{"id":7522,"date":"2025-11-13T12:02:43","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T16:02:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/?p=7522"},"modified":"2025-11-14T12:15:24","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T16:15:24","slug":"ai-agents-zero-trust-and-the-new-identity-paradigm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/ai-agents-zero-trust-and-the-new-identity-paradigm\/","title":{"rendered":"AI Agents, Zero Trust, and the New Identity Paradigm"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AI<\/a><\/p>\n

Duncan Greatwood, the CEO of Xage Security<\/a>, examines how AI agents and zero-trust security are shaping a new identity paradigm. <\/span><\/strong><\/em>This article originally appeared in Insight Jam<\/a>, an enterprise IT community that enables human conversation on AI.<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Agentic AI is 2025’s hottest tech topic\u2014and yet AI agents are being held back by the risks. Fears of rogue behavior abound, with cautionary tales\u00a0such as a\u00a0Replit agent<\/a> deleting a customer’s entire codebase, leaving businesses hesitant to trust agent-based<\/span>\u00a0AI with critical tasks. Human leaders are understandably reluctant to put themselves in a position where they must answer for AI’s costly mistakes.<\/p>\n

At the same time, ignoring agentic AI would be short-sighted. Well-governed agents that deftly accomplish their tasks promise significant efficiency gains and enable new ways of working. This presents CISOs and CIOs with a pressing problem. Agents need clear controls that keep them on track and restrict deviations that may have disastrous ripple effects. Current methods, such as prompt guardrails, are insufficient, as they can be easily bypassed by deliberate or accidental “jailbreak” inputs. Zero-trust identity-based controls can provide the necessary jailbreak-proof protections\u2014provided they are extended to operate in the agent-based era<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Controlling AI Agents<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Agents need to have identities applied to them, much like human users and machines do, but the controls placed on those identities should be tailored to meet the unique challenges that agents present. The paradigm needs to be built around both what makes agentic AI similar to existing entities and what makes it different from them.<\/p>\n

What are the specific requirements for an agentic Zero Trust approach?<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Agent identity<\/strong>\u00a0for each agent, such as is provided in the A2A protocol\/OpenAPI card<\/li>\n
  2. Authentication<\/strong>\u00a0and entitlement management for agents<\/li>\n
  3. Enforcement<\/strong>\u00a0of what agents can do with identity-based, jailbreak-proof, granular controls<\/li>\n
  4. Multihop entitlement delegation<\/strong>\u00a0for user-to-agent and agent-to-agent controls<\/li>\n
  5. Least-privilege\u00a0<\/strong>entitlements, delegating only what’s needed for the task at hand<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Implementing these requirements stops attackers from gaining control over critical systems by using agents to escalate their privileges. It creates accountability, so it is always clear who is ultimately responsible for initiating an action. It stops rogue AI agent behavior by avoiding excessive entitlement delegation to autonomous agents. It also prevents data leakage by enforcing identity-based control over data retrieval and transmission.<\/p>\n

    With properly implemented Zero Trust for AI agents, each agent operates in a focused, controlled, and task-appropriate manner, avoiding the potentially catastrophic risks associated with unmanaged AI privileges.<\/p>\n

    Examples to Learn From<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    The Replit incident may be the most notorious example of rogue agent activity to date, but it’s just one example of misbehavior uncovered by prominent AI research. September findings<\/a> from OpenAI and Apollo Research revealed that many leading AI models are capable of scheming, or concealing their behaviors to achieve alternative goals. They even detect when they’re being watched, and act accordingly.<\/p>\n

    It’s therefore irresponsible to give agents anything more than least-privilege access to operational systems\u2014their controls need to consider and block every rogue possibility and ensure that efficiency gains don’t come at the expense of security and predictability.<\/p>\n

    Why Zero Trust is the Answer<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Zero-trust principles, grounded in time-bound, identity-based access controls, are ideal for agents. Their missions are focused in scope and clearly defined, making them prime candidates for management with granular, identity-based access controls. It’s a framework that’s proven to be effective in both preventing and mitigating the effects of breaches.<\/p>\n

    Recent incidents, such as the $2.5 billion breach that affected\u00a0Jaguar Land Rover,<\/a> have served as<\/span>\u00a0reminders of how wide-reaching and tangible the effects of external cyber-attacks can be. Internal disruptions like agent misbehavior and data leakage can be just as costly, though, and applying the same Zero Trust safeguards to employees, chatbots, agents, and external parties is the best way to protect organizations from missteps (intentional or not) that cause compounding damage.<\/p>\n

