#440 - Identiverse 2026 - Mike Kiser

Recorded live at Identiverse 2026, Jeff and Jim sit down with returning guest Mike Kiser, Director of Strategy and Standards at SailPoint, for a wide-ranging conversation that spans two of the standards world's most active frontiers. The first half breaks down C2PA, the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity, explaining how it differs from digital watermarking, how metadata and cryptographic signatures build a chain of custody for media, and why this work connects directly back to identity. The conversation then shifts to AI agents and the challenge of defining and governing intent, with Mike drawing an extended analogy to the early, under-regulated days of space exploration. The episode closes with reflections on the value of hallway conversations and community at Identiverse.Connect with Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-kiser/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.com00:00 Introduction from Identiverse 202601:00 Mike previews his two Identiverse talks01:35 What C2PA is and how chain of custody works06:51 Watermarks versus C2PA explained10:06 Why content provenance matters for identity14:22 Is C2PA a standard or a working group16:23 The SpaceX and space debris analogy for agent intent20:13 Governing agent publishing without stifling innovation22:00 Action Identification Theory and the how versus the why27:47 Can an AI actually have intent32:34 Why people humanize and fall in love with chatbots38:37 The case for locking down intent early39:39 Does intent change, or is it a new intent46:19 Favorite hallway conversations at Identiverse51:03 Wrap up and where to find MikeIDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, Mike Kiser, SailPoint, C2PA, Content Provenance and Authenticity, Identiverse 2026, Shared Signals Framework, AI Agents, Agentic Identity, Digital Watermarking, Decentralized Identity Foundation, Intent-Based Access Control

This Sponsor Spotlight episode, made possible with support from Tuebora, features Jim McDonald in conversation with Sanjay Nadimpalli, CEO and founder of Tuebora. Sanjay shares his path into identity beginning as one of the first engineers at Aveksa, then discusses how intelligence is reshaping identity governance and administration by replacing static configuration with continuous, context-aware decision making. The conversation covers the concept of governance debt, how AI can interpret organizational intent expressed in natural language, and where human oversight remains essential. The discussion also explores governance of agentic identities, including how they differ from traditional service accounts, the challenges posed by their ephemeral and dynamic nature, and the policy-driven frameworks needed to manage them. Sanjay closes with a reflection on what identity practitioners should be thinking about for the next few years.Connect with Sanjay: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjaynadimpalli/Learn more about Tuebora: https://www.tuebora.com/idacConnect 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.com00:00:00 - Introduction and welcome00:00:56 - How Sanjay got into identity00:02:40 - Full circle moment with Deepak Taneja and Zilla00:03:05 - What Tuebora does00:04:14 - The story behind the name Tuebora00:05:20 - Can intelligence replace configuration00:10:05 - Why static configuration falls short today00:14:52 - Customer frustrations with legacy environments00:21:09 - Comparing this to everyday AI tool use00:23:31 - How intelligence drives outcomes00:28:42 - Maintaining security control alongside AI00:32:38 - The orchestra analogy for AI and human roles00:35:28 - Introducing agentic identity governance00:36:10 - Why agentic identities differ from service accounts00:42:20 - The scale problem of agentic identities00:44:00 - Building a framework for agent governance00:47:35 - Closing advice for identity practitioners00:52:06 - Where to find Tuebora nextIDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, Sanjay Nadimpalli, Tuebora, Sponsor Spotlight, identity governance, IGA, agentic identity, AI agents, governance debt, explainability, IAM, access governance, non-human identity, Aveksa, continuous governance, identity governance and administration

Recorded live at Identiverse 2026 in Las Vegas, Jeff sits down with Decoded co-host Sean O'Dell for a wide-ranging state of the union on continuous identity, shared signals, and the identity questions AI keeps raising. Sean shares what he is hearing on the ground about the upcoming transaction tokens spec, why continuous identity has moved from concept to mainstream adoption, and how shared signals are expanding into commerce. The conversation shifts to AI: the real cost of securing it, why model provenance matters, and the murky question of who is on the hook when an AI agent makes an expensive or harmful decision on your behalf. They debate companion agents, consent versus power of attorney, and whether the identity industry even owns this problem. Sean closes with a simple piece of advice for anyone feeling overwhelmed by AI right now.Connect with Sean: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanodentity/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.comTimestamps:00:00 Intro and a Decoded update00:44 Transaction tokens spec preview01:51 State of the union on continuous identity03:39 The questions organizations are asking04:34 Is it still all about the data05:07 Shared signals framework moving into commerce06:40 Is AI a fad at Identiverse this year07:11 The real cost of securing AI08:00 Model provenance and indemnity09:39 IAM for AI versus AI for IAM10:18 Trusting agents to act without oversight14:51 Assigning authority to the who and the what16:13 The cruise booking example and who is on the hook20:16 Companion agents, consent, and power of attorney23:00 Does the identity industry own this problem25:00 Relationship and intent as the real issue28:03 Could an insurance market emerge for agentic AI29:18 An access review scenario gone wrong30:41 Small specialized language models for identity tasks32:11 Favorite hallway conversations at Identiverse36:05 Wrap up and words of wisdom on AI FOMOKeywords: IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, Sean O'Dell, Decoded, Identiverse 2026, continuous identity, transaction tokens, shared signals framework, agentic AI, AI security, model provenance, IAM, digital identity, identity and access management

