2025AI智能体：企业网络安全新型攻击面调查报告

AIagents:Thenewattacksurface

AglobalsurveyofsecurityandITprofessionalsandexecutives

Introduction

Thispaperpresentskeyfindingsfroma

globalprimaryresearchsurveyconductedbyindependentfirmDimensionalResearch.Throughthisresearch,SailPointaimedto

examinethecurrentuse,adoption,and

governanceofAIagents,withaparticular

focusonthedistinctriskstheiridentities

presentcomparedtothoseofhumanand

machineidentities.Itexploresissuessuch

asunintendedactions,gapsingovernance,andtheunderlyingcausesofAIagentrisk,aswellastheextenttowhichorganizationsareleveragingidentitysecuritytoolstoprovisionandmanagetheseidentities.

AIagents:Thenewattacksurface

3

Executivesummary

Researchshowsaconcerning82%ofcompaniesnowutilizeAIagents,withoverhalf

reportingtheseagentsaccesssensitivedatadaily.Alarmingly,80%oforganizationshaveexperiencedunintendedactionsfromtheirAIagents,includinginappropriatedatasharingandunauthorizedsystemaccess.SomeAIagentshaveevenbeencoercedintorevealingaccesscredentials.

Thislackofcontrolhasled96%oftechnologyprofessionalstoidentifyAIagentsasa

growingsecuritythreat—66%believethisriskisimmediate,while30%seeitemerginginthenearfuture.TheprimaryconcernsincludeinadequatedataaccessanddatasharingcontrolsandunpredictableAIagentbehaviors.Theseagentshandlediversesensitive

informationincludingcustomerdata,financialrecords,intellectualproperty,legaldocuments,andsupplychaintransactions.

96%

82%

ofcompaniesutilizeAIagents

oftechnology

professionalsidentifyAIagentsasathreat

44%

haveimplemented

AIagentgovernance

policies

While92%ofrespondentsrecognizeAIagentgovernanceascrucialtoenterprisesecurity,only44%haveimplementedrelevantpolicies.

Although71%ofITdepartmentsclaimawarenessofAIagentdataaccess,thisknowledgeextends

tocompliance,legal,orexecutiveteamsinlessthanhalfofthe

surveyedcompanies.

ThosesurveyedindicatedthatAIagentsposeagreaterriskthanbothmachineandhumanidentities.Unliketraditionalidentities,AIagentsoftenrequirebroaderprivilegesacross

moresystems,data,andservices.Theyarealsomoredifficulttogovern,withrapidaccesstypicallyprovisioneddirectlywithinIT.Despitetheseconcerns,justover60%ofcompaniesemployidentitysecuritysolutionstomanageaccess.With98%oforganizationsplanningtodeploynewAIagentswithintheyear,dataexposurerisksareescalatingrapidly.

ThebusinessvalueofAIagentsisundisputed,butthepotentialconsequences

ofcompromisedsensitivedatacouldbedevastating.Companiesurgentlyneed

comprehensivesolutionstogovernaccesspermissionsandmonitorandcontrolwhichsystemsanddataAIagentsareaccessing.

AIagents:Thenewattacksurface

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Keyfindings

Thingsofnote:Inthesurveytheterm“AIagents”(alsoknownasAgenticAI)wasdefinedas

autonomoussystemsthatperceive,makedecisions,andtakeactiontoachievespecificgoalswithinanenvironment.AIagentsorAgenticAIoftenrequireseveraldifferentmachineidentitiestoaccessneededdata,applicationsandservices.

