NICT and MITRE to Host AI Breach Challenge 2026 on Email Agent Security
NICT and MITRE will hold the AI Breach Challenge 2026: Email Agent Security competition in the United States in December. The event focuses on security validation of AI agents used for email-related business tasks.
The competition invites participants to explore security challenges and attack surfaces in AI agents that handle email reading, writing, and integration with related workplace tools. Teams will operate from an isolated environment provided by the organizers and attempt to trigger unintended agent behavior or access protected information.
The venue is George Mason University in Virginia. The competition runs on December 16 and 17, 2026, local time, as a 24-hour team event for groups of two to four people. On-site presence is required at the start and end of the competition, while remote participation is allowed during other periods. Fully remote participation is not permitted.
Registration is open via a dedicated website where participants can review rules and eligibility requirements. NICT intends to use the competition outcomes to assess the practical effectiveness and limitations of AI agent security controls and to inform future research and development efforts.
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