Zero Trust for AI Agents in the Cloud

This article discusses the application of zero trust security architecture to AI agents operating in cloud environments. It explains why traditional zero trust models fail for autonomous agents, highlighting issues like shared service credentials and machine-speed verification. The guide covers practical security controls based on frameworks from OWASP, Cloud Security Alliance, and NIST, along with compliance requirements for Australian enterprises under ACSC, Essential Eight, Privacy Act, APRA, and EU AI Act. It emphasizes managing agents as independent identity categories and adapting access controls for agentic AI in 2026.