Identity at the Center

Identity at the Center
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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?

  1. 3D AGO

    #423 - The Middle Market Identity Security Gap with Robert Snodgrass

    Jeff and Jim welcome back Robert Snodgrass, Principal at RSM, for a deep dive into the RSM Middle Market Business Index cybersecurity report. The conversation covers the confidence gap facing middle market organizations, why digital identity remains undervalued despite being the primary attack surface, non-human identity governance, flat cybersecurity budgets, risk framework adoption, and what good incident response preparedness actually looks like. The episode wraps with a spirited Bitcoin Pizza Day toppings debate. Connect with Robert: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-snodgrass-7a199412/ Review the RSM US Middle Market Business Index Special Report on Cybersecurity 2026: https://rsmus.com/middle-market/cybersecurity-mmbi.html?cmpid=ola:45559-idac:bb01 IDPro new member discount: https://idpro.org/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 TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 Introduction and Scatter Spider social engineering discussion 00:04:00 IDPro discount code and upcoming conferences 00:06:26 Guest intro: Robert Snodgrass and the MMBI report 00:09:05 Defining the modern middle market 00:12:00 The confidence gap: 96% confident, 18% breached 00:15:04 Why attackers log in and top identity investment priorities 00:19:00 Why only 23% of leaders prioritize digital identity 00:22:00 Internal partnerships as the path to identity program success 00:25:10 AI, shadow AI, and non-human identity risks 00:31:00 NHI governance at scale: 45 to 1 ratio 00:34:50 Cybersecurity budget realities in the middle market 00:39:00 EU regulation and top-line cybersecurity drivers 00:42:03 NIST CSF adoption and risk framework value 00:46:00 Incident response planning: the two-minute drill 00:52:16 Bitcoin Pizza Day and closing thoughts KEYWORDS identity security, middle market, cybersecurity, MMBI, RSM, Robert Snodgrass, phishing-resistant MFA, non-human identities, NHI, shadow AI, incident response, NIST CSF, IAM, identity governance, ransomware, tabletop exercises, digital identity, cybersecurity budget, identity program, IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald

    1h 2m

  2. 6D AGO

    #422 - Decoded - Securing AI Agents with Standards You Already Have

    Episode 422 is the debut of Decoded by Identity at the Center, a new sub-series hosted by Jeff Steadman and Sean O'Dell dedicated to unpacking the specifications and standards powering IAM. Joining them is Pieter Kasselman, VP of Open Standards at Defakto and chair of the WIMSE working group. The conversation covers why traditional non-human identity approaches break at agentic scale, how SPIFFE and SPIRE enable short-lived automated credential provisioning without long-lived secrets, and why treating agents as workloads unlocks a decade of existing standards. Pieter walks through critical OAuth specs including JWT authorization grant, token exchange, client ID metadata, and the emerging transaction tokens draft. Sean connects these to practical gateway architecture, continuous access evaluation, and policy-based authorization. The episode closes with real-world deployment examples and a clear takeaway: the tools to secure agentic identity are available today. Episode Links:Pieter Kasselman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pieter-kasselman-0259862/AI Agent Authentication and Authorization: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-klrc-aiagent-auth/Workload Identity in Multi-system environments (WIMSE): https://ietf-wg-wimse.github.io/OAuth SPIFFE Client Authentication: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-oauth-spiffe-client-auth/Transaction Tokens: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-oauth-transaction-tokens/08/Agentic Identity Control Framework. You Already Have the Pieces. Now Build It. by Sean O'Dell: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/agentic-identity-control-framework-you-already-have-pieces-o-dell-61b5e/ Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction to Decoded by Identity at the Center 00:13 The mission of the Decoded sub-series 03:02 Guest intro: Pieter Kasselman, VP of Open Standards at Defakto 06:21 Why agentic identity is urgent: scale, multi-platform, and shifting threat landscape 10:42 The real cost of API keys and credential sprawl in agentic systems 13:23 Agentic identity identifiers and how SPIFFE assigns unique workload IDs 21:00 Credential types: X.509, JWTs, and workload identity tokens 31:00 Connecting SPIFFE to OAuth and dynamic registration with client ID metadata 38:18 SPIFFE SVIDs, multiple credentials per agent, and governance traceability 41:44 Authentication versus authorization: delegation versus impersonation 47:00 Transaction tokens: binding access to specific transactions to stop token theft 51:21 Identity chaining and cross-domain authorization 55:00 Shared Signals Framework and dynamic authorization 57:00 Gateways, CAEP, and mid-flight token revocation for rogue agents 59:31 What you can deploy today with SPIFFE, OAuth, and existing IDPs 01:02:58 Policy-based access control and why instance-level governance cannot scale 01:04:58 Workload identity federation: Anthropic and Google Agent ID updates 01:07:13 Cross-platform federation and the law of agentic utility 01:11:55 Elevator pitch: agents are workloads and 95% of the problem is solved now 01:17:03 What is coming next: a transaction tokens deep dive Keywords: agentic identity, SPIFFE, SPIRE, OAuth, transaction tokens, Shared Signals Framework, WIMSE, workload identity, non-human identity, authorization delegation, JWT, CAEP, API gateway, IAM standards, AIMS, Jeff Steadman, Sean O'Dell, Pieter Kasselman, IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jim McDonald, Decoded by Identity at the Center Decoded by Identity at the Center: Jeff Steadman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffsteadman/ Sean O'Dell: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanodentity/ Jim McDonald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmcdonaldpmp/ Visit the show on the web at https://idacdecoded.com/