AIagentuseisalreadypervasivebutunintendedactionsareexposingsensitivedata

•82%ofcompaniesarealreadyusingAIagents

•53%acknowledgeAIagentsareaccessingsensitiveinformation

•80%revealAIagentshaveperformedunintendedactionsofaccessingandsharinginappropriatedata

Growingsecurityriskdrivenbydiversedataaccessandlackofgovernanceandauditability

•66%stateAIagentsareagrowingsecurityrisk

•NumerousdatacontrolissuesaredrivingAIagentsecurityrisk

•NumerousteamsalreadyusingAIagents

•92%stategoverningAIagentsisparamounttoenterprisesecurity

•Only44%currentlyhaveanygovernancepoliciesinplaceforAIagents

AIagentsleadidentityriskswithbroaderaccessandtruncatedvisibilityandapprovalprocesses

•72%stateAIagentsposeagreaterriskthanmachineidentities

•64%confirmthatAIagentsrequiremultipleidentitiestoaccessnecessarydata,applications,andsystems

•AIagentsrequirebroaderprivilegesandarehardertogovern,withfasteraccessandlimitedapprovalprocesses

AIagents:Thenewattacksurface

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Detailedfindings

AIagentswithaccesstosensitivedataareuseddailybymostcompanies

AIadoptionisnearlyaubiquitoustopictodayamongmostorganizations,alongwith

generativeAI,largelanguagemodels(LLM),andAI-basedanalytics.However,thisresearchfindsthattheuseofAIagents,alsoknownasAgenticAIhassurged,as82%ofcompaniesstatetheyareusingAIagentstoday.

IsyourcompanyusinganyapplicationsthatutilizeAIagents?

5%

Idon’tknow

13%No

82%

Yes

AIagents:Thenewattacksurface

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AIagentstendtobegoal-basedwhereataskisgiventotheAIagentanditmustfindtheinformationandresourcestosatisfythatrequest.Assuch,technologyprofessionalssharedthatmorethanhalf(53%)ofAIagentsareaccessingsensitiveinformation.And58%ofthoseAIagentsareaccessingthatsensitiveinformationdaily.Thechartbelowalsorevealsthat10%don’tknowifAIagentsareaccessingsensitivedata,aconcerningandreoccurringfindingthroughoutthisreport.

Inyourexperience,willAIagentshaveaccessto

sensitivecompanyinformation?

10%

Idon’tknow

37%

No

53%

Yes

7

AIagentsaccessandshareinappropriateandsensitivedata

WhilemanystudieshavefocusedonthebenefitsofAI,thisresearchstudysoughtto

understandwhetherAIagentsareperformingactionsoutsidetheirintendedscope.Inthechartbelow,thekeytakeawayisonly20%ofcompaniesstatethattheirAIagentshaveNOTperformedunintendedactions,whichdeductivelymeans80%ofcompaniesare

experiencingAIagentsperformingunintendedactions.

Leadingthelistofunintendedactions,39%ofrespondentsreportedAIagentsaccessedunauthorizedsystems,while33%saidagentsaccessedinappropriateorsensitivedata.

Althoughthesebehaviorsmayreflectattemptstofulfillatask,thenextsetofactionsismoreconcerning:32%notedthatAIagentsenabledthedownloadofsensitivedata,and31%saidthedatawasinappropriatelyshared.Additionally,AIagentshaveaccessedtheinternetinsearchofinformation,introducingunverifieddataintotheiroutputs.Perhapsmostalarming,nearlyoneinfourcompanies(23%)reportedthatAIagentswerecoaxedintorevealing

accesscredentials—potentiallyopeningthedoorforcybercriminals.

Whattypeofactionshaveyourcompany’sAIagentsperformed

thatwerebeyonditsintendedscope?

Accessedunintendedsystems(applications,services,etc.)

39%

Accessedinappropriatedata(privileged,sensitive,financial,etc.)

33%

Allowedinappropriatedata(privilege,sensitive,financial,etc.)tobedownloaded

32%

Sharedinappropriatedata(privilege,sensitive,financial,etc.)

31%

Utilizedtheinternet

26%

Revealedaccesscredentials

23%

Orderedsomething(supplychain,gotphished,etc.)

16%

Other

4%

OurAIagentshaveneverperformedanunintendedaction

20%

AIagents:Thenewattacksurface

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AIagentsareagrowingsecurityrisk

WithAgenticAIperformingunintendedactionsfor80%ofthecompanies,itisnotsurprisingthat96%stateAIagentsareagrowingsecurityrisk,with66%statingthatriskispresent

today.

Inyourexperience,areAIagentsagrowingsecurityrisk?

