Identity at the Center

Identity at the Center

Identity at the Center is a weekly podcast all about identity security in the context of identity and access management (IAM). With decades of real-world IAM experience, hosts Jim McDonald and Jeff Steadman bring you conversations with news, topics, and guests from the identity management industry. Do you know who has access to what? Visit us on the web at idacpodcast.com

  1. 1d ago

    #438 - Identiverse 2026 - Sean O'Dell

    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

  2. Jul 27

    #437 - Identiverse 2026 - Pam Dingle

    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

  3. Jul 22

    #436 - Sponsor Spotlight - P0 Security

    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

  4. Jul 20

    #435 - Majority Rules: IDAC Live at Identiverse 2026

    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

  5. Jul 13

    #434 - Identiverse 2026 - IdentiBeer Las Vegas

    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

  6. Jul 8

    #433 - Sponsor Spotlight - FusionAuth

    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

  7. Jul 6

    #432 - IdentiBeer Rome and 3 Courses of IAM with Alessandro Piscopo

    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

  8. Jun 29

    #431 - Tectonic Shifts in Identity Security with Martin Kuppinger

    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

See All (438)

4.9
out of 5
39 Ratings

About

Identity at the Center is a weekly podcast all about identity security in the context of identity and access management (IAM). With decades of real-world IAM experience, hosts Jim McDonald and Jeff Steadman bring you conversations with news, topics, and guests from the identity management industry. Do you know who has access to what? Visit us on the web at idacpodcast.com

Information

  • Creator
    Identity at the Center
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    438
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 771327
  • Show Website
    Identity at the Center

You Might Also Like