    1h 18m

  3. MAY 11

    #421 - The AI Identity Control Plane with Henrique Teixeira

    Jeff and Jim welcome back Henrique Teixeira, SVP of Strategy at Saviynt, for his fourth appearance on the podcast. The episode opens with Jim's firsthand experience building an AI agent for a work project and discovering in real time how identity management challenges surface in the agentic era. After conference updates on EIC in Berlin and Identiverse in Las Vegas, Henrique unpacks the crowded terminology around AI agent governance, from Gartner's agent management platforms to UADP, the Unified Agentic Defense Platform. He proposes a three-pillar framework for managing AI and non-human identities: discovery, identity lifecycle and governance, and runtime access management, with guidance on where to start depending on whether your organization is greenfield or legacy-heavy. The conversation then examines how AI is reshaping the analyst business model, what makes information sources trustworthy, and how proprietary inquiry data forms the real competitive moat for firms like Gartner and Forrester. The episode closes with a wide-ranging discussion on AI's risk to shared cultural experiences, hyper-personalized entertainment, and the ethics of licensing your digital identity in the afterlife. Connect with Henrique: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernardes/ 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 Intro 00:00:55 Jim's AI Agent Experiment and Identity Lessons 00:06:04 Conference News: EIC and Identiverse 00:07:22 Identity Beer Community Events 00:08:40 Introducing Henrique Teixeira 00:12:00 AI Control Plane: Competing Terminologies 00:17:36 Three Pillars of AI Agent Identity Management 00:18:46 Why Visibility Matters More for NHI 00:20:00 Ownership, Accountability, and Humans at the Control Plane 00:24:26 Industry Maturity and the Gaps That Remain 00:25:41 Where to Start: Governance-First vs. Visibility-First 00:29:52 AI's Impact on the Analyst Profession 00:34:57 What Analyst Firms Have That AI Cannot Replace 00:39:04 Trust, Boutique Analysts, and Repeatability 00:44:34 Proprietary AI Chatbots and Gated Intelligence 00:49:30 IP Rights and the Legal Gray Zone of AI Training 00:52:14 AI and the Erosion of Shared Cultural Experience 00:58:00 AI Music, Personalized Entertainment, and the Future of Art 01:03:47 Digital Afterlife, Voice Clones, and AI Personas 01:08:18 Wrap-Up and Closing Keywords: IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, Henrique Teixeira, Saviynt, AI identity control plane, non-human identities, NHI, agentic AI, AI agents, AI governance, identity lifecycle, access management, discovery, agent management platform, UADP, IAM, Gartner, analyst firms, AI and culture, digital identity, identity security, EIC, Identiverse, identity beer

