Are AI agents the future of cybersecurity or a threat to human expertise? In this episode of the KuppingerCole Analyst Chat, Matthias Reinwarth talks with Alexei Balaganski, Lead Analyst and CTO at KuppingerCole, about the rise of AI agents and their potential to reshape the cybersecurity landscape.

They explore how autonomous AI systems could fill the cyber skills gap, automate incident response, and even act as digital coworkers in SOC environments. But how far can we trust them—and will humans still have a place in the loop?

Key topics covered:

✅ What AI agents really are—and how they differ from traditional automation
✅ The role of AI in SOCs, incident response, and threat detection
✅ Can AI agents help close the cybersecurity skills gap?
✅ Risks of rogue or “hallucinating” AI systems
✅ Why access governance and identity management are critical for AI agents
✅ The future of cybersecurity jobs in the age of automation