Proof of Concept: Machine Identities Fuel Rising IAM Crisis

Ping Identity's Adam Preis on Why Legacy IAM Tools Can't Manage AI Agent Identities Anna Delaney (annamadeline) • January 14, 2026

In the latest "Proof of Concept," Adam Preis, director of product and solution marketing at Ping Identity, joined editors at Information Security Media Group to discuss how agentic artificial intelligence is forcing security leaders to rethink digital identity from the ground up as AI agents take on high-value tasks and gain access to sensitive systems.

Nonhuman identities have quietly overtaken humans in most environments. Yet most security architectures treat agents like an afterthought - if they register them at all. Preis warned that without strong verification, delegated access and life cycle governance, autonomous agents could become the next major blind spot in enterprise defense.

"We like to say that identity access management is really table stakes for any agentic AI implementation," Preis said. "Agents themselves have an identity. That ...