At the RSA Conference in San Francisco, Stephen McDermid, Chief Security Officer, EMEA region, for Okta, outlines how the convergence of regulatory pressure, evolving cyber threats, and the rise of agentic AI is reshaping enterprise security. He emphasizes that organizations must move beyond purely technical controls toward a continuous, organization-wide security culture, while prepping for a future where AI agents operate at massive scale.

In this environment, identity becomes the central control layer—governing not just people, but machines, services, and autonomous agents. McDermid argues that companies must adopt strong governance, visibility, and lifecycle management early, or risk losing control as AI adoption accelerates.