Autonomous AI Agents engage with data throughout its entire lifecycle and this creates multiple points of vulnerability.
Massive Scale Collection
To function effectively, these systems routinely handle terabytes or petabytes of data, including sensitive information like healthcare records, financial data, and biometric information. The sheer volume increases the probability of data exposure.
Data Repurposing
Information collected for one purpose may be used for completely different, unforeseen purposes without the user’s knowledge. A notable example involved a surgical patient who discovered that medical photos she had consented to for treatment were used in an AI training dataset without her permission.
Data Persistence
The persistent memory of autonomous agents and decreasing storage costs mean information can be stored indefinitely, potentially outlasting the person who created it. This is problematic because privacy preferences change over time – consent given in early adulthood may lead to data being used in ways an individual would no longer agree to later in life.
Data Spillover
Agents may unknowingly collect information about individuals who weren’t the intended subjects of data collection, such as bystanders who appear in photos or conversations.
The independent nature of autonomous agents fundamentally transforms the security threat landscape through a concept known as “Excessive Agency” – agents having too much functionality, permissions, and autonomy.