AI Agents Are Actors, Not Tools: Why Enterprises Need a New Layer of Runtime Governance

AI agents operate autonomously with system-level privileges, creating security risks that traditional governance models can't address. Enterprises need runtime governance that monitors agent behavior at the kernel level using technologies like eBPF, enforces context-aware policies through languages like AWS Cedar, and provides immediate containment capabilities. This approach enables real-time observation and enforcement of agent actions—from file access to network calls—ensuring safe autonomy from development through production deployment.