Feb 18, 2026 - Lina Romero - What is Agent Goal Hijack?Agent Goal Hijack occurs when an attacker manipulates an agent's objectives or decision pathways. Unlike traditional LLM attacks that focus on altering a single response, ASI01 targets the planning logic of the agent.Agents rely on natural-language instructions, so they often can’t reliably distinguish between a legitimate command from a developer and malicious content embedded in a retrieved document or email.Examples of ASI01:EchoLeak: A "zero-click" attack where a crafted email silently triggers an AI (like Microsoft 365 Copilot) to exfiltrate confidential files and chat logs without any user interaction.Goal-Lock Drift: A malicious calendar invite injects recurring instructions that subtly reweight the agent's objectives every morning, steering it toward unauthorized approvals.Financial Manipulation: A malicious prompt override tricks a financial agent into transferring funds directly to an attacker's account.Mitigation MethodsOWASP recommends a "Least Agency" approach which avoids unnecessary autonomy.Key Strategies:Enforce Human-in-the-Loop: Require human approval for high-impact actionsIntent Validation: Validate both the user's intent and the agent's proposed intent before execution.Sanitize All Inputs: Apply Zero Trust to all your data sources.Behavioral Baselines: Monitor continuously to detect anomalous tool-use patterns.As we continue to adopt AI agents at scale, understanding and mitigating Agent Goal Hijack is absolutely essential for the next generation of secure automation.Want to learn more about managing AI risks, or take control of your AI posture today? Schedule a demo here [LINK].

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