At Oracle AI World 2026 in Las Vegas, autonomous AI agents, intelligent applications, and enterprise transformation dominated the conversation. Yet one topic stood out: the growing importance of database security as AI reshapes enterprise risks. AI is accelerating cyberattacks while introducing new risks within enterprise systems. Autonomous agents can access sensitive information, generate SQL, invoke tools, and execute transactions. Some operate with excessive privileges and limited human oversight. Traditional application-level controls and perimeter defenses are no longer sufficient. Enterprises must embed security, trust, and resilience into their data foundations.

Two Oracle presentations reinforced this urgency. In “Data Security for the AI Era: Defending Against AI-Powered Threats,” Vipin Samar outlined three principles: secure at speed, secure at the source, and secure through resilience.…