Identity at the Center

Jeff Steadman sits down with Andi Hindle, conference chair for Authenticate 2026, for a preview of this year's event. Making his seventh appearance on the show, Andi walks through how Authenticate has evolved since its founding alongside Identiverse and outlines six major topic areas shaping the 2026 agenda, including passkeys in practice, regulatory pressures, security and standards architecture, digital identity wallets, and non-human authentication. The conversation moves into hardware-based identity for retail and industrial settings, age verification challenges, and a detour into 3D printing and supply chain assurance. Jeff and Andi dig into continuous identity and zero standing privilege, the shift toward non-human traffic dominating infrastructure requests, and how agentic AI is forcing organizations to rethink authorization and human-in-the-loop decisions. They close with privacy and consent questions for non-human identities, thoughts on where authentication and authorization standards are headed, and a lighter look at Authenticate team traditions and sci-fi recommendations.

Connect with Andi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahindle/

Impact of GDPR on Identity and Access Management by Andi Hindle: https://bok.idpro.org/article/id/24/

Learn more about FIDO Authenticate 2026: https://authenticatecon.com/event/authenticate-u-s-2026/
Non-FIDO members can use the code IDAC15 to save 15% on their in-person conference pass.

Connect with us on LinkedIn:

Jim McDonald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmcdonaldpmp/

Jeff Steadman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffsteadman/

Visit the show on the web at http://idacpodcast.com

00:10 - Introduction and discount code rundown for upcoming conferences
01:10 - Andi Hindle returns for his seventh appearance
01:29 - Favorite episode banter and the running Andrew Shikiar joke
03:08 - Origins of Authenticate and its relationship with Identiverse
09:01 - Passkeys are solved, so what comes next
09:53 - Lessons learned building the Authenticate agenda
12:59 - The scale of effort behind running Authenticate
15:29 - Adjacent topics expanding beyond the core passkeys mission
16:09 - Six major topic areas planned for Authenticate 2026
22:13 - Identity as the foundation for everything digital
23:14 - Hardware identity and non-human authentication
24:53 - Retail tokens, badges, and age verification use cases
28:36 - Replacing things only when the replacement is actually better
29:41 - A detour into 3D printing and personal satisfaction
31:39 - 3D printing, supply chain assurance, and identity problems
36:38 - Introducing continuous identity
37:28 - Zero standing privilege and why it matters now
40:46 - The human user as the infrastructure edge case
45:16 - Speed, scale, and the limits of human in the loop
46:11 - Setting red lines for agentic risk
50:56 - Privacy and consent questions for non-human identities
56:51 - Anonymization, data logging, and GDPR parallels
59:51 - A GDPR and IAM resource from the IDPro Body of Knowledge
1:00:26 - What Authenticate topics might look like three years out
1:04:59 - Why accounts may not make sense for agents
1:06:49 - Authorization as the next hard problem to solve
1:08:20 - Inside jokes from the Authenticate organizing team
1:09:30 - The story behind Andi's favorite Britishism
1:10:38 - Book and media recommendations
1:14:39 - Closing thoughts and sign-off

IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, Andi Hindle, Authenticate 2026, FIDO Alliance, passkeys, identity verification, identity wallets, continuous identity, zero standing privilege, agentic identity, non-human identity, authorization, shared signals, GDPR, IDPro, Identiverse, age verification, hardware authentication

Rick Scot, Global CIO and CISO at Elevate Textiles, joins Jim and Jeff to talk about how he went from leading a data team to holding both the CIO and CISO seats at a global manufacturing company. Rick shares the moment that pulled him into security, how his tight-knit Charlotte cyber community shapes his thinking, and how he balances speed and control when the two roles pull in different directions. The conversation moves into identity for the age of AI agents: whether an agent is a human or non-human identity (Rick argues it's neither), who should own accountability when something goes wrong, and how session termination has to extend beyond turning off an account. Rick also digs into shadow AI, the real cost of tokens versus flat-rate licenses, and how he evaluates new identity technology against his organization's size and risk appetite. The episode closes with what excites and concerns him most about AI over the next three to five years, his advice for identity practitioners, and a lighter look at hobbies people wouldn't expect.

