Most Companies Count AI Agents as Insiders, and CISOs Worry About Their Own Liability
Help Net Security, Wednesday, October 14th, 2026
Trellix survey of 600 CISOs links AI agents to insider incidents at 95% of firms; 78% include agents in insider risk.
A Trellix survey of 600 CISOs at companies with more than 1,000 employees found that an AI agent or autonomous system was linked to an insider incident at 95% of firms in the past year.
78% of respondents now include AI agents and machine identities in their definition of insider risk.
Among companies reporting incidents, careless users accounted for 43% of incidents, deliberate abuse for 29% and AI or autonomous systems for 28%.
Respondents said detecting an insider incident takes about seven hours, and many CISOs worry about personal liability for incidents caused by agents.