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Before connecting an AI agent, secure the account you’ll authorize, limit the agent to the data and actions it needs, require approval for consequential changes, and make sure you can see and revoke its access. These controls address different risks: strong sign-in protects the account, while narrow permissions limit what an agent can do after it is connected.

Secure the account you’ll use to authorize the agent

Use a unique password if the service still relies on passwords, and enable multifactor authentication (MFA). If the provider supports them, a passkey or FIDO-compatible hardware security key offers phishing-resistant sign-in. Also review recent account activity and active sessions; a new sign-in factor does not necessarily end sessions that already exist.

After a suspected compromise, change an exposed password, end active sessions, revoke affected API keys, and inspect usage. Exact controls vary by provider. For example, OpenAI says enabling MFA does not itself log out existing sessions, and logging out all sessions may take up to 30 minutes to complete on other ChatGPT sessions. See OpenAI’s account-security guidance.

Consider recovery before enabling stronger sign-in

OpenAI’s Advanced Account Security is a product-specific option, not a universal agent setting. OpenAI describes passkey or physical-key sign-in, disabled password login and email/SMS recovery for enrolled users, shorter sessions, and session alerts and management. The tighter recovery model has a trade-off: OpenAI says Support cannot help recover accounts enrolled in the feature. Availability is limited to eligible users, so check eligibility and make sure you can reliably access your recovery method before enabling it. Details are in OpenAI’s Advanced Account Security announcement.

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Limit what the agent can access and do

Grant only the data, resources, and actions required for the task. If the agent only needs to find information, choose read-only access rather than permissions to send, edit, delete, purchase, or administer. Avoid broad mailbox, file, payment, or administrative access granted merely for convenience.

Assess the combined effective permissions, not just each permission in isolation. An agent’s roles, connected tools, and downstream services can add up to wider access than any one grant suggests. Where the controls allow, deny unreviewed integrations and cross-tenant access by default. Microsoft’s guidance describes defining agent identity, scope, tool access, and auditability before expanding autonomy: Least privilege for AI agents with Microsoft Entra Agent ID.

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  • FAST & CONVENIENT LOGIN: Plug in your YubiKey 5C NFC via USB and tap it, or tap it against your phone (NFC), to authenticate. No batteries, no internet connection, and no extra fees required
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For workplace agents, assign an accountable identity

Give each organizational agent a distinct identity with a named owner and a documented purpose, environment, data access, and dependencies. Microsoft distinguishes autonomous agents from interactive agents and recommends choosing OAuth flows appropriate to the scenario, granting only necessary application permissions, and periodically auditing consent to catch permission creep. Because agents cannot complete interactive MFA controls, administrators should not assume user-targeted MFA policies apply to agent identities unchanged; use agent-specific access policies.

Require approval for consequential actions

When the platform provides the option, require confirmation before an agent sends email, makes a purchase, deletes data, or changes account or security settings. In ChatGPT workspace app controls, “Always ask” requests approval before the agent reads app information or makes changes. “Allow read actions” permits reads without asking but prompts before changes. Broader action settings allow more autonomy and therefore carry more risk. These controls are separate from the provider’s OAuth consent: changing an app’s action setting does not itself revoke the provider’s permission grant. Check both layers. See OpenAI’s workspace app-control guidance.

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Keep instructions narrow and inspect the action

Give the agent a defined task and boundaries instead of open-ended authority such as “review my emails and take whatever action is needed.” Third-party content in an agent’s context can contain malicious instructions intended to redirect its behavior. OpenAI calls this prompt injection and advises reviewing details before confirming consequential actions. Approval controls can reduce risk, but they do not guarantee every attempted injection will be blocked. Read OpenAI’s explanation of prompt injections.

Protect credentials and prepare to revoke access

Do not put API keys in prompts or ship them in client-side code. For development, OpenAI recommends environment variables; for GitHub Actions, it recommends GitHub secrets. Use separate keys for different features, teams, or projects, rotate them periodically, and monitor API usage and spending. Store credentials using the platform’s supported secret-storage mechanism and restrict which runtime components can retrieve them. OpenAI’s API key safety guidance covers these practices.

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Before authorizing a connection, locate the provider’s page for connected apps or OAuth grants and confirm how to disconnect or revoke consent. In an organization, the response plan may also need to disable the agent identity, rotate credentials, invalidate tokens, and remove stale permissions. A disconnect button inside an agent interface may not remove the provider’s existing consent. Microsoft recommends testing revocation paths so administrators know what the controls actually disable.

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Make agent actions visible

For organizational deployments, logs should let an investigator connect an action to the identity and access that enabled it. Capture the agent identity, effective scope, tool and action, affected resource, correlation ID, and any user on whose behalf it acted, where applicable. Review downstream authorization and application-permission logs as well as the agent’s own records. Recheck access when workflows, tools, data, or environments change: a chat transcript alone may not show the underlying actions needed to investigate misuse.

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  • FAST & CONVENIENT LOGIN: Plug in your YubiKey 5 via USB and tap it to authenticate. No batteries, no internet connection, and no extra fees required.
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Compare connection settings before you approve

Use these questions to compare an agent or connection method rather than relying on a single “secure” label:

  • Sign-in and recovery: Does the account support passkeys or hardware security keys, and can you recover access if a device is lost?
  • Permission scope: Can you choose read-only access or narrowly limit write, delete, and other actions?
  • Action approvals: Can you require confirmation for each high-impact action?
  • Separate permission layers: Can you inspect both provider OAuth consent and the agent’s own action controls?
  • Credential lifecycle: Where are credentials stored, how long do they last, and how can you rotate them?
  • Visibility and revocation: Do logs show underlying tool actions, and can you disable the agent and revoke connected access promptly?

A FIDO security key is an optional way to strengthen sign-in when the account provider and your devices support it; it does not replace least-privilege permissions, action approvals, or a revocation plan. OpenAI’s announcement names YubiKey C Nano and YubiKey C NFC in a bundle, while noting that other FIDO-compliant keys or software passkeys may also be used. Yubico describes its Security Key Series as hardware-based FIDO authentication.

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