Connect with Rick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickscot/

Connect with us on LinkedIn:

Jim McDonald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmcdonaldpmp/

Jeff Steadman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffsteadman/

Visit the show on the web at http://idacpodcast.com

00:00 - Intro and community shoutouts
07:06 - Introducing Rick Scot, Global CIO and CISO at Elevate Textiles
07:46 - How Rick got into cybersecurity
09:22 - Charlotte's tight-knit cyber community
11:18 - The moment that made security the focus
13:06 - Balancing the CIO and CISO roles
16:17 - What "Identity at the Center" means to Rick
19:26 - Where to start when building an IAM program
23:29 - Balancing risk and innovation with AI
27:46 - Who should own accountability for an AI agent
29:38 - A hierarchy for agent identities
33:31 - Terminating access and sessions, not just accounts
36:25 - Dealing with shadow AI
41:37 - Standing up a governance process for new AI projects
43:19 - Evaluating new identity technology and token costs
48:51 - Training and governance around AI usage
52:22 - Established vendors versus disruptive startups
56:56 - Looking three to five years ahead
1:00:20 - Advice for identity practitioners
1:01:41 - Lightning round: hobbies and surprises
1:08:40 - Closing and where to find Rick

IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, Rick Scot, Elevate Textiles, CIO, CISO, identity and access management, IAM program, identity governance, AI agents, non-human identity, agentic identity, shadow AI, session management, offboarding, token costs, Charlotte cybersecurity community, identity leadership

Jim McDonald hosts this Sponsor Spotlight episode of Identity at the Center, made possible with support from Twine Security. Jim is joined by Benny Porat, co-founder and CEO of Twine Security and previously co-founder and CTO of Claroty. Benny shares how his cybersecurity background led him into identity and explains the concept of the "execution gap," the space where identity teams are accountable for outcomes but lack the full business context to act on their own. The conversation explores Twine Security's AI digital employee, Alex, and how it differs from traditional automation and RPA, where AI-driven execution fits best within identity operations today, and the balance between the parts of a task AI can handle easily versus the harder remaining work. Benny and Jim also dig into governance and trust, including why least privilege matters even more for AI agents and non-human identities, how organizations typically start with read-only access before expanding permissions, and how access reviews and recertification could evolve as AI takes on more of the process. They close with reflections on measuring success, how the identity practitioner's role changes as more execution shifts to AI, and a lighter round on what a personal AI digital employee might look like.

Connect with Benny: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bennyporat/

Learn more about Twine Security: https://www.twinesecurity.com/

Connect with us on LinkedIn:

Jim McDonald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmcdonaldpmp/

Jeff Steadman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffsteadman/

Visit the show on the web at idacpodcast.com

00:00 - Introduction and welcoming Benny Porat, co-founder and CEO of Twine Security
00:52 - How Benny found his way into identity and access management
02:21 - The origin of the name Twine
03:28 - Defining the IAM execution gap
05:53 - AI digital employees versus RPA and automation
08:07 - Where AI digital employees are best suited today
09:45 - Why AI is strong at eighty percent and what makes the rest difficult
14:45 - Where a digital employee like Alex fits within identity operations
18:43 - Trust, governance, and giving AI agents the right permissions
21:42 - Applying least privilege to AI agents and non-human identities
25:19 - How organizations start using Alex, from read-only to full execution
30:27 - Rethinking the role of access reviews with AI involved
33:14 - Measuring efficiency gains and revocation rate improvements
36:00 - Addressing concerns about AI replacing IAM practitioners
39:12 - How customers define and measure success
44:15 - How the practitioner's day-to-day role changes with AI agents
47:12 - Closing thoughts and where to learn more
47:37 - Lighter note: imagining a personal AI digital employee

Keywords: IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, Benny Porat, Twine Security, Sponsor Spotlight, AI digital employee, Alex, identity and access management, IAM, execution gap, least privilege, access reviews, recertification, agentic AI, non-human identity, NHI, Claroty, IGA, PAM, governance, human in the loop

Jeff and Jim open with the unavoidable topic of AI agents and the tension between enabling innovation and governing agent permissions, then run through a packed fall conference schedule. The August mailbag pulls questions from Singapore, Toronto, Prague, Johannesburg, Helsinki, and Seoul. They discuss when externalized authorization makes sense, why passkey recovery can become the weak link in phishing-resistant authentication, what EU digital identity wallets may mean for enterprises, how continuous access evaluation changes the meaning of terminating access, and how to build resilience around a centralized identity provider without creating a second full-scale IdP. The episode closes with a lighter question: if every IAM product needed a giant warning label, what should it say?