4%

No,andthiswon’t

changeinthefuture

30%

No,buttheywillbeinthefuture

66%

Yes

AIagents:Thenewattacksurface

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AIagentspresentnumerousbusinessrisksanddatacontrolissues

ThesurveyalsoexploredthespecificfactorscontributingtoAIagentsasasecurityrisk.

Thetopsixconcernswerecloselyranked,withonlyasix-pointspread.Leadingthelistis

AIagents’abilitytoaccessprivilegeddata(60%),followedbytheirpotentialtoperform

unintendedactions(58%),asdetailedearlierinthisreport.Othermajorconcernsinclude

sharingprivilegeddata(57%),makingdecisionsbasedoninaccurateorunverifieddata

(55%),andbothaccessingandsharinginappropriateinformation(54%).Additionally,49%ofrespondentscitedtheriskofAIagentsgeneratinginaccurateoutputsforusers.Notably,38%reportedincidentsinvolvingthedisclosureofsecurityinformationtointernalbadactors,while29%citedexposuretoexternalthreats.Fromabusinessstandpoint,theserisksspan

compliancefailures,dataprivacybreaches,securityvulnerabilities,andthedisseminationofincorrectinformationtoemployees,partners,andcustomers.

Inyourexperience,whatmakesanAgenticAIasecurityrisk?

Accessesprivilegeddata

Unintendedactions(applicationfailures,alertstorms,etc.)

Sharingprivilegeddata

Makingdecisionsbasedoninaccuratedata(erroneous,incomplete,etc.)

Accessinginappropriatedata

Sharinginappropriatedata

Providinginaccuratedata(erroneous,incomplete,etc.)

Canbeusedbyaninternalbadactor

Canbehackedbyexternalentity

AIagentsarenotasecurityrisk

60%

58%

57%

55%

54%

54%

49%

38%

29%

1%

AIagents:Thenewattacksurface

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AIagentshaveaccesstokeydataacrosstheenterprise

TobetterunderstandAIagentadoptionandtheintrinsicrisks,theresearchidentifiedwhichteamsarecurrentlyusingAI.Asexpected,ITleadsthewayat52%,followedbycustomer

service(46%),cybersecurity(44%),supportdesk(44%),andsoftwaredevelopment(39%).Notably,AIagentsarealsobeingutilizedbyproductmanagement(26%),sales(25%),

compliance(24%),aswellasmarketingandHR(bothat23%).ThisdatahighlightsnotonlythebreadthofenterpriseadoptionbutalsothewiderangeofsensitivebusinessdataandinformationAIagentsarenowaccessing.

Atyourcompany,whatteamsarecurrently

usingsolutionsthatutilizedAIagents?

52%

IT(nonsecurity)

CustomerService

46%

Cybersecurity

SupportDesk

SoftwareDevelopment

ProductManagement

44%

44%

39%

26%

Sales

25%

Compliance

Marketing

24%

23%

HumanResources

23%

SupplyChain

Legal

Manufacturing(line,QA,etc.)

15%

10%

7%

2%

2%

Other

OurAIagentsolutionsarenotdeplolyedyed

11

AIagentgovernancecriticaltoenterprisesecurity

GiventhebroadscopeofdataAIagentscanaccess,thepreviouslycitedrisks,andthefrequencyofunintendedactions,anoverwhelming92%oftechnologyprofessionals

indicatedthatgoverningAIagentsiscriticaltoenterprisesecurity.

Inyouropinion,isgoverningAIagentscriticaltoensuring

enterprisesecurity?

8%

No

92%

Yes

AIagents:Thenewattacksurface

12

Despitewidespreadrecognitionoftherisksamongthesurveyrespondents,only44%of

organizationscurrentlyhavegovernancepoliciesinplacetomanageAIagentsandthedatatheyaccessandshare.While53%areintheprocessofdevelopingsuchpolicies,therealityisthatmostremainexposedtoday.Notably,just3%ofrespondentsreportedhavingnoplanstoimplementAIagentgovernanceatall.

Doesyourcompanycurrentlyhavegovernancepolicies

specificallyforAIagents?

