AI Agent Risk Checklist

Define the job

• Write the goal and stopping condition in plain language.
• List the tools and data the agent genuinely needs.
• Prefer deterministic automation where the task is already deterministic.

Restrict authority

• Apply least-privilege permissions.
• Require confirmation for irreversible, financial or external actions.
• Separate test and production credentials.

Observe behaviour

• Log tool calls, actions and important intermediate decisions.
• Test malformed inputs, unavailable tools and conflicting instructions.
• Measure failure recovery, not just successful demo runs.

Plan recovery

• Make actions reversible where practical.
• Define a human escalation route and kill switch.
• Re-test after model, prompt, tool or permission changes.

Evidence behind this checklist

• Department for Science, Innovation and Technology · AI Adoption Research · 2026-02-13 · Primary source
• UK Government · Code of Practice for the Cyber Security of AI · 2025-01-31 · Primary source

How evidence is selected and checked