Identity Is the Bottleneck: Why Agents Force a New Security Model

Agents don’t just call APIs. They plan, iterate, and take action across systems. As they move into real workflows, they expose a core issue: identity and access systems weren’t built for software that behaves like this. The current model assumes stable actors, predictable workflows, and permissions defined ahead of time. Agents don’t fit that model. They’re dynamic, they cross boundaries, and they operate in ways that can’t be fully anticipated.

This talk breaks down where that gap shows up and why it matters. It then looks at what needs to change. Identity becomes the control plane, with access decisions made at execution time using the full context of the user, the agent, and the environment, and enforced on every action.