Taming the Rise of Shadow AI Agents

Security Experts on Managing Identity Risks Through Governance, Access Controls Tom Field (SecurityEditor) • March 27, 2026

Artificial intelligence adoption has surged across enterprises, but identity security controls fail to keep pace. Organizations deploy agents widely without visibility or governance. "We're not getting compromised through breaking firewalls anymore. It's all about taking over one's identity and elevating and escalating permissions," said Moriah Hara, founder of Next Gen CISO.

The key challenge lies in how organizations perceive and manage these agents. Matt Immler, regional chief security officer at Okta, said rather than treating them as separate or less critical entities, enterprises should handle them with the same rigor as human identities.

Shadow AI has also emerged as a critical identity challenge for enterprises. When organizations fail to provide secure, approved tools, employees turn to external tools to maintain productivity, giving unsanctioned permissions to agents, said Jim DuBois, former CIO ...