Cisco has launched Agent Validation, a new capability in AI Defense: Explorer Edition (free tier), designed specifically to red-team agentic AI systems. Unlike chat-based red teaming, Agent Validation targets attack surfaces unique to agent harnesses: tool routes (malicious arguments to legitimate tools), indirect content channels (prompt injection via retrieved documents or tool outputs), and persistent state modifications that survive across sessions. The tool runs an autonomous attacker that performs live reconnaissance against a specific agent deployment, builds a structured attack surface profile, and verifies findings using independent out-of-band telemetry rather than trusting the agent's own claims. Coverage objectives are curated by Cisco's AI Threat Intelligence team and map to the Cisco AI Security and Safety Framework taxonomy, covering goal hijacking, sabotage, supply chain compromise, and more. Reports include a coverage matrix, severity-sorted findings with full evidence trails, and remediation notes.
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Why Agents Need Their Own Red TeamingWhat Makes Our Approach DifferentWhat the Report DeliversLooking Ahead241 Impressions1 Comment