How to Pass Your AI Agent Security Review: A Step-by-Step Guide

How to Pass Your AI Agent Security Review: A Step-by-Step Guide

Security review is the final gate between your AI agent and production. Most teams fail it the first time—not because their system is insecure, but because they're unprepared.

This guide walks you through exactly what reviewers look for and how to prepare.

Understanding the Review Process

What Security Teams Actually Do

Security reviewers aren't trying to block you. They're trying to:

1. Understand the risk — What could go wrong?
2. Verify controls — How do you prevent or mitigate issues?
3. Document the decision — Create evidence for compliance/audits

Your job is to make their job easy. Give them clear answers and evidence.

The Three Outcomes

Most first-time submissions get "not approved"—usually due to missing documentation, not actual security flaws.

Before the Review: Preparation

Step 1: Complete Your Documentation

Security teams make decisions based on documentation. Prepare:

Architecture Document

• System diagram showing all components
• Data flow showing what goes where
• Trust boundaries showing what's inside/outside security perimeter

Control Documentation

• Authentication: How users prove their identity
• Authorization: How permissions are enforced
• Encryption: What's encrypted, how
• Logging: What's logged, how long retained
• Incident response: How you'll respond to problems

Risk Assessment

• Assets: What's valuable/sensitive
• Threats: What could go wrong
• Mitigations: How you prevent/detect/respond

Step 2: Complete the Self-Assessment

Before they review you, review yourself:

Step 3: Gather Evidence

Claims need proof:

During the Review: The Conversation

Common Questions and How to Answer

"Walk me through the architecture"

User Request
    ↓
Gateway (Authentication)
    ↓
Tenant Isolation Layer
    ↓
AI Agent Runtime (Sandboxed)
    ↓
Egress Controls
    ↓
External APIs (Allowlisted only)

Point out security boundaries. Explain what's isolated from what.

"What data does this process?"

Be specific:

• User prompts (text, potentially sensitive)
• LLM API keys (highly sensitive)
• Connected account tokens (OAuth tokens for Slack, etc.)
• Conversation history (may contain sensitive info)

Don't minimize. They'll find out anyway.

"What happens if an attacker gains control?"

Walk through the worst case:

1. "If compromised, the attacker could..."
2. "However, they're limited by..."
3. "We would detect this through..."
4. "Our response would be..."

Show you've thought about it.

"Show me the audit logs"

Have a sample ready:

{
  "timestamp": "2026-01-31T14:22:33.456Z",
  "session_id": "sess_abc123",
  "action": "tool_call",
  "tool": "send_email",
  "user": "user@company.com",
  "status": "success"
}

Explain what's logged and how long it's retained.

"How do we stop this if something goes wrong?"

Demonstrate the kill switch:

• Show the command or button
• Explain what happens when triggered
• Show how to resume safely

Common Failure Points

Failure #1: Vague Documentation

Bad: "We implement security best practices" Good: "Authentication uses 256-bit token auth with 24-hour expiry, rate-limited to 10 requests/minute per token"

Be specific. Vague claims raise red flags.

Failure #2: Missing Threat Analysis

Bad: "We don't think that's a realistic threat" Good: "This threat is mitigated by X, Y, and Z. Residual risk is accepted because..."

Acknowledge threats, even if mitigated.

Failure #3: No Incident Response

Bad: "We'd figure it out if something happened" Good: "Our incident response procedure is: 1) Kill switch 2) Notify security 3) Preserve logs 4) Investigate"

Have a plan. Practice it.

Failure #4: Overpromising

Bad: "Our system is unhackable" Good: "We've implemented these controls to reduce risk to acceptable levels"

No system is perfect. Mature security acknowledges limitations.

The Security Review Cheat Sheet

Prepare These Documents

1. Architecture diagram — Visual overview of the system
2. Data flow diagram — What data goes where
3. Control matrix — List of security controls and evidence
4. Risk assessment — Threats and mitigations
5. Incident response plan — What to do when things go wrong

Know These Answers

Have This Evidence Ready

• Sample audit log export
• Screenshot of authentication flow
• Network diagram with allowlist
• Kill switch demonstration
• Encryption configuration

Using Managed Hosting for Easier Reviews

Why Managed Services Pass Easier

Security reviewers trust established managed services because:

1. Pre-built controls — Security already implemented
2. Documentation — Vendor provides evidence
3. Accountability — Vendor shares liability
4. Updates — Security patches handled

What Clawctl Provides

You still need to document your specific usage, but the infrastructure security is pre-documented.

Sample Answer Using Clawctl

Reviewer: "How is authentication handled?"

You: "We use Clawctl's gateway authentication, which implements 256-bit token auth on all connections. Here's their security documentation describing the implementation. Our users authenticate through our application, which then uses the Clawctl API with our tenant token."

After the Review: Follow-Up

If Approved

1. Document the approval (date, approver, scope)
2. Schedule periodic reviews
3. Maintain documentation as system changes

If Approved with Conditions

1. Document the conditions
2. Create a plan to address each
3. Schedule follow-up review
4. Implement changes
5. Provide evidence of completion

If Not Approved

1. Don't panic—this is common
2. Document specific concerns raised
3. Create remediation plan
4. Address each concern with evidence
5. Resubmit when ready

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does security review take?

With good preparation: 1-2 weeks. Without preparation: months.

Can I deploy while waiting for review?

Usually not for production. You might get approval for a non-production pilot.

What if they ask for something impossible?

Discuss alternatives. Security teams usually have flexibility on how to meet requirements, even if the requirements themselves are firm.

Do I need to hire a security consultant?

Not always. With good documentation and a managed service, you can often pass review yourself. For complex systems or strict compliance, a consultant helps.

The Bottom Line

Security reviews aren't obstacles—they're opportunities to validate your work.

To pass:

1. Document everything
2. Be specific, not vague
3. Acknowledge threats
4. Show evidence
5. Have a plan for incidents

To pass easily:

1. Use managed services with pre-built controls
2. Inherit their security documentation
3. Focus your documentation on your specific usage

Deploy with security documentation included → | Enterprise compliance features →