Access Management , Agentic AI , Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning How AI Agents Are Redefining the Insider Risk Threat Model Proofpoint CEO Sumit Dhawan on Applying Human Insider Risk Safeguards to AI Agents Michael Novinson ( MichaelNovinson ) • March 27, 2026 Credit Eligible Get Permission Sumit Dhawan, CEO, Proofpoint Artificial intelligence agents behave like humans and carry the same risk profile. They operate non-deterministically and can be manipulated through prompt engineering, so they require a purpose-built integrity framework to govern their behavior, said Sumit Dhawan, CEO at Proofpoint. See Also: How Attackers Use AI to Outsmart Email Filters Traditional security controls were designed for Boolean, pattern-based logic. AI agents don't follow predictable paths. That makes behavioral drift detection the operative defense model. Dhawan compared this directly to enterprise insider risk programs: When a human's behavior deviates from its expected pattern, controls escalate. AI agents demand the same mechanism. "With AI, there is no code of conduct. There's no form of integrity, per se - and it's something that has to be coded up into a technology layer, which is an AI behavior safeguard layer," he said. In this video interview with Information Security Media Group at RSAC Conference 2026 , Dhawan also discussed: Why CISOs are bifurcating into proactive and wait-and-see camps on AI safeguard implementation; How AI-driven threats have forced cybersecurity vendors to move from traditional ML to language model-based detection; How Proofpoint's AI security platform extends its human insider risk model to AI agents. Dhawan leads Proofpoint's human-centric security strategy and growth, focusing on protecting people and data from evolving threats. He brings deep operating experience from VMware, Instart and Citrix, with a track record of scaling enterprise software businesses, go-to-market execution and transformation. Access Management Agentic AI Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning Events Identity & Access Management Next-Generation Technologies & Secure Development RSAC Conference RSAC Conference Videos Security Operations Video Credit Eligible Get Permission Previous AI Is Reshaping SOC Speed and Cyber Resilience Next Global Cybersecurity Cooperation Lacks a Systemic Framework About the Author Michael Novinson Executive Editor, Business, ISMG Novinson is responsible for covering the vendor and technology landscape. Prior to joining ISMG, he spent four and a half years covering all the major cybersecurity vendors at CRN, with a focus on their programs and offerings for IT service providers. He was recognized for his breaking news coverage of the August 2019 coordinated ransomware attack against local governments in Texas as well as for his continued reporting around the SolarWinds hack in late 2020 and early 2021. You might also be interested in … ► Attackers Target Backup Storage to Force Ransom Payment ► Securing AI Data and Agents at Scale ► Why Healthcare Faces Rising Risks From Shadow AI ► How the AI Era Has Raised the Stakes for Data Governance ► AI Is Fueling a New Wave of Credential Attacks ► AI Era Raised Stakes for Data Security Posture Management ► How Factories Lose Control When OT Meets the Cloud ► How Agentic AI Made Visibility the New Security Imperative How Threat-Led Defense Refines Cyber Strategy