# Backslash Security Knowledge Hub

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## Languages

Content is available in: en.
Each entry below is tagged with its language in [brackets]; pages are language-specific originals, not translations of each other.

## Comparisons

- [15 Criteria for Approving AI Plugins on Employee Laptops](https://www.backslash.security/learning/15-criteria-for-approving-ai-plugins-on-employee-laptops) [en]: Approving an AI plugin means checking provenance, identity, permissions, execution rights, data destinations and auditability before the component ever runs.…
- [A 30-Day Plan to Stand Up AI Plugin Vetting](https://www.backslash.security/learning/a-30-day-plan-to-stand-up-ai-plugin-vetting) [en]: A 30-day vetting plan runs in three stages: discover what employees already run, decide what is approved, then enforce those decisions on the endpoint.…
- [Allowlist vs Denylist for AI Skills: The Real Trade-Offs](https://www.backslash.security/learning/allowlist-vs-denylist-for-ai-skills-the-real-trade-offs) [en]: An allowlist approves a named set of Agent Skills and refuses the rest; a denylist permits by default and blocks components already assessed as risky.…
- [How an AGENTS.md File Becomes an Attack Path](https://www.backslash.security/learning/how-an-agents-md-file-becomes-an-attack-path) [en]: An AGENTS.md rules file hands an AI coding agent standing instructions on every run; anyone able to write to the repository can rewrite them. Instructions…
- [How to Approve AI Skills Without Slowing Developers Down](https://www.backslash.security/learning/how-to-approve-ai-skills-without-slowing-developers-down) [en]: Approve Agent Skills through continuous discovery and allowlisting on the endpoint, instead of routing every request through a ticket queue. A Skill is often…
- [How to Shortlist Endpoint AI Visibility Tools in 2026](https://www.backslash.security/learning/how-to-shortlist-endpoint-ai-visibility-tools-in-2026) [en]: Set shortlist criteria before vendor names: discovery depth, risk assessment, enforcement point, and the audit record a tool leaves behind. Ask each…
- [How to Vet an MCP Server Before You Approve It Internally](https://www.backslash.security/learning/how-to-vet-an-mcp-server-before-you-approve-it-internally) [en]: Vetting an MCP server means checking publisher provenance, the tools it exposes, credential scope, data destinations, and behavior once an agent connects.…
- [What a Security Review of an AI Agent Skill Should Cover](https://www.backslash.security/learning/what-a-security-review-of-an-ai-agent-skill-should-cover) [en]: A Skill review covers its instruction text, file and shell reach, the identity it runs under, its provenance, and whether its activity is recorded. Agent…
- [What an AI Agent Audit Trail Must Capture for the EU AI Act and DORA](https://www.backslash.security/learning/what-an-ai-agent-audit-trail-must-capture-for-the-eu-ai-act-and-dora) [en]: An agent audit trail must record the full causal chain: prompt, agent, model, Skill or MCP server, tool calls, identity, data touched, outcome. EU AI Act…
- [Why AI Agent Skills and Plugins Are a Security Risk](https://www.backslash.security/learning/why-ai-agent-skills-and-plugins-are-a-security-risk) [en]: Agent Skills and plugins are executable instructions that run with the employee's own identity and permissions, usually installed with no security review. A…

## Guides

- [Five Mistakes Security Teams Make When Vetting AI Plugins](https://www.backslash.security/learning/five-mistakes-security-teams-make-when-vetting-ai-plugins) [en]: Most AI plugin review fails at install time, then never revisits the agents, MCP servers, Skills, hooks and rules files that change afterward. An Agent Skill…
- [How Often Should You Re-Vet AI Skills After They Update?](https://www.backslash.security/learning/how-often-should-you-re-vet-ai-skills-after-they-update) [en]: Re-vet an AI Skill on every version change, not on a calendar — a Skill is editable instructions that execute with the user's permissions. Backslash…
- [How to Build Allowlist and Denylist Policies for AI Agents on Employee Endpoints](https://www.backslash.security/learning/how-to-build-allowlist-and-denylist-policies-for-ai-agents-on-employee-endpoints) [en]: Allowlist and denylist policies for AI agents only work on top of a live inventory of what employees actually run. Approve components by publisher,…
- [How to Design an Intake and Approval Workflow for AI Plugins](https://www.backslash.security/learning/how-to-design-an-intake-and-approval-workflow-for-ai-plugins) [en]: An AI plugin intake and approval workflow is a documented path from request, through security assessment, to an allowlist decision and continuous…
- [How to Scan an AI Skill for Risk Before Developers Install It: A Pre-Install Review Guide for Security Teams at AI-Heavy Engineering Organizations](https://www.backslash.security/learning/how-to-scan-an-ai-skill-for-risk-before-developers-install-it-a-pre-install) [en]: Treat an Agent Skill as executable code: review its instructions, scripts, commands, and reachable credentials before any developer installs it on an…
- [Why AGENTS.md Files Belong in Your AI Vetting Process](https://www.backslash.security/learning/why-agents-md-files-belong-in-your-ai-vetting-process) [en]: A rules file such as AGENTS.md carries standing instructions an AI agent reads on every run, executing with the employee's own identity and access. Backslash…

## Insights

- [Denylist, Sandbox, or Block Inline: How to Choose a Control for AI Plugins on Endpoints](https://www.backslash.security/learning/denylist-sandbox-or-block-inline-how-to-choose-a-control-for-ai-plugins-on) [en]: Denylisting refuses known-bad components before load; sandboxing limits blast radius; inline blocking stops a specific agent action in the moment before…
- [Hooks, Rules Files and Connectors: The Vetting Blind Spot on Every Endpoint](https://www.backslash.security/learning/hooks-rules-files-and-connectors-the-vetting-blind-spot-on-every-endpoint) [en]: Hooks, rules files and connectors carry standing instructions nobody reviewed, and they never show up in MDM inventories or process-level endpoint telemetry.…
- [How to Build an Allowlist of Approved AI Agent Skills: A Playbook for Security Teams in AI-Heavy Organizations](https://www.backslash.security/learning/how-to-build-an-allowlist-of-approved-ai-agent-skills-a-playbook-for-security) [en]: An Agent Skill is packaged instructions and scripts that extend an AI agent, often a single markdown file running with the employee's own permissions. Build…
- [How to Find Shadow AI Agents on Employee Endpoints](https://www.backslash.security/learning/how-to-find-shadow-ai-agents-on-employee-endpoints) [en]: Shadow AI agents are AI agents, MCP servers and Skills employees install on work machines without approval, often authenticating with personal accounts.…
- [How to Set Per-Team AI Plugin Policies by Risk Profile](https://www.backslash.security/learning/how-to-set-per-team-ai-plugin-policies-by-risk-profile) [en]: A per-team AI plugin policy ties the strictness of agent extension rules to what each team's agents can actually reach. Start with inventory: agents, MCP…
- [What Makes a Third-Party AI Plugin Risky on Employee Laptops?](https://www.backslash.security/learning/what-makes-a-third-party-ai-plugin-risky-on-employee-laptops) [en]: A third-party AI plugin inherits the employee's identity, permissions and access, so it can reach whatever systems, repositories and credentials that person…
- [What to Ask Before Approving a New MCP Server](https://www.backslash.security/learning/what-to-ask-before-approving-a-new-mcp-server) [en]: Before approving a new MCP server, establish ownership, the credentials it inherits, the tools it exposes, data destinations, and post-approval traceability.…