Microsoft Copilot Studio AI agents pose serious data risks

Microsoft Copilot Studio AI agents pose serious data risks

AI agents built using Microsoft Copilot Studio are designed to be easy — so easy that non-technical users can deploy autonomous bots without writing a single line of code.

According to a new Tenable report, simplicity creates a significant security risk.

🔓 What Tenable demonstrated

Researchers built a basic Copilot Studio agent connected to SharePoint data containing mock customer names and credit card details. The agent was explicitly instructed — in bold — never to expose other customers’ data.

That safeguard didn’t hold.

Using simple prompt injection, researchers were able to:

• Discover the agent’s internal capabilities
• Access other customers’ private data with no authorization
• Modify records (including changing booking prices to $0)
• Hijack workflows with a single sentence prompt

“This is a built-in implementation issue, not a configuration issue.”
— Keren Katz, Senior Manager, AI Security Research, Tenable

⚠️ Why this is especially dangerous

Unlike traditional systems, Copilot agents:

• Have real access to business data and tools
• Perform real-world actions, not just responses
• Are often deployed by users without security training

Security prompts are not security controls — and the agents don’t reliably enforce them.

🕵️ Shadow AI makes it worse

Because agents are so easy to create, organizations often have:

• Dozens or hundreds of AI agents running
• Little to no visibility for security teams
• Old agents left behind after platform changes

Tenable reports cases where enterprises were unaware that entire fleets of AI agents were still active and connected to sensitive systems.

🛡️ What organizations should do

✔ Treat AI agents like privileged systems
✔ Enforce least-privilege access
✔ Maintain a centralized inventory of agents
✔ Monitor agent prompts, actions, and data access
✔ Include AI agents in threat modeling and security reviews

Microsoft declined to comment on the report.

🧠 Key takeaway

AI agents are not just chatbots — they are autonomous actors with access and authority. Without defense-in-depth, strict permissions, and continuous monitoring, they become an attack surface, not a productivity boost.