Identity Security at Identiverse 2026: Navigating AI, Agents, and Emerging Threats – IDV26 #1
- - Introduction – Cyber Risk TV at Identiverse 2026
- - Identity at the Center of Modern Cybersecurity
- - AI Agents, Machine Identities, and Shadow AI Risks
- - Deepfakes, Account Takeovers, and Emerging Attack Paths
- - Old Security Problems in New Forms (D&D Analogy)
- - Gaps in Tools, Processes, and Operational Support
- - Acceleration, Scale, and the Need for Practical Guidance
- - Closing Thoughts – Preparing for the Identity Security “Adventure”
The Human Authorized. The Agent Acted. Who’s Accountable? – Howard Ting – IDV26 #1
- - Introduction – Identiverse 2026 & Guest Introduction (Howard Ting, Opal Security)
- - AI and Agents Take Center Stage in Identity Security
- - Governing Human vs Non-Human Identities at Scale
- - What’s Different About AI Agents vs Service Accounts
- - Autonomy, Accountability, and Limits of Human-in-the-Loop Models
- - When Human Approval Breaks Down at Scale
- - Runtime Authorization and Continuous Access Decisions
- - Why Identity Needs AI to Manage AI
- - AI-Assisted Access Reviews and Reducing Review Fatigue
- - From Bulk Approvals to Risk-Based Human Judgment
- - Entitlement Models for AI Agents and Future Directions
- - CISO Reality: Discovery First, Control Later
- - Identity Inventory Challenges Repeating in the AI Era
- - Agent Drift, Intent, and Security Guardrails
- - Closing Thoughts – Early Market, Rapid Evolution
Howard Ting is the CEO of Opal Security, where he leads the company’s mission to make identity governance and access management understandable, safe, and scalable in the AI era. He began his career at RSA Security over 25 years ago, working on identity management long before it was a mainstream priority, and has since built and led cybersecurity companies including Palo Alto Networks and Cyberhaven, where he served as CEO for five years and grew the company to over $1 billion in valuation.
Howard brings deep expertise at the intersection of AI and identity—specifically how organizations must govern not just human access but the growing swarms of AI agents operating on their behalf. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley.
From Sales Engineer to Forward Deployed Engineer: The Rise of Hybrid Technical Roles – Jaime Lewis-Gross – IDV26 #1
- - Introduction – Identiverse 2026 & Guest Setup (Saviynt Solutions Engineering)
- - Shifting SE Role from Demos to Business Outcomes
- - Forward-Deployed Engineering and Fast Customer Feedback Loops
- - AI’s Role in Modern Sales Engineering and Efficiency
- - Customer Pain Points: Visibility into AI Agents and Risk
- - Extensibility, Active Listening, and Customer Problem Solving
- - Real-World Example: Manufacturing, Supply Chains, and Agent Risk
- - Measuring Success in Sales Engineering Teams
- - Turning Customer Discovery into Actionable Insights
- - Needs vs Wants in Security Buying Decisions
- - CISO Priorities: Risk, Budget, and Business Alignment
- - Beyond AI: Modernization and Tool Consolidation
- - Avoiding Shelfware and Maximizing Existing Investments
- - Build vs Buy in the Age of AI and Automation
- - Will AI Replace SE Work? Efficiency vs Human Expertise
- - Why Human Experience Still Matters in Security Decisions
- - AI as a Catalyst for Faster Cross-Team Collaboration
- - Closing Thoughts – Humans + AI Working Together
Jaime Lewis-Gross is the Senior Vice President of Solutions Engineering at Saviynt, where she leads technical strategy and the Solutions Engineering organization supporting enterprise identity security initiatives. She partners with customers and executive leadership to help organizations modernize identity governance while advancing AI-driven approaches to identity governance, risk & security.