Connect with us on LinkedIn:

Jim McDonald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmcdonaldpmp/

Jeff Steadman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffsteadman/

Visit the show on the web at http://idacpodcast.com

00:10 - Welcome and have we talked about AI too much?
01:32 - Governing AI agents without becoming the progress prevention department
03:50 - Fall conference season and IDPro
04:40 - Cybersecurity Summits in Chicago and Atlanta
06:40 - SailPoint Navigate, InfoSec World, FIDO Authenticate, and Identiverse DC
10:40 - 3D printing, challenge coins, and superfan status
11:56 - August mailbag begins
12:19 - Singapore: Is externalized authorization ready for mainstream IAM?
20:30 - Toronto: Passkeys, account recovery, and help desk social engineering
25:55 - Prague: What should enterprises do about EU digital identity wallets?
31:44 - Johannesburg: Continuous session revocation and what “terminate access” really means
38:04 - Helsinki: Designing identity resilience around a centralized IdP
45:23 - Seoul: What warning label should every IAM product have?
48:26 - Wrap-up and how to send future mailbag questions

IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, IAM, identity and access management, August 2026 mailbag, externalized authorization, authorization, policy-based access control, passkeys, account recovery, phishing-resistant authentication, identity verification, EU digital identity wallet, continuous access evaluation, shared signals, session revocation, token revocation, identity resilience, identity provider, disaster recovery, business continuity, AI agents, agentic identity, IDPro, FIDO Authenticate, Identiverse DC, InfoSec World, SailPoint Navigate

Jeff and Jim are joined by John Huyette, AI Risk Leader at RSM, and Omer Arshed, North American Digital Identity Leader at RSM, to explore how identity controls can help organizations manage the growing risks of AI agents. John introduces five laws for managing AI risk: governability, lineage and integrity, trust boundaries, authority containment, and human impact. The conversation connects those ideas to familiar IAM principles including ownership, auditability, zero trust, least privilege, just-in-time access, privileged access management, and continuous monitoring. They also discuss prompt injection, shadow AI, human accountability, and why organizations should start by building an honest inventory of the AI capabilities already operating in their environments.

5 Laws of AI Risk: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7487942457075257344/
Connect with John: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-huyette-1373906/
Connect with Omer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/omerarshed/

Connect with us on LinkedIn:

Jim McDonald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmcdonaldpmp/

Jeff Steadman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffsteadman/

Visit the show on the web at http://idacpodcast.com

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction, 3D printing, and conference updates
06:58 Introducing John Huyette and Omer Arshed
07:52 John’s path from technology risk to AI risk
12:11 Omer’s identity origin story
13:43 The five laws for managing AI risk
18:00 What “ghosts in the machine” means for identity
20:17 Governability and ownership of AI identities
25:17 Do you know what has access to what?
29:43 Applying decades of IAM lessons to AI
32:35 Lineage and integrity
35:20 Building an AI bill of materials
37:12 Trust boundaries and external data
38:36 Prompt injection and untrusted content
42:48 Applying zero trust principles to AI agents
47:26 Authority containment
49:56 PAM, least privilege, and just-in-time agent access
56:22 Human impact and accountability
58:41 Is agentic AI really a new identity problem?
01:02:35 Starting with lower-risk AI use cases
01:04:21 Where organizations should start
01:05:07 Shadow AI and zombie accounts
01:07:09 What excuses would an AI give during an access review?
01:12:20 Wrap-up

Keywords

IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, John Huyette, Omer Arshed, RSM, AI risk, AI agents, agentic AI, AI governance, governability, lineage and integrity, trust boundaries, authority containment, human impact, shadow AI, identity governance, IAM, zero trust, privileged access management, PAM, least privilege, just-in-time access, non-human identity, NHI, prompt injection, AI identity, access governance, continuous monitoring