By Jimmy Barrett 
Imagine an intelligent robot that helps you with your homework or a voice assistant that answers your questions. These robots are artificial intelligence (AI) agents. They are designed to interact with the world, learn new things, and make decisions. But, like humans, they can also be vulnerable to attacks.
A scientific article titled “AI Agents Under Threat: A Survey of Key Security Challenges and Future Pathways” explores the dangers these agents face and how to protect them.
What is an AI agent?
An AI agent is a computer program capable of perceiving its environment, making decisions, and acting to achieve a goal. For example, a robot that navigates a house for cleaning or a voice assistant that answers questions.
Threats to AI agents
How to protect AI agents against threats?
AI agents can face several types of threats:
- Adversarial attacks: Malicious individuals can deceive an AI agent by providing false information. For example, showing a modified image so that the agent recognizes it incorrectly.
- Environment manipulation: Modifying the environment to deceive the agent. For example, moving objects to disrupt a robot’s navigation.
- Data attacks: Providing false data to the agent during its learning process so that it learns incorrect behaviors.
- Exploitation of software vulnerabilities: Taking advantage of flaws in the agent’s software to control or disable it.
Why is this important?
AI agents are increasingly present in our daily lives. If they are not protected, they can be used for malicious purposes or cause accidents. For example, a poorly programmed robot could damage objects or injure someone.
How to protect AI agents?
Researchers propose several solutions:
- Improve robustness: Design agents capable of resisting attacks and detecting anomalies.
- Continuous monitoring: Implement systems to monitor the behavior of agents and detect unusual behaviors.
- Secure learning: Use learning methods that take into account the security and reliability of data.
- Collaboration between experts: Work together to identify vulnerabilities and develop effective solutions.
So, AI agents therefore offer numerous possibilities for improving our daily lives. However, it is essential to protect them against threats to ensure their proper functioning and our safety. By understanding the challenges and working together, we can build a future where AI agents are both useful and safe.
Référence : Han, C., et al. (2025). AI Agents Under Threat: A Survey of Key Security Challenges and Future Pathways. ACM Computing Surveys.