Stop Identity Fraud: Modern Strategies for Insurance and Healthcare – Kim Brown – IDV26 #1
- - Introduction – Identiverse 2026 & Guest Introduction (LexisNexis Risk Solutions)
- - AI’s Dual Impact on Identity Fraud (New vs Enhanced Attacks)
- - Fraudsters Using AI as a Force Multiplier
- - Why Defense Requires AI + Layered Security
- - Identity Lifecycle vs Single Credential Thinking
- - Insurance Fraud Lifecycle – Real-World Attack Paths
- - Why Insurance & Healthcare Are Targeted for Data
- - Cross-Industry Fraud Sharing & Collaboration Needs
- - Authentication Evolution: Passkeys & Risk-Based Friction
- - Adaptive Authentication and Balancing UX vs Security
- - Risk-Based Authentication and Customer Experience
- - Selling Fraud Prevention: Security vs UX Tradeoffs
- - AI as a Force Multiplier for Attackers and Defenders
- - Deepfakes, Liveness Checks, and Identity Verification
- - Insider Risk: Hiring Fraud & Synthetic Employees
- - CISO Concerns: Internal Identity Risk Expanding
- - Identity Lifecycle Security Across the Enterprise
- - Maturity Model: Breaking Silos in Fraud Programs
- - Enterprise Identity Visibility and Cross-Team Alignment
- - Key Takeaway – Layered Risk-Based Identity Security
Kim Brown is VP of Product Management and has been with LexisNexis Risk Solutions since 2015. She currently leads teams responsible for the identity solutions focused on identity verification, authentication and risk assessment, the prefill solutions focused on improving consumer experience and the product performance group focused on setting best practices and standards for our insurance and healthcare product management organization.
Previously, Kim held analyst roles at a top P&C carrier focused on customer acquisition and the online customer experience. Kim earned her bachelor’s degree in math and statistics from Morgan State University, has a master’s in financial mathematics from Purdue University and earned her master’s in business administration from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.
Governing Agentic AI in the Age of Non-Human Identities – Amit Masand – IDV26 #1
- - Introduction – Identiverse 2026 & IBM Express
- - How Identity Conversations Have Changed Over 15 Years
- - Non-Human Identities (NHI) and AI Take Center Stage
- - Why AI Agents Are Different from Traditional Service Accounts
- - Securing AI Agents Against Hallucinations and Malicious Behavior
- - Agent Swarms, Behavior Monitoring, and Risk Management
- - Human Oversight in a 24/7 AI Agent World
- - Workflow Management and Agent Access Governance
- - CISO Challenges: Prevention vs Incident Response
- - Why Traditional Security Roadmaps No Longer Work
- - Preparedness and Governance for Agentic AI
- - Adapting Existing Governance Models to AI Agents
- - Advice for Organizations Starting Their AI Journey
- - Common Mistakes in AI Adoption and Budget Planning
- - AI Spending, Token Costs, and Risk Management
- - Consolidation Coming to the AI and NHI Market
- - Looking Ahead to the Future of Identity Security
Amit Masand, Founder and CEO of IDMEXPRESS, a USA-based company delivering AI-enabled identity security solutions and 24×7×365 managed services to organizations worldwide, across industries. With nearly two decades of expertise in Identity & Access Management, Amit has built his career at the forefront of the cybersecurity industry — working alongside some of the most recognized names in the IAM space and developing a strong foundation in both the technical and business dimensions of identity security.
That journey eventually led him to take a leap of faith. In 2023, Amit founded IDMEXPRESS with a simple but powerful belief — that every organization, regardless of size, deserves access to world-class identity security without compromise. Since then, he has grown IDMEXPRESS into a trusted partner for enterprises, built on a culture of responsiveness, innovation, and real relationships with clients. For Amit, this isn’t just about business— it’s about the people and services behind it, and making sure they can operate with confidence and security every single day.
Making Enterprise AI Agents Accountable – Amir Ofek – IDV26 #1
- - Intro
- - The Meaning Behind Azone’s Name
- - Launching the Azone Platform at Identiverse
- - Enterprise AI Agents vs Coding Agents
- - Why CISOs Fear Business Logic Agents
- - Treating AI Agents Like Employees
- - Hybrid Identity and Agent Context
- - Why Intent Matters in AI Security
- - Understanding Intent Drift
- - Fine-Grained Controls for AI Agents
- - Agent-to-Agent Identity Chains
- - What Mature AI Agent Security Looks Like
- - Discovery, Inventory, and Identity for Agents
- - Monitoring Intent Changes Over Time
- - Offboarding AI Agents and Ownership
- - Closing Thoughts
Amir is CEO of aizome, which he co-founded earlier this year. Prior to that Amir was the CEO of AxoniusX, an innovation business unit of Axonius, where he led the launch of the Axonius SaaS Management product in the SSPM domain, and the Axonius Identities product in the IVIP domain. Amir was also CEO of Alcide, Kubernetes security company acquired by Rapid7, and before that the CEO of CyberInt, Threat Intelligece company, which was acquired by Checkpoint. Amir is an angel investor and former board member in a few cybersecurity startups, including Seraphic (acquired by Crowdstrike) and Zecops (acquired by Jamf). Amir also held various roles as VP at Amdocs, including Chief of Staff to the CEO, and VP CBE for the Singtel Group account.
