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Introduction

Agentic Security and Trust Reference Architecture or ASTRA for short is the first vendor‑neutral reference architecture for the security and governance of agentic AI. ASTRA provides a shared language, control model, and assurance approach so organizations can design, evaluate, and operate agentic systems with predictable risk, clear accountability, and measurable outcomes. It delineates the roles of identity, trust, policy‑as‑code, collaboration controls, and observability, and specifies how these capabilities compose into an enterprise‑ready control plane for agents and their tools.

Executive summary

The promise of agentic AI—autonomous intelligent systems that can reason, plan, and act independently—represents the next frontier in enterprise automation. Yet as organizations rush to harness this transformative technology, a dangerous chasm has emerged between AI capabilities and enterprise security infrastructure.

ASTRA (Agent Security and Trust Reference Architecture) addresses this critical gap by providing the first comprehensive, vendor-neutral reference architecture for securing agentic AI systems. ASTRA defines an Agent Security Control Plane that enables secure tool access, policy-driven governance, comprehensive audit trails, and multi-agent collaboration while maintaining compatibility with existing enterprise infrastructure.

This whitepaper introduces the ASTRA framework, its core principles, architectural pillars, and interfaces. It directly addresses the security gaps identified in our comprehensive analysis of current industry limitations [1], providing a standardized approach to implementing zero-trust security, dynamic trust management, and policy-driven governance for multi-agent AI systems.

Key problems ASTRA addresses: - Inadequate access control mechanisms that force binary all-or-nothing privileges - Compliance and audit gaps with insufficient immutable audit trails
- Multi-agent coordination challenges without secure communication frameworks - Enterprise integration barriers preventing adoption in regulated environments

Scope

ASTRA focuses on runtime governance of agent behavior, tool access, agent‑to‑agent collaboration, auditability, and evidence collection. It defines decision inputs (identity, trust, context, risk), expected outcomes (allow, deny, constrain with reasons), and the telemetry and lineage required for transparency and forensics. The architecture intentionally complements—rather than replaces—model, data, and prompt security, and integrates with existing IAM, policy engines, gateways, and monitoring systems already present in enterprise stacks.

##### In scope - Agent Security Control Plane: Comprehensive framework for securing agent-to-tool and agent-to-agent interactions - Policy-Driven Governance: Standardized policy evaluation and enforcement mechanisms - Enterprise Integration: Seamless integration with existing IAM, SIEM, and compliance infrastructure - Multi-Protocol Support: Native support for Model Control Protocol (MCP) and extensibility for other protocols - Regulatory Compliance: Built-in support for SOX, GDPR, HIPAA, and other regulatory frameworks

Design Philosophy

ASTRA sits as a control and assurance layer that is framework‑agnostic and standards‑aligned. It is designed to: - Integrate with enterprise identity (e.g., OAuth 2.1/OIDC), policy engines (e.g., OPA/Rego), and tool planes (e.g., MCP) without prescribing specific vendors or models. - Provide clear control points for decisions across agent interactions and collaborations, while remaining complementary to traditional "inside‑out" safeguards on models and data. - Support incremental adoption: organizations can begin with observability and policy evaluation, and progressively add trust‑aware orchestration, collaboration controls, and compliance evidence over time. - Future‑proofing: designed to scale from 1 agent to 100; the same control points, decision model, and evidence structures apply as you grow.

How to use this document

  • Executives (CIO/CISO): Read Sections 1–2 for intent and context, then 18 (Adoption & Maturity) and 19 (GRC Mapping) for governance alignment. Optional: skim 8 (Identity, Trust, Attestation) for risk posture.
  • Architects: Focus on Sections 3–5 (definitions, principles, architecture overview), then 11 (Threat Model) and 14 (Interoperability & Standards). See Appendix F for the detailed layered model and control points.
  • Implementers/Operators: Use Sections 13 (Deployment & Ops), 15 (Implementation Patterns incl. 15d Anti‑Patterns), 16 (Validation Methodology), 17 (Controls Catalog), and 18a (Pilot‑to‑Production Checklist) for practical rollout and testing.