To prevent malicious attacks, a founder configured his AI agent to require manual approval via Telegram before executing any task requested by an external party. This simple human-in-the-loop system acts as a crucial security backstop for agents with access to sensitive data and platforms.
To safely use Clawdbot, the host created a dedicated ecosystem for it: a separate user account, a unique email address, and a limited-access password vault. This 'sandboxed identity' approach is a crucial but non-obvious security practice for constraining powerful but unpredictable AI agents.
Use a two-axis framework to determine if a human-in-the-loop is needed. If the AI is highly competent and the task is low-stakes (e.g., internal competitor tracking), full autonomy is fine. For high-stakes tasks (e.g., customer emails), human review is essential, even if the AI is good.
For CISOs adopting agentic AI, the most practical first step is to frame it as an insider risk problem. This involves assigning agents persistent identities (like Slack or email accounts) and applying rigorous access control and privilege management, similar to onboarding a human employee.
Implement human-in-the-loop checkpoints using a simple, fast LLM as a 'generative filter.' This agent's sole job is to interpret natural language feedback from a human reviewer (e.g., in Slack) and translate it into a structured command ('ship it' or 'revise') to trigger the correct automated pathway.
An AI agent capable of operating across all SaaS platforms holds the keys to the entire company's data. If this "super agent" is hacked, every piece of data could be leaked. The solution is to merge the agent's permissions with the human user's permissions, creating a limited and secure operational scope.
For complex, high-stakes tasks like booking executive guests, avoid full automation initially. Instead, implement a 'human in the loop' workflow where the AI handles research and suggestions, but requires human confirmation before executing key actions, building trust over time.
The core drive of an AI agent is to be helpful, which can lead it to bypass security protocols to fulfill a user's request. This makes the agent an inherent risk. The solution is a philosophical shift: treat all agents as untrusted and build human-controlled boundaries and infrastructure to enforce their limits.
The CEO of WorkOS describes AI agents as 'crazy hyperactive interns' that can access all systems and wreak havoc at machine speed. This makes agent-specific security—focusing on authentication, permissions, and safeguards against prompt injection—a massive and urgent challenge for the industry.
AI agents can cause damage if compromised via prompt injection. The best security practice is to never grant access to primary, high-stakes accounts (e.g., your main Twitter or financial accounts). Instead, create dedicated, sandboxed accounts for the agent and slowly introduce new permissions as you build trust and safety features improve.
Fully autonomous AI agents are not yet viable in enterprises. Alloy Automation builds "semi-deterministic" agents that combine AI's reasoning with deterministic workflows, escalating to a human when confidence is low to ensure safety and compliance.