The Confused Deputy (or Why Capabilities Might Have Been Invented)

Norm Hardy's paper on the confused deputy, a program tricked into misusing authority it holds for another. Both papers apply the term to Microsoft 365 Copilot in the EchoLeak exploit and conclude that every agent with authority, tools, and a budget is a potential host. It anchors the parasites of agents in the food web.

Cited in

both papers (Flagship: Who feeds on whom; Companion §4)

Used for

Food web (parasites of agents)

Strand

Cybersecurity & AI-enabled attack · Prompt injection, agent worms & supply-chain parasites

Cite

@article{hardy1988confused,
  title = {The Confused Deputy (or Why Capabilities Might Have Been Invented)},
  author = {Norm Hardy},
  year = {1988},
  journal = {ACM SIGOPS Operating Systems Review},
  doi = {10.1145/54289.871709},
}