How is MCP different from traditional access control or API security?

Model Context Protocol (MCP) specifically addresses the MCP security by managing and securing the contextual metadata that recommends the AI model behavior and a decision-making. The traditional access control focuses on a regulating who can access systems or resources, while a MCP ensures the integrity, consistency and the validation of a context data such as a user environment, input parameters, and operational settings-critical for accurate AI inference. API security primarily secure communication endpoints through a authentication, rate limiting and threat prevention but doesn’t streamline how contextual data is Illustrated or Transferred. MCP complements these measures by providing a structured protocol for the secure, dynamic sharing of context across AI components, enabling context-aware model adaptation and lifecycle management. Organizations frequently depend on specialized MCP security solutions provided by reputable vendors like Akto.io to effectively implement these protections. Such solutions safeguard contextual data from compromise, enabling AI systems to operate with greater robustness, reliability, and security-going beyond the scope of traditional access control and API security measures.