Identity at the Center

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.com

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro and a Decoded update

00:44 Transaction tokens spec preview

01:51 State of the union on continuous identity

03:39 The questions organizations are asking

04:34 Is it still all about the data

05:07 Shared signals framework moving into commerce

06:40 Is AI a fad at Identiverse this year

07:11 The real cost of securing AI

08:00 Model provenance and indemnity

09:39 IAM for AI versus AI for IAM

10:18 Trusting agents to act without oversight

14:51 Assigning authority to the who and the what

16:13 The cruise booking example and who is on the hook

20:16 Companion agents, consent, and power of attorney

23:00 Does the identity industry own this problem

25:00 Relationship and intent as the real issue

28:03 Could an insurance market emerge for agentic AI

29:18 An access review scenario gone wrong

30:41 Small specialized language models for identity tasks

32:11 Favorite hallway conversations at Identiverse

36:05 Wrap up and words of wisdom on AI FOMO

Keywords: 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.html

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 Intro and Identiverse 2026 vibes

04:01 Defining agentic identity

07:06 Has the earth really shifted

11:38 An old problem thats been bejeweled

15:13 From Nulli Secundus to Microsoft

16:00 How standards are holding up

19:27 Client ID metadata and just in time trust

21:41 Shared signals and the revocation problem

24:43 Deploying agentic identity at scale

28:11 Registries at scale

29:04 Delegation authorization and attenuation

32:33 Delegation vs impersonation vs partition

36:03 The one thing you can fix right now

37:56 Favorite hallway conversation

42:29 The solar system of hallway conversations

45:51 Remembering Kim Cameron

48:00 New voices to watch

52:08 Wrap up and thank you

Keywords: 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.com

00:00 - Introduction and sponsor acknowledgment

01:13 - Greg Danyi's path into IAM

02:18 - What P0 Security solves for

03:21 - Where P0 fits versus PAM and IGA

04:46 - Agentic identity as a driver of adoption

05:27 - MCP servers and unpredictable agent actions

07:10 - Defining runtime access control

08:50 - How authentication and authorization work together

09:07 - Standing access versus expressed intent

10:16 - Zero standing privilege in practice

12:27 - Agentic identity as a distinct identity class

19:24 - Automated evidence for approvals

20:42 - Walking through a support agent example

22:13 - Row-level access control for data lakes

23:35 - Dynamic roles explained

29:55 - CRUD risks and underestimated concerns

31:32 - Human intent and giving agents clear direction

36:32 - Where enterprise AI agent governance is headed

39:36 - Advice for CIOs and CISOs getting started

41:15 - Explaining IAM to a 10-year-old

42:29 - Board games, dice, and calculated risk

44:00 - Closing thoughts and where to learn more

Keywords: 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.com

0:00 Introduction and Two Million Downloads Milestone

1:00 Sponsor and Event Team Recognition

3:00 How to Play Majority Rules

4:00 Warm-Up Round Begins

6:00 Battle Royale Mode Explained

8:30 Decentralized Identity and the LDAP Reality

10:30 Las Vegas Evening Entertainment

11:30 Top Identity Trends at Identiverse 2026

12:30 Access Certification and the 4:55 PM Click

13:30 Classic Vegas and Expo Hall Favorites

14:50 PAM Strategies and the Post-it Note

16:00 Conference Navigation and Footwear Survival

18:00 Identity Log Monitoring Chaos

19:30 Hallway Track Conversations

20:30 Cloud Entitlements and Everyone Gets Root

21:00 Sleep Habits at a Security Conference

22:00 Business Cards in 2026

23:00 Legacy App Strategy and Thoughts and Prayers

24:45 Las Vegas Dining Preferences

25:30 Winners Announced and Closing

Keywords: 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.com

0:00 Welcome and intro

0:41 What is IdentiBeer? Espen Bago explains

2:31 Marco Venuti and the Italian chapters

5:07 Could there be an IdentiBeer conference?

