GLOSSARY

Agentic AI security, defined.

Short, plain-English definitions of the terms we use. Each one links to a page that goes deeper.

TERM 01

Agent Execution Control Switch

A control AI builders add to their agents that verifies every action before it runs, and the agent has no influence over the decision.

How the control switch works

TERM 02

Agent Security Context Graph

The Agent Security Context Graph is a security context graph for AI agents: everything relevant to a single agent action, across six dimensions and 29 signals, assembled outside the agent before the action runs, so the agent cannot edit it.

Explore the security context graph for AI agents

TERM 03

Goldilocks zone

The placement for agent security beside the agent, in the execution path: not inside the agent, and not at the gateway.

Why placement matters

TERM 04

Response ladder

The set of responses Ackuity chooses from for each agent action, scaled to severity and confidence: Allow, Constrain, Human in the loop, Block and Terminate.

See each step of the ladder

TERM 05

Neurosymbolic detection

Detection that combines rules, behavioral baselines and small language models, correlated across steps, to judge an agent action in real time.

How detection works

TERM 06

Credential holding

A deployment option in which Ackuity holds the agent’s tokens and runs each approved action on its behalf, so the agent never handles the credentials.

When to use credential holding

TERM 07

AI agent kill switch

A control that stops an AI agent before it causes harm. Most kill switches stop the whole agent; a control switch acts on each action and keeps termination for catastrophic cases.

What is an AI agent kill switch?

TERM 08

Agent sandbox

An isolated environment, such as a container or virtual machine, that limits what an agent process can reach. NVIDIA OpenShell is one example.

What is NVIDIA OpenShell?

TERM 09

Sidecar

Ackuity’s open source component that runs in the agent’s pod and checks every action, with traffic rerouted by an init container and no change to agent code.

How the sidecar deploys

NEXT STEP

See the terms in action.

Show us the agents you run, and we’ll walk you through how Ackuity checks their actions.

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