He received his MBA from INSEAD (J06), and has BSc (Cum Laude, Dean’s List) in Industrial Engineering and Management from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.
Next Evolution of Identity Security: AI for Lower Cost, Efficiency & Governance – Ajay Gupta – IDV26 #1
- - Introduction with Ajay Gupta at Identiverse 2026
- - Why Identity Platforms Struggle to Deliver Full Value
- - How AI and Agents Are Changing Identity Security
- - AI for Identity vs Identity for AI
- - The Risk of AI Agents Running Amok
- - Identity Security, AI Security, and Governance Converge
- - Governance and Accountability for AI Agents
- - AI Agents, Malicious Insiders, and Governance Challenges
- - Machine-Speed Threats and Just-in-Time Privileges
- - AI Defenders, ITDR, and Detecting Anomalous Behavior
- - Preventative Governance and AI-Driven Security
- - Discovery, Ownership, and Governance Explained
- - Preparing for the Agentic AI Onslaught
- - How AI Is Helping Security Teams and SOCs
- - Final Thoughts on Identity Security Visibility
Ajay Gupta is the CEO of SDG Corporation and Executive Chairman of TruOps. He leads strategic initiatives in AI, Identity, Threat, and Risk and oversees global operations. Ajay advises Fortune 500 clients and mentors startups, driving innovation at the intersection of business and technology. He also serves as a Governor appointed member on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Lottery Corporation.
Agentic AI Has an Identity Problem – Itamar Apelblat – IDV26 #1
- - Introduction with Token Security CEO at Identiverse 2026
- - Defining the Challenge: Securing AI Agents
- - Why AI Agents Need a Dedicated Security Program
- - Why Agents Differ from Machine and Human Identities
- - Rethinking Least Privilege for AI Agents
- - Goal-Based, Dynamic Access for Agents
- - Scope Control: Preventing Over-Privileged Production Agents
- - Risks of Prompt Injection and Admin-Level Access
- - Shadow AI: The New Shadow IT Problem
- - Three Types of AI Agents in Organizations
- - Discovering Shadow AI Across the Enterprise
- - Endpoint Monitoring for Local AI Agents
- - Applying Cloud Identity Lessons to AI Agents
- - Why Traditional IGA and PAM Don’t Scale for Agents
- - Explosion of Agent Scale and Complexity
- - Policy Definition and Automated Enforcement
- - Moving from Centralized to Decentralized Identity Control
- - SaaS Vendors and Embedded AI Agents
- - Measuring Success in Agent Governance Programs
- - Agent Lifecycle Management and Automation
- - Agent Debt and Orphaned AI Systems
- - Secrets Exposure in Agent-Driven Environments
- - Why Security History Is Repeating with AI Agents
- - Shifting Focus: From What AI Says to What AI Does
Itamar Apelblat is the Co-Founder and CEO of Token Security, with over 15 years of technical and leadership experience in cybersecurity. A second-time entrepreneur, he previously co-founded a successful fintech startup and served as an officer and R&D group manager in Israel’s elite Unit 8200, where he led cutting-edge cybersecurity initiatives. Itamar has deep experience building enterprise-grade security solutions and works closely with CISOs to tackle complex identity and infrastructure challenges; like agents already running in their environments, often without visibility, governance, or any clear owner, and helps them build the foundation to secure them before the next incident.
