Dell's CTO acknowledges the Model Context Protocol (MCP) is powerful for agent tool access but isn't yet enterprise-grade. To manage this risk, Dell centralizes all its MCP servers into a single controlled environment, allowing them to wrap the immature protocol with robust security controls.

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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.

In large enterprises, AI adoption creates a conflict. The CTO pushes for speed and innovation via AI agents, while the CISO worries about security risks from a flood of AI-generated code. Successful devtools must address this duality, providing developer leverage while ensuring security for the CISO.

The primary challenge for large organizations is not just AI making mistakes, but the uncontrolled fragmentation of its use. With employees using different LLMs across various departments, maintaining a single source of truth for brand and governance becomes nearly impossible without a centralized control system.

To mitigate risks like AI hallucinations and high operational costs, enterprises should first deploy new AI tools internally to support human agents. This "agent-assist" model allows for monitoring, testing, and refinement in a controlled environment before exposing the technology directly to customers.

Instead of relying on flawed AI guardrails, focus on traditional security practices. This includes strict permissioning (ensuring an AI agent can't do more than necessary) and containerizing processes (like running AI-generated code in a sandbox) to limit potential damage from a compromised AI.

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.

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.

MCP emerged as a critical standard for AI agents to interact with tools, much like USB-C for hardware. However, its rapid adoption overlooked security, leading to significant vulnerabilities like tool poisoning and prompt injection attacks in its early, widespread implementations.

Standalone AI tools often lack enterprise-grade compliance like HIPAA and GDPR. A central orchestration platform provides a crucial layer for access control, observability, and compliance management, protecting the business from risks associated with passing sensitive data to unvetted AI services.

To balance security with agility, enterprises should run two AI tracks. Let the CIO's office develop secure, custom models for sensitive data while simultaneously empowering business units like marketing to use approved, low-risk SaaS AI tools to maintain momentum and drive immediate value.

Dell Mitigates AI Protocol Security Risks by Centralizing Servers in a Controlled Environment | RiffOn