System prompts aren't a security boundary: Reddit debates how much access AI agents should get
Putrid_Ad734 · reddit · 2026-10-27
A developer sparks a substantive discussion on agent permission design: workflows tend to start with read-only database access, then accumulate APIs, email, and MCP tools step by step—each addition reasonable until the agent can read sensitive data, modify records, or contact people.
Core argument: a system prompt cannot be the security boundary—if credentials grant access, telling the agent "don't access this" achieves little.
The author asks practitioners running agents beyond experiments which safeguards actually work (least privilege, auditing, tool-layer restrictions), drawing practical replies.
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