Live from the IDAC booth at Identiverse 2026, Jeff and Jim sit down with Pam Dingle, Director of Identity Standards at Microsoft, to unpack agentic identity. Pam breaks down assistive versus autonomous agents, walks through where standards like SPIFFE and OAuth hold up, and explains the difference between delegation, impersonation, and partition. The conversation also covers credential discovery risk, shared signals and revocation, what enterprises should prioritize now, and the value of hallway conversations at Identiverse.Connect with Pam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pameladingle/OAuth Actor Profile for Delegation: https://www.ietf.org/archive/id/draft-mcguinness-oauth-actor-profile-00.htmlConnect 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.comTimestamps:00:00 Intro and Identiverse 2026 vibes04:01 Defining agentic identity07:06 Has the earth really shifted11:38 An old problem thats been bejeweled15:13 From Nulli Secundus to Microsoft16:00 How standards are holding up19:27 Client ID metadata and just in time trust21:41 Shared signals and the revocation problem24:43 Deploying agentic identity at scale28:11 Registries at scale29:04 Delegation authorization and attenuation32:33 Delegation vs impersonation vs partition36:03 The one thing you can fix right now37:56 Favorite hallway conversation42:29 The solar system of hallway conversations45:51 Remembering Kim Cameron48:00 New voices to watch52:08 Wrap up and thank youKeywords: IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, Pam Dingle, Pamela Dingle, Microsoft, Identiverse 2026, agentic identity, agentic AI, non-human identity, delegation, impersonation, SPIFFE, OAuth, identity standards, IAM, digital identity, workload identity

In this Sponsor Spotlight episode, Jeff Steadman flies solo and welcomes Greg Danyi, co-founder and CTO of P0 Security, to the show. Greg walks through P0's approach to runtime access control, covering how it applies to humans, non-human identities, and AI agents alike. The conversation digs into the difference between authentication and authorization, why zero standing privilege is more achievable now than before agentic adoption took hold, and how dynamic, evidence-based policies can reduce reliance on manual approvals. Greg also shares real examples, including row-level access control for data lakes and a CRM mishap that shows how easily agents can misinterpret intent. The episode closes with a look at where enterprise AI agent governance may be headed over the next few years, plus a lighter conversation about explaining IAM to a 10-year-old. This episode is made possible through the generous support of P0 Security as part of IDAC's nonprofit Sponsor Spotlight series. Learn more at p0.dev/idac.Connect with Greg (Gergely): https://www.linkedin.com/in/gergely-danyi/Learn more about P0: https://p0.dev/idac/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.com00:00 - Introduction and sponsor acknowledgment01:13 - Greg Danyi's path into IAM02:18 - What P0 Security solves for03:21 - Where P0 fits versus PAM and IGA04:46 - Agentic identity as a driver of adoption05:27 - MCP servers and unpredictable agent actions07:10 - Defining runtime access control08:50 - How authentication and authorization work together09:07 - Standing access versus expressed intent10:16 - Zero standing privilege in practice12:27 - Agentic identity as a distinct identity class19:24 - Automated evidence for approvals20:42 - Walking through a support agent example22:13 - Row-level access control for data lakes23:35 - Dynamic roles explained29:55 - CRUD risks and underestimated concerns31:32 - Human intent and giving agents clear direction36:32 - Where enterprise AI agent governance is headed39:36 - Advice for CIOs and CISOs getting started41:15 - Explaining IAM to a 10-year-old42:29 - Board games, dice, and calculated risk44:00 - Closing thoughts and where to learn moreKeywords: IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, Greg Danyi, P0 Security, runtime access control, agentic identity, zero standing privilege, non-human identity, authentication, authorization, IAM podcast

