Top API Authorization Risks With AI Agents

AI agents introduce a new class of API authorization risks that traditional security models are not designed to handle. The key threats include harmful input (prompt injection, memory poisoning) that manipulates agent behavior, overprivileged permissions from static credentials like API keys, and the confused deputy problem where low-privileged actors exploit an agent's delegated access. Mitigating these risks requires a shift from user-centric authorization to an API-first, context-aware model using runtime access evaluation, just-in-time (JIT) permissions, just-enough privileges (JEP), and zero-trust principles. The concept of Access Intelligence is introduced as a framework for dynamically issuing and scoping access tokens to reduce standing privileges and limit blast radius.