3 Security Mistakes Everyone Makes When Setting Up an AI Agent

AI agents are having a moment. Everyone is wiring one up to read their email, browse the web, run code, or take actions on their behalf.

And honestly? It’s exciting but it’s also exactly where things can easily go wrong.

I see the same setup mistakes over and over, from solo builders to teams who really should know better. Most of them are invisible until the day they very much are not.

So I made a video walking through the three that show up most often:

Here’s a sneak peak into what you can expect (and how to avoid them)!

1. Handing your agent the keys to everything

The fastest way to a bad day is giving an agent broad access it never actually needs. I break down what least privilege really looks like when your "user" is a piece of software that acts on its own.

2. Trusting whatever your agent reads

Your agent processes web pages, emails, and documents you did not write. That is an open door for instructions you never intended it to follow. I explain why this one catches even careful people off guard.

3. Letting it run in the dark

No logging. No monitoring. No human checkpoint before it does something it cannot undo. I show you the minimum guardrails worth setting up before you ship.

None of these require a security degree to fix. They just require knowing they exist, which most setup guides skip entirely.

Watch the full video here if you’ve been thinking about running your own AI agent but want to do it the safe way!

If you are building with agents right now, this is fifteen minutes that could save you a very expensive lesson.

Hope this is helpful! Stay secure out there.

- Sandra