# AI agent authentication, rooted in a verified human. > Every AI agent answers to a verified employee. Hawcx checks each tool call before it runs, holds sensitive actions for approval and records every attempt. Markdown version of . Last updated 2026-10-07. Give every AI agent an identity tied to a real person, and check every tool call before it runs. ## Agents act on borrowed keys. And the model steering them can be tricked. Hawcx is an AI agent authentication platform. Every agent, governed or not, passes one checkpoint before it touches your systems. [Why OAuth isn't enough for AI agents](https://www.hawcx.com/blog/why-oauth-isn-t-enough-for-ai-agents) ## Find every agent. Even the ones no one registered. Hawcx Discovery finds the agents that can reach your systems and flags each one governed or ungoverned. Governed agents have an identity rooted in an employee. Ungoverned agents are enrolled, or denied by default. ## An identity for every agent. Rooted in an accountable employee. Each agent’s identity is derived from the employee it works for. That person signs in with [Hawcx passwordless](https://www.hawcx.com/passwordless) or your identity provider, such as Okta or Microsoft Entra ID. The agent never holds that person’s credentials, and never gets more than that person’s reach. - **Agents your employees use**: Through Hawcx Manager, identity comes from the person using it. - **Agents your teams build**: Owned by a named employee and governed in Hawcx. Teams keep their own interfaces. - **Agents Discovery finds**: Enrolled with an owner, then treated like the rest. Hawcx can check only the traffic that passes a point you control: this gateway, your network egress or a managed device. Anything without a valid identity is denied there. ## One gateway for all agent traffic. Or keep yours, with the Authorizer behind it. The Hawcx Gateway is built on [agentgateway](https://agentgateway.dev), a Linux Foundation project. It sends model calls to any provider, hosted or open source, and every tool call, MCP included, to the Hawcx Authorizer. ## Every tool call, checked before it runs. Two questions, asked outside the model. Before a tool call executes, the Hawcx Authorizer checks two things: a valid identity rooted in an employee, and an action within this agent's ceiling, the most your policy lets it do. [AI agent authorization](https://www.hawcx.com/ai-agents/authorization) - **1 · Identity**: Rooted in an employee? - **2 · Ceiling**: Within this agent’s ceiling? 1. **Allowed**: Within the ceiling, so it runs. 2. **Held for approval**: A sensitive action your policy routes to a person. 3. **Rejected**: Valid identity, but the action exceeds the ceiling. 4. **Denied**: No identity, so it is blocked by default. The model can be tricked. Enforcement does not depend on it. Nothing to steal. Credentials are issued per call and never stored in any agent. [AI agent authorization on every tool call](https://www.hawcx.com/ai-agents/authorization) ## Sensitive actions wait for a person. Everything else keeps moving. Your policy decides what counts as sensitive, such as a production deploy, a large refund or a contract. The agent waits while a named person sees the exact request and the reason it was held, then approves, edits, rejects or holds it. [Human approval for sensitive agent actions](https://www.hawcx.com/ai-agents/approvals) ## Every attempt, on the record. Allowed or denied, with a name attached. Hawcx records every outcome, each tied to the agent and the employee it answers to, including attempts by agents with no identity. Records flow to your SIEM and dashboards, and every permitted action carries a signed receipt. Every record, allowed or denied, is sent to your SIEM and dashboards. ## Govern every agent from one console. Policy, classes, kill switch and revocation. The Hawcx Admin Console is one control plane for every agent. Set policy, provision agents and group them into agent classes. When something goes wrong, stop what you need from one place. - **Stop one agent**: The kill switch stops it without touching the rest. - **Stop a person's agents**: Revoke the person, and every agent they own is locked out. - **Limit a whole group**: An agent class gives many agents one ceiling. ## Fits the agents you already run. MCP, CrewAI, OpenShell and any model. Hawcx builds on OAuth 2.1 and the Model Context Protocol, and works alongside your identity provider. Your agents keep their frameworks and keep reaching CRM, ERP, HR and finance, Microsoft 365, SaaS and internal apps. - **MCP**: Authenticate MCP clients and check every tool call. - **[CrewAI](https://www.hawcx.com/news/hawcx-crewai-partnership)**: Every tool call passes an authorize-then-act check. - **[OpenShell](https://www.hawcx.com/news/extending-openshell-with-hawcx-for-action-based-authorization-for-agents)**: The sandbox bounds where an agent can go. Hawcx decides what it may do there. - **Any model**: Any provider, hosted or open source. - [Read the docs](https://docs.hawcx.com) - [Extending OpenShell with Hawcx](https://www.hawcx.com/news/extending-openshell-with-hawcx-for-action-based-authorization-for-agents) - [Authorization Belongs Below the Agent](https://www.hawcx.com/news/hawcx-crewai-partnership) ## Questions, answered. - [Security and trust](https://www.hawcx.com/security) - [Pricing](https://www.hawcx.com/pricing) - [Docs](https://docs.hawcx.com) ### How does Hawcx authenticate AI agents? Hawcx gives every AI agent an identity derived from an accountable employee, then checks each tool call against that identity and the agent's ceiling before it runs. The employee signs in with Hawcx passwordless or your identity provider, such as Okta or Microsoft Entra ID. Credentials are issued per call and never stored in the agent. ### What should an AI agent authentication platform cover? The whole agent lifecycle: find every agent, tie each one to an accountable person, check every tool call before it runs, hold sensitive actions for approval, record every attempt and stop any agent from one place. Hawcx is built around that sequence, from discovery to governance. ### Which AI agents does Hawcx govern? Three kinds: agents employees use through Hawcx Manager, custom agents your teams build, and orphaned or rogue agents with no Hawcx identity. The first two carry an identity rooted in an employee, and your teams keep their own interfaces. Agents without an identity are discovered and enrolled, or denied by default. ### What happens when an AI agent makes a tool call? The call passes through a gateway to the Hawcx Authorizer, which checks two things before it runs: a valid identity rooted in an employee, and an action within the agent's ceiling. There are four outcomes: allowed, within the ceiling; held for approval, a sensitive action your policy routes to a person; rejected, a valid identity but an action that exceeds the ceiling; and denied, no identity, blocked by default. Every attempt is recorded. ### Can a prompt-injected agent get past Hawcx? Not beyond its ceiling. The Authorizer checks every tool call outside the model, so a tricked model can ask for anything, but only actions within the agent's ceiling run, and sensitive ones still wait for a person. Credentials are issued per call and never stored in the agent, so a compromised agent holds no standing secret to steal. ### Can Hawcx stop an AI agent it has never seen? Yes, when the agent's traffic passes a point you control, such as the Hawcx Gateway, your network egress or a managed device. There, Hawcx denies any call without a valid identity, and Hawcx Discovery finds the agent so you can enroll it or keep it blocked. An agent that never passes such a point is out of reach, which is why the gateway sits where all agent traffic must go. ### Which model providers and gateways does Hawcx work with? Any model provider, hosted or open source, because Hawcx checks the agent's tool calls, not the model. The Hawcx Gateway is built on agentgateway, an open-source Linux Foundation project, and sends model calls to your providers and tool calls to the Authorizer. If you already run a gateway, the Authorizer runs behind it. ## Give every agent a human it answers to. See it on your own agents. - [Hawcx for enterprise](https://www.hawcx.com/enterprise) - [Passwordless for your people](https://www.hawcx.com/passwordless) - [Security and trust](https://www.hawcx.com/security)