OWASP MAESTRO: A New Era in AI Security

Aaron Walls

February 17, 2025 • 5 min read

As AI systems continue to evolve, so do the threats they face. And nowhere is this more evident than in multi-agent environments—complex systems where AI agents communicate, collaborate, and sometimes compete to achieve goals. These aren’t simple, standalone models. They are intricate webs of autonomous entities interacting across layers of infrastructure and logic.

At ZioSec, we’ve made it our mission to secure these systems, but traditional frameworks just weren’t cutting it. We needed something tailored to the messy, unpredictable world of agentic AI. Enter OWASP MAESTRO, a framework built from the ground up for securing multi-agent systems.

The Rise of Multi-Agent Systems

We’re no longer in a world where AI models operate in isolation. Today’s AI deployments feature multiple agents working together—coordinating tasks, sharing data, and even making autonomous decisions. It’s exciting. But it’s also risky. Each agent, each connection, each shared tool introduces new vulnerabilities. And while governance frameworks have made strides, offensive security in this space has lagged behind. MAESTRO changes that.

Why MAESTRO Matters

OWASP MAESTRO (Multi-Agent Environment, Security, Threat, Risk, and Outcome) provides a structured approach to uncovering vulnerabilities in these environments. It's not just a checklist; it’s a comprehensive methodology that considers every layer of an agentic system—from the models themselves to their interactions, tools, and even the surrounding infrastructure.

Think of MAESTRO as the bridge between theory and practice. Where governance frameworks set the rules of the road, MAESTRO helps us drive the car at high speed, testing every curve and bump along the way. It lets us attack the system as a whole, not just individual components.

How ZioSec Uses MAESTRO

When we deploy MAESTRO at ZioSec, we’re not simulating attacks—we’re launching them. We probe the entire ecosystem, looking for weak points across different layers:

Maybe it’s a tool misuse scenario—where an agent’s API keys or system permissions are exploited through subtle prompt manipulation. Or perhaps it’s a case of intent manipulation, where agents are steered off-mission without raising alarms. Sometimes, the issue is cross-agent interference, where one compromised agent cascades its failure into others, spreading like a digital contagion.

MAESTRO helps us uncover these threats, map out their pathways, and measure their potential blast radius. And because we align this testing with frameworks like MITRE ATLAS and ATT&CK, our findings are not only actionable but industry-aligned.

The Bigger Picture

We’re living in a world where AI agents aren’t just augmenting human workflows—they’re replacing them. In finance, healthcare, defense, and beyond, these agents make decisions that matter. But with that power comes responsibility. It’s not enough to assume these systems are secure. You have to prove it.

That’s where offensive security comes in. That’s where ZioSec, powered by OWASP MAESTRO, helps enterprises turn unknown risks into known, manageable ones. We give you the evidence you need to move forward with confidence.