AI Is Helping Security Teams, but Agents Are Emerging as a Top Cybersecurity Concern, Exabeam Survey Finds

2026-07-08 · Source: The AI Journal · Field: Technology & Digital — Cybersecurity & Data Privacy, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning · Depth: Intermediate, quick

Summary

Exabeam's survey of 134 cybersecurity professionals at Infosecurity Europe 2026 reveals a dual impact of AI on security operations. While 87% of respondents reported improved security team productivity due to AI, one in four identified AI agents and autonomous systems as their organization's single greatest cybersecurity threat. External threat actors were cited by 40%, but AI agents ranked similarly to compromised insiders, ahead of malicious insiders (9%). This highlights a new class of trusted identities, as AI agents operate with legitimate credentials, accessing systems and making autonomous decisions. The survey also found that 46% of respondents saw an increase in insider threats over the past 12 months, with 43% reporting no change, and 72% believe executive leadership underestimates this evolving risk, particularly as AI integrates into the workforce.

Key takeaway

For Security Engineers assessing insider threat models, you must expand your focus beyond human actors to include AI agents. These autonomous systems operate with legitimate credentials, making their risky behavior difficult to detect using traditional methods. Implement robust behavioral analytics for both human and AI identities to proactively identify abnormalities. Your leadership likely underestimates this evolving risk, so prepare to educate them on the necessity of securing these new trusted identities.

Key insights

AI agents, while boosting productivity, introduce a new class of trusted insider threats requiring novel security approaches.

Principles

• AI agents are trusted identities needing security.
• Insider risk now includes AI agent behavior.
• Executive leadership often underestimates evolving insider threats.

In practice

• Monitor AI agent behavior for abnormalities.
• Extend insider threat programs to AI identities.
• Educate leadership on AI-driven insider risk.

Topics

• AI Agents
• Insider Threats
• Cybersecurity Risk
• Security Operations
• Autonomous Systems

Best for: CTO, VP of Engineering/Data, Director of AI/ML, AI Security Engineer, Security Engineer, Consultant

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by The AI Journal.