- AI agent adoption goes beyond visibility
- AI agents work autonomously in all environments
- Business leaders recognize the risk and believe they can prevent unauthorized access
UK businesses are increasingly deploying AI agents to automate mundane tasks and improve productivity, but some are behaving like “double agents” and putting business security at risk.
A new study from Microsoft’s Cyber Pulse report finds that while most business leaders believe they can prevent unauthorized use by AI double agents, visibility is struggling to keep pace with adoption.
Unmanaged AI agents create blind spots for security teams, especially when autonomous AI agents are allowed to work across networks, devices, and software.
Article continues below
AI double agents risk sabotaging businesses
By 2026, adoption has increased rapidly, with 62% of UK businesses already having deployed AI agents within their business, an increase of 22% year-on-year. Additionally, 68% of companies expect an enterprise-wide deployment of AI agents in the next 12 months.
But business leaders also recognize the risk of this growing adoption rate, with 84% highlighting unauthorized or poorly governed AI agents as a serious security concern.
This problem will only get worse as AI agents become more capable and accessible, especially when they can act autonomously with permissions spanning different environments.
Microsoft’s findings also indicate that security teams have three clear priorities. Ensuring that visibility into where AI agents operate is maintained (50%), ensuring that the introduction of AI agents into existing systems and processes is done securely (50%), and verifying that autonomous AI agents meet compliance, risk and audit requirements (49%).
“This research signals a structural shift in business-to-business security,” said Jo Miller, head of national security at Microsoft UK. “As AI agents move from experimentation to operational roles in UK organisations, they are driving real gains in productivity and resilience, but they are also introducing a new category of digital identity that must be secured with the same rigor as human or machine identities. »
“Double agents arise when visibility and governance do not keep pace with adoption. “That’s why organizations need to be able to see, manage and control how agents access systems and data, across their entire enterprise,” continued Miller.
“By treating AI agents as managed identities and implementing strong zero trust principles, with least privilege access, defined permissions and full auditability, businesses can manage risk while continuing to innovate with confidence. »
The best antivirus for every budget
Follow TechRadar on Google News And add us as your favorite source to get our news, reviews and expert opinions in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can too follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp Also.
