A gateway is a device (usually instantiated in software) that fronts both types of service. It handles authentication, rate limits, logging, monitoring, and access control. If MCP use grows, organisations need to know which AI tools are requesting data from which systems, what data they are allowed access to, and what actions they can perform on that data. A gateway can create a place to manage these types of controls.
However, as they operate at the network layer (arbitrating and recording data movement), they do not solve problems that emanate from the software layer (including LLMs, deterministic code, or user activity). In cybersecurity terms, they can be thought of as a firewall: useful in certain contexts, but like firewalls, they can be circumvented, represent a single point of failure, and might give a false sense of security. MCP and API gateways are arguably perimeter defences, that will not reliably prevent data-related incidents. These are still possible when caused by software, either deterministic, ‘traditional’ code or an LLM.
(Image source: Pixabay under licence.)
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