    1h 10m

  4. MAY 6

    #420 - Sponsor Spotlight - GitGuardian

    This episode is made possible by GitGuardian. Jeff speaks with Dwayne McDaniel, Principal Developer Advocate at GitGuardian, about secrets sprawl, non-human identity governance, and the findings of the State of Secret Sprawl 2026 report. With 28.6 million secrets leaked to public GitHub in 2025 - a 34% year-over-year increase - they explore why hardcoded credentials persist, how agentic AI tools are making the problem worse, and what IAM practitioners can do to start addressing machine identity governance. Topics include GitGuardian's Good Samaritan notification program, the growing NHI inventory challenge, SPIFFE and SPIRE as a path to zero standing privilege, and data showing Claude Code co-authored commits are more than twice as likely to contain leaked secrets. Visit gitguardian.com/lps/idac to learn more. Connect with Dwayne: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwaynemcdaniel/ Dwayne's website: https://dwayne-mcdaniel.com/ Learn more about GitGuardian: https://www.gitguardian.com/lps/idac GitGuardian Good Samaritan Program (free) - https://www.gitguardian.com/good-samaritan The State of Secrets Sprawl 2026: https://www.gitguardian.com/state-of-secrets-sprawl-report-2026 SPIFFE Book: https://spiffe.io/book/ 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 and sponsor welcome 00:48 Dwayne's background and path to developer advocacy 04:11 Surprises from entering the identity and security space 06:29 What a principal developer advocate actually does 09:32 Why secrets became Dwayne's focus area 14:10 GitGuardian: overview and mission 19:36 Where secrets commonly leak across the SDLC 22:17 The Good Samaritan notification program explained 28:00 Why 70% of leaked secrets from 2022 were still valid in 2025 33:54 State of Secret Sprawl 2026: the year software changed 40:39 AI coding tools, Claude Code, and secrets leakage data 47:28 Practical questions for IAM practitioners to start asking 52:24 Zero standing privilege and the case for SPIFFE/SPIRE 01:00:00 Resources: the SPIFFE book, WIMSE, and AWS STS 01:02:51 Hot sauce, the Cubs, and closing thoughts KEYWORDS: secrets sprawl, hardcoded secrets, non-human identity, NHI governance, GitGuardian, SPIFFE, SPIRE, workload identity, DevSecOps, agentic AI, Claude Code, zero standing privilege, supply chain security, credential abuse, identity and access management, IAM, IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, Dwayne McDaniel

    1h 13m

  5. MAY 4

    #419 - Identity Management Day 2026 - IDAC Live

    Recorded live as part of the Identity Management Day 2026 streaming program, Jeff and Jim mark their fifth IMD episode. Introduced by Jeff Reich from the Identity Defined Security Alliance, they reflect on how the IAM industry has evolved since their first IMD episode in 2021 and grade overall progress a C. Topics include what has genuinely improved (passkeys, MFA adoption, broader awareness), what hasn't (compliance fatigue, security theater, persistent credential theft), the exploding challenge of non-human identity governance, whether AI will eventually need to certify other AI, and how AI-powered phishing and deep fakes are raising the bar for identity verification. The episode wraps with chat-submitted IAM bumper stickers. Identity Management Day 2026: https://www.idsalliance.org/event/identity-management-day-2026/ 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 CHAPTERS 0:00 - Jeff Reich intro from the IMD stream 2:00 - Identity Management Day 2026 kicks off 3:30 - Five years of IMD: a look back at episode 88 7:00 - Does IMD move the needle? 9:30 - Who is Identity Management Day actually for? 12:00 - What has improved in IAM over five years 16:00 - What hasn't improved: compliance fatigue and security theater 18:30 - Grading the IAM industry 21:00 - NHI governance: visibility and accountability 26:00 - Can AI certify AI? Agentic identity governance 29:00 - AI-powered phishing and the evolving threat landscape 32:00 - Deep fakes and the identity verification challenge 36:00 - Lighter note: IAM bumper stickers KEYWORDS identity management day, identity management day 2026, NHI, non-human identity, agentic AI, phishing, deep fakes, IGA, passkeys, MFA, IAM, identity governance, access management, cybersecurity, credential theft, security awareness, IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald

    30 min

  6. APR 27

    #418 - Ethical IAM with Elizabeth Garber

    What does it mean to build an identity system that is ethical? Jim McDonald and Jeff Steadman are joined by Elizabeth Garber, Executive Director of IDPro and marketing lead for the OpenID Foundation, for a conversation spanning ethics in digital identity, the tension between privacy and safety, biometric exclusion risks, and how practitioners can use structured frameworks to navigate these discussions productively. Elizabeth shares her three-part career journey, the latest from the IDPro community, and previews her upcoming keynotes at EIC Berlin and Identiverse Las Vegas. Connect with Elizabeth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethgarber IDPro Discount - New members get $25 off their first year of membership: https://idpro.org/idac/ Ethics and Digital Identity by Henk Marsman: https://bok.idpro.org/article/id/104/ Ethics for Digital Identity and Identity-Driven Algorithms by Mike Kiser: https://bok.idpro.org/article/id/105/ Human Centric Digital Identity white paper: https://openid.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Human-Centric_Digital_Identity_Final-v1.1.pdf 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 Jim's allergy research 03:42 Conference announcements: EIC and Identiverse 06:00 Welcome Elizabeth Garber 07:04 Elizabeth's three-part origin story 11:55 IDPro mission and the identity community 18:13 Membership, CIDPRO certification, and the Body of Knowledge 21:17 IDPro Slack community 23:40 IdentiBeer and local meetups 26:26 IDPro listener discount at idpro.org/idac 29:00 Operationalizing ideas in IAM 32:19 Ethics in the IDPro Body of Knowledge 33:30 Defining ethics in technology 34:19 The trolley problem and moral consistency 37:10 Big tech, privacy, and law enforcement 39:28 Where practitioners start with ethics 43:30 Biometric exclusion and the Uganda story 49:00 Privacy vs. safety: a false choice? 53:48 The case for consistent ethical frameworks 57:53 Elizabeth's EIC and Identiverse talks 59:49 Improv comedy and expensive hobbies 1:07:25 Wrap-up Keywords: ethical IAM, digital identity ethics, IDPro, identity and access management, privacy, safety, biometrics, exclusion, Elizabeth Garber, GAIN Digital Trust, OpenID Foundation, Body of Knowledge, Ethical Canvas, zero knowledge proofs, passkeys, IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, EIC Berlin, Identiverse

    1h 9m

  7. APR 22

    #417 - Sponsor Spotlight - Elimity

    This bonus episode of Identity at the Center is brought to you with support from Elimity. Jeff and Jim sit down with Maarten Decat, co-founder and CEO of Elimity, to explore the emerging product category known as IVIP, Identity Visibility and Intelligence Platforms. Maarten explains how Elimity was built around a question every IAM practitioner eventually faces: who can actually do what within our organization? The conversation covers why IVIP is distinct from traditional IGA, how identity data graphs provide deeper visibility than flat entitlement lists, and what regulatory drivers like SOC 2, ISO 27001, and DORA are pushing organizations toward this space. They also discuss deployment patterns, integration approaches, ROI metrics for leadership, and what Maarten calls provable control. The episode closes with a memorable story about Elimity branded Belgian beer and a very formal legal letter. Learn more at elimity.com/idac. Connect with Maarten: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maartendecat/ Learn more about Elimity: https://elimity.com/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 idacpodcast.com CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Introduction and ax-throwing memories from EIC Berlin 01:35 Introducing Maarten Decat, co-founder and CEO of Elimity 01:57 How identity chose Maarten: from PhD to startup founder 03:09 The Elimity origin story and the problem it set out to solve 04:52 Defining IVIP: Identity Visibility and Intelligence Platforms 05:31 Where did the name Elimity come from? 06:57 Why identity visibility has become a security priority now 09:02 What organizations were doing before IVIP existed 11:16 Can IGA do what IVIP does? Addressing the skeptics 14:20 The identity data graph: deeper and wider than IGA 16:20 IVIP and IGA as complementary tools, not competitors 16:49 What falls outside IVIP scope: automated provisioning 18:01 IVIP as the intelligence layer in your IAM stack 19:45 What data sources connect into an IVIP platform 21:44 Extending visibility to non-human identities 22:00 M&A use cases: gaining visibility across two organizations 23:55 IVIP and the identity fabric concept 25:18 Visibility, intelligence, and actions: building the right stack 26:36 How deployments typically start and what early wins look like 28:44 Integration approaches and realistic effort timelines 32:00 What success looks like at six to twelve months 36:07 Metrics and ROI: talking to leadership about identity risk 38:14 Case studies and customer examples on the Elimity website 38:58 What every IAM practitioner should know about IVIP 40:12 Elimity's global reach: EU, US, and Middle East 41:42 The Elimity branded beer story and a very formal legal letter 46:43 Wrap-up and final thoughts KEYWORDS IVIP, identity visibility and intelligence platforms, IGA, identity governance, access control, identity data graph, Elimity, Maarten Decat, non-human identities, access risk, provable control, SOC 2, ISO 27001, DORA, CCPA, cybersecurity, PAM, IAM, identity and access management, EIC, IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald

