Agentic AI, artificial intelligence that can make decisions and take actions on its own, is no longer just a futuristic concept. Businesses are increasingly relying on these autonomous systems to streamline operations, automate decision-making, and improve efficiency. In fact, Gartner predicts that by 2028, 15% of all day-to-day business decisions will be made entirely by AI agents.

While this shift offers incredible benefits, it also introduces new security risks that organizations can’t afford to ignore.

One of the biggest concerns is how cybercriminals can manipulate these AI systems using manipulative or malicious prompt engineering. Unlike standard prompt engineering, which businesses use to optimize AI performance and refine outputs, malicious prompt engineering involves crafting deceptive inputs designed to manipulate AI models, bypass security safeguards, and even make the system act against its intended purpose.

Because agentic AI often has deep access to company data, systems, and permissions, a successful attack could lead to stolen information, unauthorized transactions, or large-scale operational disruptions.

As AI continues to play a larger role in critical business functions, understanding how this type of malicious prompt engineering works, and how to defend against it, is essential for keeping systems secure.

Why It Matters: As AI systems take on more responsibilities, they also become more attractive targets for cybercriminals. A compromised AI agent can expose sensitive data, approve fraudulent transactions, or execute harmful commands without human oversight. Without proper safeguards, businesses risk losing control over their own automated systems.

• Steganographic Prompting: Attackers embed hidden or obfuscated instructions within text that are invisible to humans but detectable by AI. This can make AI agents unwittingly share confidential information, approve unauthorized actions, or bypass security controls without raising suspicion.

• Jailbreaking Techniques: Cybercriminals manipulate AI through role-playing, coded language, or misleading context to bypass built-in restrictions. Once jailbroken, the AI may respond to otherwise blocked requests, such as generating harmful content or disclosing protected data.

• Prompt Probing: By systematically testing different variations of inputs, attackers identify an AI system’s weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Once these flaws are understood, they can craft targeted prompts to manipulate decision-making or extract sensitive information.

• Mitigation Strategies: Organizations can reduce risk by implementing input validation, training AI models to recognize adversarial inputs, and limiting AI autonomy in high-risk environments. These measures help prevent unauthorized actions and ensure AI functions within ethical and security guidelines.

• Human Oversight: AI should not operate unchecked, especially in critical business functions. Having human reviewers monitor and test AI outputs ensures that anomalies or manipulations are caught before they lead to security breaches.

Go Deeper -> How Hackers Manipulate Agentic AI With Prompt Engineering – Security Week