skills

Least-privilege permissions

• Grant each skill only the specific permissions it needs to function—if a skill only reads data, don't give it permission to delete or modify
• Review what accounts or systems each skill can access before enabling it; restrict it to those specific systems rather than granting broad access
• Regularly audit (check) active skills to remove ones no longer in use, reducing potential damage if a skill is compromised
• Use separate, limited credentials for skills rather than sharing high-privilege passwords or API keys across multiple tools

Network isolation

• Deploy skills in a restricted environment that cannot freely communicate with your internal networks unless absolutely necessary
• If skills need to connect to external services, use firewalls or network rules to limit which external websites or APIs they can reach
• Avoid running skills on the same servers as critical business systems; isolate them so a compromised skill cannot spread to sensitive infrastructure

Monitoring

• Log (record) all actions each skill performs, including what data it accesses, what external systems it contacts, and any errors that occur
• Set up alerts to notify your team immediately if a skill behaves unusually, such as accessing data it shouldn't or contacting unexpected external services
• Periodically review skill activity logs to spot patterns of suspicious behavior before serious damage occurs

Red flags to watch for

• Skills that request broad permissions or access to multiple unrelated systems—be skeptical and ask why they need such wide access
• Community-contributed skills lacking clear documentation or recent updates; verify the code is safe before using in production (a live business environment)
• Skills that ask for passwords, API keys, or credentials directly in prompts rather than using secure credential management systems
• Unexpected network traffic or external connections originating from where a skill is running