    49 min

  8. APR 20

    #416 - European Identity and Cloud Conference 2026 Preview with Warwick Ashford

    Jeff and Jim are joined by Warwick Ashford, senior analyst at KuppingerCole and returning MC of the European Identity and Cloud Conference, for a full preview of EIC 2026. The conference runs May 19-22 at the Berlin Congress Center and is expecting around 1,500 attendees with roughly 250 speakers across 200 sessions. Warwick walks through the 2026 tagline, Digital Trust Through Intelligent Identity, and unpacks the five parallel content streams covering identity governance, real-world IAM use cases, emerging tech, enterprise infrastructure, and privacy and compliance. The conversation covers how AI and agentic identity have moved from theory to a central agenda theme, what to know about the quantum-safe identity block, why EU digital wallets and digital sovereignty are getting serious keynote time, and why EIC records everything so you never have to pick the wrong session. Jeff also shares his take on where EIC fits in the broader conference calendar alongside Identiverse and Gartner, and why he is thoroughly done hearing that identity is the new perimeter. Connect with Warwick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/warwickashford/ Attend European Identity and Cloud Conference 2026 (use code idac25mko for a 25% discount): https://www.kuppingercole.com/events/eic2026?ref=partneridac26 Secure Remote Access: The Foundation of Industrial Cybersecurity (KC Analyst Chat Video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqpNg-ogEv4 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 Intro and AI Cybersecurity Discussion 00:04:00 EIC 2026 and Discount Code 00:05:47 Introducing Warwick Ashford 00:07:00 Warwick's Recent Work: MDR, SRA for OT/ICS, and TPAG 00:10:16 The History and Evolution of the EIC Name 00:11:00 Tagline: Digital Trust Through Intelligent Identity 00:12:10 How AI Has Elevated the EIC Agenda 00:14:49 Sessions vs Workshops at EIC 00:17:57 EIC as a Community and Networking Conference 00:18:00 Jeff's Conference Circuit: EIC, Identiverse, and Gartner 00:25:28 EIC 2026 Keynote Highlights 00:31:55 Virtual Attendance and Session Recordings 00:34:34 Hidden Gem: The Quantum-Safe Identity Block 00:36:15 Logistics: 1500 Attendees and 250 Speakers 00:38:00 The Five Parallel Content Streams 00:43:31 Is Identity the New Perimeter? 00:48:13 Fun Segment: Most Memorable Theater Moments Keywords: EIC 2026, European Identity Conference, Warwick Ashford, KuppingerCole, digital trust, intelligent identity, agentic identity, non-human identities, ITDR, quantum-safe identity, EU digital wallets, identity fabric, identity control plane, IAM, zero trust, Berlin, conference preview, IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, Warwick Ashford

    1h 1m
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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?

Information

  • Creator
    Identity at the Center
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    423
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 771327
  • Show Website
    Identity at the Center

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