14%

Notcurrently,butwe

3%

No,andwehave

noplansto

expecttomorethan

6monthsfromnow

44%

Yes

39%

Notcurrently,butweexpecttooverthenext

6months

AIagents:Thenewattacksurface

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Executives,compliance,legal:UninformedaboutdataAIagentsaccess

EffectivegovernanceofAIagentsbeginswithaclearunderstandingofthedatathey

can—andshould—access.Thisinformationmustbesharedwithteamsresponsiblefor

complianceanddataprotection.Asshowninthechartbelow,ITisthemostinformedteamregardingAIagentdataaccess,giventheirroleinimplementingthetechnology,managingconfigurations,andprovisioningcredentials.However,awarenessdropssignificantlyamongothercriticalstakeholders:compliance(47%),legal(39%),executives(34%),andother

departments—despitetheiressentialroleinidentifyingsensitivedata,safeguardingtheorganization,andminimizingrisk.

Whichteamshavebeenadvisedofallofthedatathat

AIagentshaveaccessto?

IT(security,operations,etc.)

Compliance

Legal

Executives

Softwaredevelopment

Customersupport

HR

Marketing

Sales

NooneteamisawareofallofthedataAgenticAIcanaccess

71%

47%

39%

34%

31%

20%

18%

16%

13%

7%

14

Thislackofvisibilityintodataaccesshasresultedinonly52%ofcompaniesreportingthattheycantrackandauditalldatausedorsharedbyAIagents.Consequently,nearlyhalfoforganizationsremainunawareofwhatdataisbeingaccessedorexposed—oftenputtingthematriskofviolatingdataprotectionregulations.

Isyourcompanyabletotrackandauditevery

pieceofdataanAIagentaccesses?

14%

Idon’tknow

34%

No

52%

Yes

15

AccessgovernancecriticallyimportanttomanageAIagentrisk

ThelackofcontrolandvisibilityoverthedataAIagentsaccessandshare,asoutlinedin

theprecedingsections,appearstohavepromptedthe62%ofrespondentsinthechart

belowtoidentifyaccessgovernanceformanagingriskofAIagentsascriticallyimportant.Notably,norespondentsselected“lowimportance”or“notatallimportant,”resultingin

unanimousagreement—100%ofparticipantsviewAIagentaccessgovernanceasessentialtomanagingassociatedrisks.

Inyourexperience,howimportantisaccessgovernancefor

managingtherisksofAIagents?

62%23%15%

0

20

406080100

Extremelyimportant

SomewhatimportantImportant

AIagents:Thenewattacksurface

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AIagentidentitiescreatemoreriskthanmachineandhumanidentities

IThaslongfaceddataandgovernancechallengeswithapplicationsandservicesthat

accessandshareinformation—typicallymanagedthroughmachineidentities.However,

72%oftechnologyprofessionalsnowbelieveAIagentspresentagreaterrisktothebusinessthantraditionalmachineidentities.

Inyouropinion,doAIagentspresentagreaterrisk

thanothermachineidentities?

28%

No

72%

Yes

AIagents:Thenewattacksurface

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Asshowninthechartbelow,90%ofparticipantsindicatedthatAIagentidentitiesdiffer

significantlyfromhumanidentities.TobetterunderstandtheuniquerisksAIagentspose

attheidentitylevel,respondentswereaskedhowtheseagentscomparetowhathas

traditionallybeenviewedasthehighest-riskidentity:humans.Thetopconcerncitedwas

thatAIagentsoftenhavebroaderaccesstoapplicationsanddata(54%)thantypical

humanusers.Additionally,40%notedthatAIagentsaremoredifficulttogovern—likelyduetolimitedvisibilityandtheirpotentialforunpredictableactions.Whilehumanidentities

typicallyundergostructuredaccessapprovalsinvolvingmanagersorexecutives,AIagentaccessisoftenprovisionedsolelybyIT(35%)andapprovedmorequickly(34%).Asa

result,ITmaylackfullawarenessofthespecifictypesofdatabeingaccessed—suchas

customerinformation,intellectualproperty,oremployeerecords—makingitdifficulttoapplyappropriatecomplianceorsensitivitycontrols.

HowareAIagentidentitiesdifferentfromhumanidentities?

AIagentsoftenrequireaccesstomoresystemsanddata

AIagentsarehardertogovern

AIagentsaccessdoesn’trequireapprovalfromteamsoutsideIT(marketing,HR,etc.)

AIagentsaregivenaccessfaster(fewer

steps,etc.)

AIagentshavefewercompliancerequirements(governance,reporting,etc.)

Other

AIagentsidentitiesarenotdifferentfromhumanidentities

54%

40%

35%

34%

23%

3%

10%

AIagents:Thenewattacksurface

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AIagentsutilizemultipleidentitiestoaccessneededinformation

ToexplorewhyAIagentsmaybemoredifficulttogovern,participantswereaskedwhetheratypical

AIagentrequiresmultipleidentitiestoaccessthesystems,applications,anddataitneeds.Sixty-four

percentconfirmedthatAIagentsoftenrelyonseveralaccessidentities,complicatingeffortstotrack

andcorrelatedatausageandsharing.Despitethiscomplexity,only62%oforganizationsreportedusinganidentitysecuritysolutiontomanageAIagentsandtheirmultipleidentities.

Atyourcompany,doAIagents

requiremultipleidentitiestoaccess

necessarysystems,applications,

anddata?

Atyourcompany,isaccessforAI

agentsprovisionedandgoverned

byidentitysecuritysolutions?

31%

No,AIagentstypicallyrequireasingle

accessidentity

5%

Idon’tknow

35%

No,ourcurrentidentity

securitysolutiondoes

notmanageaccessfor

AIagents

64%

Yes,AIagentstypically

requiremultipleaccess

identities

3%

Wedon’thaveanidentity

securitysolution

62%

Yes,ourcurrentidentity

solutionmanagesaccess

forAIagents

AIagents:Thenewattacksurface

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AIagentsonarapidenterprise-widerolloutplan

GiventhewidespreadadoptionofAIagentsacrossteamsandgrowingawarenessoftheassociatedrisks,theresearchaimedtodeterminewhetherorganizationsarepausing

deploymentstostrengthensecurityandidentitycontrolsfortheirAIagents.Thefindingssuggestotherwise—anoverwhelming98%ofcompaniesplantoexpandtheiruseofAIagent–drivensolutionswithinthenext12months,spanningnearlyeveryteamacross

theenterprise.WhileAIholdsthepromiseofgreatervalue,italsosignificantlyamplifiesexposureandrisk.

Overthenext12months,whichteamswilldeploynew

solutionsthatutilizeAIagents?

Cybersecurity38%

SupportDesk38%

SoftwareDevelopment36%

CustomerService34%

IT(nonsecurity)30%

Humanresources28%

Compliance26%

ProductManagement25%

Marketing24%

Sales22%

Legal17%

SupplyChain17%

M(,ft,rg)16%

neortt2%

AIagents:Thenewattacksurface

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Conclusion

AIagentshaverapidlybecomeintegralacrossorganizations,with98%ofcompanies

planningtoexpandtheirAIagentdeploymentsinthenextyear.Thiswidespreadadoptionpromisesefficiencyandinnovationastheseagentsaccessandprocessdatathroughouttheenterprise.

However,thisprogresscomeswithsignificantrisk—80%oforganizationsreporttheirAI

agentshavealreadyperformedunauthorizedactions,includingaccessingandsharing

sensitiveinformation.Beyondregulatorycomplianceissues,thiscreatesvulnerabilities

affectingemployees,partners,andcustomerswhomayreceiveinaccurateinformationor,moredangerously,exposeaccesscredentialstomaliciousactors.

Thisrealityexplainswhyanoverwhelming96%ofrespondentsidentifyAIagentsasan

escalatingsecuritythreat.WhileestablishinggovernanceoverAIagentaccessiswidelyrecognizedasessential,fewerthanhalfofsurveyedcompanieshaveimplemented

anygovernancepolicies.MostorganizationsfailtotrackorauditthedataAIagents

access,leavinglegalteams,complianceofficers,andexecutiveswithoutvisibilityintotheinformationthesesystemscanreach.

Thesecuritychallengeismagni