Security teams increasingly outflanked by AI agents

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September 14, 2026 – Published on Cybersecurity Dive

AI agents are outpacing the ability of existing security systems to manage them, according to a new report by IDC and GuidePoint Security. In some environments, non-human identities are outpacing human identities at a ratio of 75 to 1, the report showed.

The security of non-human identities has emerged as a rapidly increasing challenge in organizations across the U.S. As companies face increased pressure to accelerate the use of AI agents, they often lack the proper tools or governance designed to make sure they are operating in a secure environment.

Respondents in many cases said they could not provide an exact count of how many agents they had in their environments, according to the report. They also are having difficulty with managing privileges.

Only 18% of respondents are enforcing least-privilege using just-in-time access with automatic remediation, according to the report. Just-in-time access allows an AI agent only the minimal access it needs for the immediate task in front of it.

Security teams increasingly outflanked by AI agents

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