Identity at the Center

Howard Ting, CEO of Opal Security, joins Jeff Steadman for a Sponsor Spotlight covering identity governance for both human and non-human identities. Howard traces his path through RSA Security, Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks, Nutanix, and Cyberhaven before returning to identity to lead Opal. The conversation covers why disabling a departing employee's account rarely ends their access, the orphaned tokens, service accounts, and agents left behind, and why visibility has to come before ownership and risk analysis. Howard and Jeff dig into agent intent and authority: whether an agent can declare its own intent, why permissions should stay a subset of what its human creator holds, and how narrowly scoped, single-task agents make governance easier. They also cover how Opal matches AI decision capacity to a growing volume of access requests, including how the company's Paladin AI supports approvers and campaign creators today. The episode closes with Opal's announcement of a unified platform for governing human, non-human, and agent identities together, extending Paladin's decisioning to agents and introducing Policy Insights to help security teams balance friction against risk. Howard shares his view that identity has to shift from an episodic, event-driven practice to a continuous one, along with a lighthearted detour into 90s video games.Connect with Howard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/howardting/Learn more about Opal Security: https://www.opal.dev/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.com00:10 Intro and welcome01:01 Howard's identity origin story: RSA, Microsoft, Kim Cameron02:48 What Opal does: unified control plane for human and non-human identities04:16 The opal.dev domain and how Opal got its name06:42 Termination and lifecycle: why access doesn't fully go away09:33 Session management and orphaned accounts13:57 Visibility as the first step in identity governance17:31 Can an agent declare its own intent?20:29 Authority: should an agent ever exceed its creator's permissions?22:12 Inside Opal: Risk Center and Policy Insights25:41 How Opal connects to systems and collects usage data27:30 Cross-application segregation of duties29:06 Zero standing privilege and AI managing AI32:12 Building trust in AI-driven access decisions39:00 Announcing Opal's unified platform for agents and non-human identities44:18 Explainability and traceability in Paladin's decisions48:54 Tuning risk tolerance and autonomy in Paladin51:20 Proving value: demos, POCs, and industry skepticism57:47 The shift from episodic to continuous identity59:50 Lightning round: favorite 90s video gamesIDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, Howard Ting, Opal Security, Sponsor Spotlight, identity governance administration, IGA, non-human identity, NHI, agent identity, agentic AI, access governance, least privilege, just-in-time access, JIT, zero standing privilege, Paladin, Risk Center, Policy Insights, segregation of duties, SOD, RSA Security, Microsoft, Kim Cameron, Palo Alto Networks, Nutanix, Cyberhaven, continuous identity, identity lifecycle management, orphaned accounts, service accounts, API keys, intent-based access control

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.com00:10 - Introduction and discount code rundown for upcoming conferences01:10 - Andi Hindle returns for his seventh appearance01:29 - Favorite episode banter and the running Andrew Shikiar joke03:08 - Origins of Authenticate and its relationship with Identiverse09:01 - Passkeys are solved, so what comes next09:53 - Lessons learned building the Authenticate agenda12:59 - The scale of effort behind running Authenticate15:29 - Adjacent topics expanding beyond the core passkeys mission16:09 - Six major topic areas planned for Authenticate 202622:13 - Identity as the foundation for everything digital23:14 - Hardware identity and non-human authentication24:53 - Retail tokens, badges, and age verification use cases28:36 - Replacing things only when the replacement is actually better29:41 - A detour into 3D printing and personal satisfaction31:39 - 3D printing, supply chain assurance, and identity problems36:38 - Introducing continuous identity37:28 - Zero standing privilege and why it matters now40:46 - The human user as the infrastructure edge case45:16 - Speed, scale, and the limits of human in the loop46:11 - Setting red lines for agentic risk50:56 - Privacy and consent questions for non-human identities56:51 - Anonymization, data logging, and GDPR parallels59:51 - A GDPR and IAM resource from the IDPro Body of Knowledge1:00:26 - What Authenticate topics might look like three years out1:04:59 - Why accounts may not make sense for agents1:06:49 - Authorization as the next hard problem to solve1:08:20 - Inside jokes from the Authenticate organizing team1:09:30 - The story behind Andi's favorite Britishism1:10:38 - Book and media recommendations1:14:39 - Closing thoughts and sign-offIDAC, 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.com00:00 - Intro and community shoutouts07:06 - Introducing Rick Scot, Global CIO and CISO at Elevate Textiles07:46 - How Rick got into cybersecurity09:22 - Charlotte's tight-knit cyber community11:18 - The moment that made security the focus13:06 - Balancing the CIO and CISO roles16:17 - What "Identity at the Center" means to Rick19:26 - Where to start when building an IAM program23:29 - Balancing risk and innovation with AI27:46 - Who should own accountability for an AI agent29:38 - A hierarchy for agent identities33:31 - Terminating access and sessions, not just accounts36:25 - Dealing with shadow AI41:37 - Standing up a governance process for new AI projects43:19 - Evaluating new identity technology and token costs48:51 - Training and governance around AI usage52:22 - Established vendors versus disruptive startups56:56 - Looking three to five years ahead1:00:20 - Advice for identity practitioners1:01:41 - Lightning round: hobbies and surprises1:08:40 - Closing and where to find RickIDAC, 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.com00:00 - Introduction and welcoming Benny Porat, co-founder and CEO of Twine Security00:52 - How Benny found his way into identity and access management02:21 - The origin of the name Twine03:28 - Defining the IAM execution gap05:53 - AI digital employees versus RPA and automation08:07 - Where AI digital employees are best suited today09:45 - Why AI is strong at eighty percent and what makes the rest difficult14:45 - Where a digital employee like Alex fits within identity operations18:43 - Trust, governance, and giving AI agents the right permissions21:42 - Applying least privilege to AI agents and non-human identities25:19 - How organizations start using Alex, from read-only to full execution30:27 - Rethinking the role of access reviews with AI involved33:14 - Measuring efficiency gains and revocation rate improvements36:00 - Addressing concerns about AI replacing IAM practitioners39:12 - How customers define and measure success44:15 - How the practitioner's day-to-day role changes with AI agents47:12 - Closing thoughts and where to learn more47:37 - Lighter note: imagining a personal AI digital employeeKeywords: 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.com00:10 - Welcome and have we talked about AI too much?01:32 - Governing AI agents without becoming the progress prevention department03:50 - Fall conference season and IDPro04:40 - Cybersecurity Summits in Chicago and Atlanta06:40 - SailPoint Navigate, InfoSec World, FIDO Authenticate, and Identiverse DC10:40 - 3D printing, challenge coins, and superfan status11:56 - August mailbag begins12:19 - Singapore: Is externalized authorization ready for mainstream IAM?20:30 - Toronto: Passkeys, account recovery, and help desk social engineering25:55 - Prague: What should enterprises do about EU digital identity wallets?31:44 - Johannesburg: Continuous session revocation and what “terminate access” really means38:04 - Helsinki: Designing identity resilience around a centralized IdP45:23 - Seoul: What warning label should every IAM product have?48:26 - Wrap-up and how to send future mailbag questionsIDAC, 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