Agentic AI Creates New Cybersecurity Attack Surfaces, Gartner Warns
Gartner has
identified the rapid proliferation of agentic AI — AI systems capable of
autonomously executing multi-step tasks — as one of the top cybersecurity
trends of 2026. The firm warns that agentic AI is being rapidly adopted by
employees and developers, creating entirely new attack surfaces that
traditional security controls are not designed to address.
No-code and
low-code development platforms, combined with "vibe coding" practices
where developers rely heavily on AI to generate code, are driving unmanaged AI
agent proliferation. Security teams are struggling to maintain visibility and
governance over AI agents that interact with sensitive systems, data, and APIs
without proper oversight.
"The
rise of AI agents is introducing new challenges to traditional identity and
access management strategies," said Gartner Director Analyst Alex
Michaels. "Organizations need governance frameworks that treat AI agents
as non-human identities requiring the same credential management, access
controls, and audit trails as human users."
Gartner
recommends that organizations implement AI security policies that define
acceptable use of AI agents, establish monitoring frameworks for AI-generated
code, and extend their identity governance programs to cover non-human
identities including AI agents, service accounts, and automation bots.
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