6:03 Heiko Klarl and IdentiBeer Munich

7:09 Craig Ramsay and the new Nashville chapter

9:53 Beer is just clickbait and vendor neutrality

12:45 Tina Srivastava and the IDPro Slack connection

13:18 Ole Shved and the future Detroit chapter

14:14 Advice for new chapter organizers

16:33 Keep the momentum: do another one soon

17:01 What draws people to IdentiBeer?

17:37 The IdentiBeer charter and inclusivity

18:20 Elie Azerad and the San Francisco chapter

21:08 Tina and the South Bay satellite idea

25:50 Bertrand Carlier and plans for Paris

29:31 Varshith Reddy: tips for first-time Identiverse attendees

34:12 35 minutes without saying AI

36:20 Roland Baum and the Frankfurt Identivier

39:06 What is your drink of choice?

40:48 Tina's MFA rap and closing thoughts

Keywords: 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/idac

Blog article mentioned: https://bobdahacker.com/blog/fifa-hack

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

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:18 What is FusionAuth?

00:03:15 Dan's identity origin story

00:04:19 Developer focus and ethos

00:06:54 Authentication as the front door

00:10:00 Balancing friction and usability

00:15:24 Customization in CIAM

00:18:10 What sets FusionAuth apart

00:20:33 FusionAuth's customer sweet spot

00:25:48 Deployment flexibility and the control spectrum

00:30:19 Common challenges in CIAM

00:33:06 Build vs. buy for authentication

00:36:00 Omni-channel authentication

00:40:27 Why identity standards matter

00:42:07 Risk-based MFA and intelligent challenges

00:45:00 AI agents and the future of CIAM

00:49:23 Closing thoughts

00:51:35 Vacation roundup

Keywords: 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 roundup

7:01 Alessandro on AI for IAM vs. IAM for AI

12:00 Three-course dinner begins - Course 1: Seafood starter

14:09 History of AI in identity, from ML models to LLMs

17:51 Course 2: Scialatielli alla pescatora and Falanghina wine

19:56 AI-first products vs. AI layered onto legacy systems

22:00 Transition period and the new world of identity

24:04 The ChatGPT moment vs. the iPhone moment

27:05 Compute constraints, energy costs, and architecture breakthroughs

30:46 Smaller models and cost-efficiency tradeoffs

32:35 Course 3: Tiramisu, baba, and espresso

33:00 Life as an IAM practitioner in 2030

35:19 Claude Code for IAM and democratizing identity tools

37:24 App store ecosystem analogy for AI platforms

43:07 Closing thoughts

Keywords: 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.com

00:00 Introduction and Welcome

00:50 What a Distinguished Analyst Does

01:37 EIC 2026: Thought Leadership and Best Practice

04:17 Agentic AI: Non-Directed, Non-Deterministic Identity

08:22 Speed of Change: Tactical Now, Strategic Later

12:34 The AI Security Fabric: Five Capability Blocks

15:10 Identity Fabric Origins and Market Growth

18:27 Discovery as the Foundation for Governance

19:48 Governance, Explainability, and Organizational Gaps

22:00 Agent Lineage and Rethinking NHI Terminology

23:50 LLMs vs. Small Language Models

26:23 Is Agentic Identity a Genuinely New Problem?

32:29 Humanoid Robots and the Limits of AI Reasoning

37:05 Decentralized Identity, Trust Frameworks, and Signals

41:07 Identity Verification and Consent for Agents

48:42 What Concerns Martin About the Future of Identity

50:34 Favorite AI Application: Assisted Driving

55:00 Self-Driving Cars, Data, and Personal Privacy

Keywords: 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

Recorded live at EIC 2026 in Berlin, Jeff and Jim sit down with Martin Sandren, IAM Product Lead at IKEA, for a wide-ranging conversation covering nearly every corner of modern identity security. Martin shares what has changed since his first IDAC appearance on episode 293, including the rise of AI, growing interest in digital sovereignty, and the maturing shared signals framework. The conversation moves through risk-based defense in depth, tiered MFA rollout strategies, session management, and the real challenge of trusting AI to make security decisions. Martin introduces identity dark matter and explains how IVIP can surface the 95-plus percent of applications that never reach an IGA system. The episode also covers shadow AI, MCP server risks, the SaaSpocalypse debate, and the EU AI Act. It closes on a grounded note: solar panels.

