rates * Data leakage incidents and sensitive information exposure * Model performance degradation and poisoning indicators * Supply chain vulnerability exposure and patch status *** ## Implementation Best Practices ### Defense in Depth * Layer multiple security controls throughout the AI pipeline * Implement fail-safe mechanisms for critical agent actions * Maintain human-in-the-loop oversight for high-risk operations ### Zero Trust for AI * Verify every agent action and tool invocation * Implement least-privilege access for all AI components * Continuously validate model inputs and outputs ### Continuous Monitoring * Track all AI interactions with full context capture * Monitor for drift in model behavior and outputs * Maintain audit logs for compliance and forensics ### Incident Response * Establish AI-specific incident response procedures * Implement automated containment for detected guadrail activity * Maintain rollback capabilities for compromised models *** ### Get Support for your Akto setup There are multiple ways to request support from Akto. We are 24X7 available on the following: 1. In-app `intercom` support. Message us with your query on intercom in Akto dashboard and someone will reply. 2. Join our [discord channel](https://www.akto.io/community) for community support. 3. Contact `help@akto.io` for email support. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://ai-security-docs.akto.io/what-is-ai-agent-security.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. 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