Who Is Responsible for an AI Agent’s Actions? – Neha Duggal – IDV26 #1
- - Introduction and identity platform value problem
- - Why identity platforms underdeliver in enterprises
- - AI impact on attackers and identity systems
- - Economics of agent scale and licensing concerns
- - Convergence of identity, AI security, and governance
- - Human ownership and accountability for agents
- - Governance shifts: machine speed and least privilege
- - AI for defense and identity detection/response
- - Preventive governance and just-in-time access
- - Discovery, ownership, and identity inventory value
- - What maturity looks like for agent security programs
- - AI helping security operations and identity workflows
Neha serves as Chief Product Officer at P0 Security and has deep expertise in cloud security and SaaS. She brings extensive leadership experience from roles at Obsidian Security, Lacework, and Elastic, where she drove product strategy for complex, data-driven platforms and led high-impact teams across product, design, and go-to-market functions. Neha holds an MS in Information Technology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
The Three Identity Problem: Surviving Identity Security’s Chaotic Era – John Pritchard – IDV26 #1
- - Introduction and “three identity problem” concept
- - Human, non-human, and agentic identity distinction
- - Why agents differ from traditional non-human identities
- - Goal-driven behavior and unintended outcomes
- - Identity shift from authentication to authorization
- - Authorization and intent-based policy challenges
- - Shadow AI and uncontrolled agent creation
- - Orphaned and ownerless agents problem
- - Context as the core security challenge
- - Breaking down organizational data silos
- - Identity as a “context system” problem
- - Determinism vs non-determinism in agents
- - Human-in-the-loop and AI-assisted policy decisions
- - Defense-in-depth policy layers across systems
- - Convergence of security functions (IAM, SOC, governance)
- - Misunderstanding agents as “human equivalents”
- - Need for agent specialization and policy differences
- - CISO role, board-level alignment, and governance strategy
Dr. John Pritchard is Chief Executive Officer of Radiant Logic, the identity security platform trusted by 30% of the Fortune 500 and 60% of U.S. Cabinet-level agencies. He stepped into the CEO role in January 2025 after joining Radiant Logic in 2022 as Chief Product Officer, where he led the company’s evolution from a virtual directory provider into an AI-driven Identity Security Posture Management platform that unifies, observes, and acts on human, non-human, and agentic AI identities.
John is the architect of the Three Identity Problem framework, the uncontrolled inheritance chain that forms across human, non-human, and agentic AI identities in the modern enterprise. His work reframes identity security as an observability problem and is shifting the center of gravity from authentication to authorization, governance, and lifecycle across the full identity chain.
Prior to Radiant Logic, John held senior product and engineering roles at Okta, Adobe, and IBM. Under his leadership, Radiant Logic was recognized in three Gartner categories in 2025, including Identity Visibility and Intelligence Platforms and AI for Access Administration, and earned Gold in the 2026 Globee Cybersecurity Awards (IAM) and Silver in the 2026 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards (ISPM). He holds a Ph.D. in Innovation Management from the University of Denver and is a frequent Forbes contributor on identity security and zero trust architecture.
Everyone Wants an AI Assistant. Few Are Ready to Govern One – Cassie Christensen – IDV26 #1
- - Introduction & shadow AI context
- - AI agent adoption in organizations
- - Visibility and discovery challenges
- - Ownership and accountability of agents
- - Inventory and identity management issues
- - When agents become “employees”
- - Governance limits and scalability challenges
- - Organizational failure patterns in identity programs
- - People, process, and tooling gaps
- - Foundations of identity governance
- - Intent and emerging security questions
- - Frameworks and evolving agent models
- - Closing thoughts on governance and risk
Cassie Christensen is a seasoned identity security practitioner who specializes in revitalizing broken programs by prioritizing people and processes over technology. Known for turning complex strategy into executable action, she excels at building stakeholder trust and navigating organizational ambiguity to align business needs with security goals. Beyond solving technical challenges, Cassie is dedicated to empowering other practitioners, using her hands-on experience to help teams overcome operational hurdles and drive meaningful, community-wide change in the identity space.
Blended Identities and the challenge of IAM for AI – David Goldschlag – IDV26 #1
- - Introduction & AI framing
- - Why agents are different from software
- - Delegation and risk model
- - Enterprise agent deployment example (Claude + MCP)
- - Core problem: over-privileged agents
- - Attribution, audit, and insider-like behavior
- - Granular access control problem
- - Scaling identity & policy for agents
- - CISO adoption strategy & governance
David Goldschlag is the co-founder and CEO of Aembit. He is an experienced security entrepreneur, having previously co-founded New Edge Labs (Zero Trust Network Access) and MobileSpaces (mobile security). He has held prior roles as VP at Netskope (which acquired New Edge Labs), SVP Strategy & CTO at Pulse Secure (which acquired MobileSpaces), VP for Mobile at McAfee (which acquired Trust Digital), and CTO of USinternetworking. Early in his career, David worked at the NSA. At the Naval Research Laboratory, he co-invented Onion Routing, which later became Tor. David holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin.
Identiverse 2026 Wrap-Up: Keep Your Agents Secure – IDV26 #1
- - Identiverse 2026 Wrap-Up & Closing Remarks
- - Key Themes: Agentic AI & Identity Security
- - Conference Recap & Takeaways from Interviews
- - Thanks to Sponsors & On-Site Team
- - Looking Ahead to Identiverse 2027
- - Final Message: Keep Your Agents Secure