Jim McDonald and Jeff Steadman took the Identity at the Center podcast live at Identiverse 2026 in Las Vegas for a crowd-sourced game show called Majority Rules. Identity professionals competed in real time, picking answers to IAM and conference questions in a race to predict the majority. With a prize pool of over $5,000 for the top ten scorers, the stakes were high and the honesty was brutal. The episode also marks a milestone: IDAC hitting two million downloads. Thanks to Shirley Han and the CyberRisk Alliance team, and to sponsors Hyper, Red Block, SlashId, Rubrik, Stratacity, FusionAuth, Nexus, CrowdStrike, Hush Security, PlainId, RSM, and CyberRisk Alliance.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.com0:00 Introduction and Two Million Downloads Milestone1:00 Sponsor and Event Team Recognition3:00 How to Play Majority Rules4:00 Warm-Up Round Begins6:00 Battle Royale Mode Explained8:30 Decentralized Identity and the LDAP Reality10:30 Las Vegas Evening Entertainment11:30 Top Identity Trends at Identiverse 202612:30 Access Certification and the 4:55 PM Click13:30 Classic Vegas and Expo Hall Favorites14:50 PAM Strategies and the Post-it Note16:00 Conference Navigation and Footwear Survival18:00 Identity Log Monitoring Chaos19:30 Hallway Track Conversations20:30 Cloud Entitlements and Everyone Gets Root21:00 Sleep Habits at a Security Conference22:00 Business Cards in 202623:00 Legacy App Strategy and Thoughts and Prayers24:45 Las Vegas Dining Preferences25:30 Winners Announced and ClosingKeywords: IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, Identiverse, Identiverse 2026, Majority Rules, live event, game show, IAM, identity and access management, decentralized identity, LDAP, SSO, PAM, privileged access management, cloud entitlements, ISPM, access certification, Las Vegas, cybersecurity, conference

Recorded the night before Identiverse 2026 at BrewDog in Las Vegas, Jeff hosts a roundtable of IdentiBeer chapter leaders and community members from around the world. Espen Bago (Oslo), Marco Venuti (Rome and Milan), Heiko Klarl (Munich), Craig Ramsay (Nashville), Tina Srivastava and Elie Azerad (San Francisco), Bertrand Carlier (Paris, in planning), Ole Shved (Detroit, forming), and Roland Baum (Frankfurt) share what makes IdentiBeer work, how chapters get started, and what draws people in. First-time Identiverse attendee Varshith Reddy joins mid-conversation for some live conference tips. The group celebrates going 35 minutes without mentioning AI and closes with everyone's drink of choice and an impromptu MFA rap.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.com0:00 Welcome and intro0:41 What is IdentiBeer? Espen Bago explains2:31 Marco Venuti and the Italian chapters5:07 Could there be an IdentiBeer conference?6:03 Heiko Klarl and IdentiBeer Munich7:09 Craig Ramsay and the new Nashville chapter9:53 Beer is just clickbait and vendor neutrality12:45 Tina Srivastava and the IDPro Slack connection13:18 Ole Shved and the future Detroit chapter14:14 Advice for new chapter organizers16:33 Keep the momentum: do another one soon17:01 What draws people to IdentiBeer?17:37 The IdentiBeer charter and inclusivity18:20 Elie Azerad and the San Francisco chapter21:08 Tina and the South Bay satellite idea25:50 Bertrand Carlier and plans for Paris29:31 Varshith Reddy: tips for first-time Identiverse attendees34:12 35 minutes without saying AI36:20 Roland Baum and the Frankfurt Identivier39:06 What is your drink of choice?40:48 Tina's MFA rap and closing thoughtsKeywords: IdentiBeer, Identiverse 2026, IAM community, Identity and Access Management, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, IDAC, Identity at the Center, Espen Bago, Marco Venuti, Heiko Klarl, Craig Ramsay, Tina Srivastava, Elie Azerad, Bertrand Carlier, Ole Shved, Roland Baum, Varshith Reddy, IDPro, community building, vendor neutral, IAM networking, Las Vegas

Jim McDonald sits down with Dan Moore, Senior Director of CIAM Strategy and Identity Standards at FusionAuth, for an in-depth conversation on customer identity and access management. Dan explains how FusionAuth views authentication as the front door to any application and why control, deployment flexibility, and developer ownership are central to their approach. The discussion covers progressive registration, friction vs. usability, customization options, identity standards, the build vs. buy debate, risk-based MFA, and how AI agents will shape the future of customer identity. This episode and others is made possible with support from FusionAuth. Learn more at fusionauth.io/idac.Connect with Dan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mooreds/Learn more about FusionAuth: https://fusionauth.io/idacBlog article mentioned: https://bobdahacker.com/blog/fifa-hackConnect 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.com00:00:00 Introduction00:01:18 What is FusionAuth?00:03:15 Dan's identity origin story00:04:19 Developer focus and ethos00:06:54 Authentication as the front door00:10:00 Balancing friction and usability00:15:24 Customization in CIAM00:18:10 What sets FusionAuth apart00:20:33 FusionAuth's customer sweet spot00:25:48 Deployment flexibility and the control spectrum00:30:19 Common challenges in CIAM00:33:06 Build vs. buy for authentication00:36:00 Omni-channel authentication00:40:27 Why identity standards matter00:42:07 Risk-based MFA and intelligent challenges00:45:00 AI agents and the future of CIAM00:49:23 Closing thoughts00:51:35 Vacation roundupKeywords: IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, Dan Moore, FusionAuth, CIAM, customer identity, authentication, access management, IAM, identity standards, MFA, risk-based authentication, progressive registration, OAuth, OIDC, SAML, AI agents, deployment flexibility, build vs buy, Sponsor Spotlight

