The emergence of AI agents has created a “security ticking time bomb.” Unlike earlier models that primarily generated content, these agents interact directly with user environments, giving them freedom to act. This creates a large and dynamic attack surface, making them vulnerable to sophisticated manipulation from a myriad of sources, including website texts, comments, images, emails, and downloaded files.
The potential consequences are severe, ranging from tricking the agent into executing malicious scripts and downloading malware to falling for simple scams and enabling full account takeovers. This new reality of interactive agents renders traditional safety evaluations insufficient and demands a more comprehensive blueprint — one that connects foundational strategy to practical defense and scales through industry-wide collaboration.
Read the original article: