How AI Agents Will Reshape Identity Security in 2026

Read full article from CyberArk here:  https://www.cyberark.com/resources/all-blog-posts/ai-agents-and-identity-risks-how-security-will-shift-in-2026/?utm_source=nhimg

AI agents are becoming autonomous digital coworkers, capable of decision-making, tool use, and complex task execution. By 2026, organizations will rely heavily on multi-agent environments—dramatically expanding identity and access risks.

Every AI agent is an identity that holds credentials, entitlements, and permissions. As their usage grows, so does the attack surface. New threats are emerging, including OWASP-highlighted “tool misuse” attacks where malicious inputs trick agents into using tools they were never meant to access—often exposing sensitive data due to weak input filtering and excessive privileges.

Human identity risk is increasing as well. Developers and AI builders are becoming prime targets, especially with low-code “vibe coding” platforms widening the pool of creators. Meanwhile, session hijacking is surging, with attackers stealing browser cookies for humans and API keys/tokens for AI agents—direct access that bypasses MFA and traditional defenses entirely.

To prepare for 2026, organizations must shift to an identity-first security strategy:

• Discover all AI agents and their capabilities

• Secure access through Zero Standing Privileges and strong secret management

• Detect abnormal identity behavior with ITDR

• Adopt defense-in-depth that protects both machine-like automation and human-like agent behavior

The future belongs to organizations that embrace AI agents for productivity—while controlling the identity risks they introduce.