Jim McDonald takes the Identity at the Center podcast on the road to Rome, Italy, for a special two-part episode. The first segment is an IdentiBeer roundup where Jim gathers quick-fire takes from practitioners in the Italian IAM community, including Andrea Rossi and Alessandro Piscopo of IAMONES and Marco Venuti of Thales on the biggest trends shaping identity today. The second segment is a three-course meal where Jim sits down with Alessandro Piscopo, Head of AI and Co-founder at IAMONES, to discuss AI and identity over food and wine.Across a seafood starter, scialatielli alla pescatora, and tiramisu, the conversation covers the history of AI in identity, why LLMs represent a revolution rather than an evolution, the AI-first product philosophy versus retrofitting AI onto legacy systems, compute and architecture constraints facing large language models, and what life looks like for the IAM practitioner in 2030. Alessandro envisions an identity equivalent of Claude Code, a specialized AI tool that democratizes identity expertise the way coding assistants have transformed software development.0:00 Intro and IdentiBeer Rome roundup7:01 Alessandro on AI for IAM vs. IAM for AI12:00 Three-course dinner begins - Course 1: Seafood starter14:09 History of AI in identity, from ML models to LLMs17:51 Course 2: Scialatielli alla pescatora and Falanghina wine19:56 AI-first products vs. AI layered onto legacy systems22:00 Transition period and the new world of identity24:04 The ChatGPT moment vs. the iPhone moment27:05 Compute constraints, energy costs, and architecture breakthroughs30:46 Smaller models and cost-efficiency tradeoffs32:35 Course 3: Tiramisu, baba, and espresso33:00 Life as an IAM practitioner in 203035:19 Claude Code for IAM and democratizing identity tools37:24 App store ecosystem analogy for AI platforms43:07 Closing thoughtsKeywords: IAM, identity and access management, AI for IAM, IAM for AI, agentic AI, non-human identity, IGA, LLMs, large language models, AI-first, machine learning, Alessandro Piscopo, IAMONES, Jim McDonald, Jeff Steadman, Identity at the Center, IDAC, IdentiBeer, Rome, Italy, Marco Venuti, Thales, Andrea Rossi, agentic identity, transformer architecture, compute efficiency, identity practitioner 2030, Claude Code for IAM, identity democratization, Identiverse, European Identity Conference

Recorded live at EIC 2026 in Berlin, Jeff and Jim sit down with Martin Kuppinger, founder and distinguished analyst at KuppingerCole. They dig into the tectonic shifts AI is bringing to identity and security, the AI security fabric framework, why decentralized identity thinking may be essential for governing the agentic mesh, the ongoing debate over NHI terminology, what organizations can do tactically today, and what concerns Martin most about where the industry is heading by 2030.Connect with Martin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinkuppinger/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.com00:00 Introduction and Welcome00:50 What a Distinguished Analyst Does01:37 EIC 2026: Thought Leadership and Best Practice04:17 Agentic AI: Non-Directed, Non-Deterministic Identity08:22 Speed of Change: Tactical Now, Strategic Later12:34 The AI Security Fabric: Five Capability Blocks15:10 Identity Fabric Origins and Market Growth18:27 Discovery as the Foundation for Governance19:48 Governance, Explainability, and Organizational Gaps22:00 Agent Lineage and Rethinking NHI Terminology23:50 LLMs vs. Small Language Models26:23 Is Agentic Identity a Genuinely New Problem?32:29 Humanoid Robots and the Limits of AI Reasoning37:05 Decentralized Identity, Trust Frameworks, and Signals41:07 Identity Verification and Consent for Agents48:42 What Concerns Martin About the Future of Identity50:34 Favorite AI Application: Assisted Driving55:00 Self-Driving Cars, Data, and Personal PrivacyKeywords: Martin Kuppinger, KuppingerCole, EIC 2026, EIC Berlin, agentic AI, AI security fabric, identity fabric, decentralized identity, AI governance, non-human identity, autonomous identity, dependent identity, agent lineage, explainability, MCP server, small language models, verifiable credentials, risk-based authorization, OT security, IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, IAM, identity security