Connect with Martin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinsandren/

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 Welcome and EIC 2026 intro

01:47 What has changed in two years: AI, sovereignty, shared signals

03:06 Martin's EIC presentations: AI for IAM and IAM for AI

04:46 Can you prioritize one direction over the other?

07:13 What would it take to trust AI making identity decisions?

09:32 AI-enhanced detection and risk-based session management

13:07 Session invalidation and the shared signals framework

14:11 Defense in depth and right-sizing privileges

18:25 MFA today: any MFA versus phish-resistant MFA

19:17 AI chatbots, enterprise LLMs, and shadow AI

23:11 MCP servers, NHI risk, and return on risk thinking

27:00 AI configuring IAM systems: how close are we?

31:30 LLM costs, the SaaSpocalypse, and enterprise AI futures

40:10 Identity dark matter and the IVIP concept

44:16 CMDB versus IVIP: do you need both?

46:18 The EU AI Act and building an AI governance registry

49:18 Where to start: get your AI inventory in place first

50:00 Closing thoughts and the solar panel tangent

KEYWORDS

AI for IAM, IAM for AI, identity dark matter, IVIP, IGA, shared signals framework, phish-resistant MFA, defense in depth, session management, MCP servers, NHI, shadow AI, SaaSpocalypse, EU AI Act, AI governance, zero standing privilege, EIC 2026, IKEA, IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, Martin Sandren

This episode is presented courtesy of SailPoint. Rob Sebaugh, Senior Identity Strategist at SailPoint, joins Jeff and Jim for a wide-ranging conversation on the past, present, and future of identity governance. Rob brings more than two decades of practitioner experience to the table, including 16 years running large-scale identity programs before making the move to the vendor side. The conversation covers what identity governance means today, why it must move to the forefront rather than be treated as an afterthought in an agentic world, and how organizations need to think fundamentally differently about non-human identities. Jeff and Jim explore the concept of treating AI as a first-class identity, how AI is beginning to replace rubber-stamp access certifications, the shift toward policy-based access control, and the practical path toward zero standing privilege. The episode wraps with a lighter conversation about Rob's 3D printing hobby.

About SailPoint:

SailPoint (Nasdaq: SAIL) is defining the new era of adaptive identity security. In a world where non-human identities now significantly outnumber humans, our AI-powered platform unifies identity, security, and data intelligence to protect today’s enterprise from advanced identity-based threats. We deliver the identity solution that spans both the breadth of identities and the depth of context needed to drive real-time access with confidence. Built on principles like zero-standing privilege and contextualized risk, our SailPoint platform transforms identity from a point of vulnerability into a powerful security advantage. Trusted by many of the world's leading organizations, SailPoint secures the enterprise with intelligent, autonomous identity security.

Learn more about SailPoint: https://www.sailpoint.com/

Connect with Rob: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-sebaugh-1ba9013/

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

00:48 Rob Sebaugh and the identity strategist role at SailPoint

04:38 Practitioner advice from the field

07:49 What SailPoint does: the hotel key analogy

11:04 Buying identity technology means buying a business process

13:30 What identity governance is and why it still matters

16:47 Risk-appropriate governance and privileged access

19:39 Non-human identities and the scale of the agentic challenge

22:57 Treating AI as a first-class identity

24:28 When AI makes governance decisions: beyond rubber stamping

28:04 Is identity governance a binary decision?

29:58 Securing data inside AI and large language models

34:09 Identity: the field that reinvents itself

35:01 Identity as the new control plane

37:21 Is all access privileged access?

40:25 Zero standing privilege in practice

44:22 Innovation, continuous identity, and what SailPoint is building

46:28 Identity posture management

50:13 Practitioner advice for the next three to five years

53:00 The future of IGA in ten years

57:44 Lighter note: 3D printing with Rob Sebaugh

1:05:35 Final thoughts on SailPoint

Keywords: Rob Sebaugh, SailPoint, identity governance, identity security, IGA, non-human identities, agentic AI, zero standing privilege, just-in-time access, identity posture management, control plane, zero trust, policy-based access control, AI certification, rubber stamping, sponsor spotlight, IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald