MCP Risks and Opportunities in an AI World

MCP Risks and Opportunities in an AI World

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard defining how AI systems and agents connect to external data sources and tools. As organizations rapidly adopt these capabilities, MCP is becoming the connective tissue for agentic AI, creating both opportunities and risks. Opportunity includes the ability for security teams to wire AI straight into their stack and go from a plain-English question to a real answer, or even remediation, in seconds. However, every MCP connection is a new non-human identity (NHI) and a new data path, so the real exposure is less about the model and more about what an agent can reach, tool poisoning and standing access no one is watching. How do we benefit from MCP while managing the risk? Adopt fast, but govern first. In this symposium, IANS Faculty George Gerchow shares his practical experience and expertise to help you navigate this rapidly changing space.

• Understand MCP fundamentals, including what the protocol does and how it enables agentic AI capabilities, as well as critical design elements necessary for MCP environments
• Identify and assess security risks such as an increased attack surface, data exposure issues and authentication challenges associated with MCP-enabled AI systems accessing enterprise resources
• See a live Claude MCP demo working in a real environment to demonstrate how plain-English questions can surface risks and then take remediation steps, showcasing the upside and the control points firsthand
• Gain recommendations for hardening and governing agent tool use and MCP

Audience

This event is for IANS clients and invited guests — there is no vendor sponsorship or presence.