    AI agents are both a critical innovation for businesses to employ and a new point of vulnerability where protective measures are urgently needed. Securing them needs to ensure both convenience and resilience, allowing agents to operate as efficiently as intended while also holding them accountable to their goals and restrictions. Zero Trust is a tried-and-true framework<\/a> that enables organizations to do just that, leaving room to root new security measures in identity-centric principles that stop rogue behavior and abuse before it starts.<\/p>\n

    \n

    \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Duncan Greatwood, the CEO of Xage Security, examines how AI agents and zero-trust security are shaping a new identity paradigm. This article originally appeared in Insight Jam, an enterprise IT community that enables human conversation on AI. Agentic AI is 2025’s hottest tech topic\u2014and yet AI agents are being held back by the risks. Fears […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1369,"featured_media":7523,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[2513,2289,107,2740,1252,2395,1349],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAI Agents, Zero Trust, and the New Identity Paradigm<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Duncan Greatwood, the CEO of Xage Security, explores how AI agents and Zero Trust are affecting a new identity paradigm.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/ai-agents-zero-trust-and-the-new-identity-paradigm\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Duncan Greatwood\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/ai-agents-zero-trust-and-the-new-identity-paradigm\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/ai-agents-zero-trust-and-the-new-identity-paradigm\/\",\"name\":\"AI Agents, Zero Trust, and the New Identity Paradigm\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/ai-agents-zero-trust-and-the-new-identity-paradigm\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/ai-agents-zero-trust-and-the-new-identity-paradigm\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/files\/2025\/11\/AI-Agents-Zero-Trust-and-the-New-Identity-Paradigm.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-13T16:02:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-14T16:15:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/#\/schema\/person\/137aadc6b6e067f2ebc3b7fa4547009b\"},\"description\":\"Duncan Greatwood, the CEO of Xage Security, explores how AI agents and Zero Trust are affecting a new identity paradigm.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/ai-agents-zero-trust-and-the-new-identity-paradigm\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/ai-agents-zero-trust-and-the-new-identity-paradigm\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/ai-agents-zero-trust-and-the-new-identity-paradigm\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/files\/2025\/11\/AI-Agents-Zero-Trust-and-the-New-Identity-Paradigm.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/files\/2025\/11\/AI-Agents-Zero-Trust-and-the-New-Identity-Paradigm.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"AI Agents, Zero Trust, and the New Identity Paradigm\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/ai-agents-zero-trust-and-the-new-identity-paradigm\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"AI Agents, Zero Trust, and the New Identity Paradigm\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/\",\"name\":\"Identity and Access Management Solutions | Solutions Review\",\"description\":\"Evaluating Enterprise IAM Software, Identity Governance & Access Control Tools.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/#\/schema\/person\/137aadc6b6e067f2ebc3b7fa4547009b\",\"name\":\"Duncan Greatwood\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/files\/2025\/11\/Duncan-Greatwood.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/files\/2025\/11\/Duncan-Greatwood.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Duncan Greatwood\"},\"description\":\"Duncan Greatwood is the CEO of Xage Security, overseeing all facets of the business including corporate positioning, product and market strategy, organizational development and go-to-market acceleration. Prior to Xage, Duncan was an executive at Apple, leading search-technology projects and products. He's also held executive leadership roles at companies like Topsy, PostPath, and more.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/xage.com\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/duncan-greatwood-15a0362\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/author\/dgreatwood\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"AI Agents, Zero Trust, and the New Identity Paradigm","description":"Duncan Greatwood, the CEO of Xage Security, explores how AI agents and Zero Trust are affecting a new identity paradigm.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/ai-agents-zero-trust-and-the-new-identity-paradigm\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Duncan Greatwood","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/ai-agents-zero-trust-and-the-new-identity-paradigm\/","url":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/ai-agents-zero-trust-and-the-new-identity-paradigm\/","name":"AI Agents, Zero Trust, and the New Identity Paradigm","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/ai-agents-zero-trust-and-the-new-identity-paradigm\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/ai-agents-zero-trust-and-the-new-identity-paradigm\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/files\/2025\/11\/AI-Agents-Zero-Trust-and-the-New-Identity-Paradigm.jpg","datePublished":"2025-11-13T16:02:43+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-14T16:15:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/#\/schema\/person\/137aadc6b6e067f2ebc3b7fa4547009b"},"description":"Duncan Greatwood, the CEO of Xage Security, explores how AI agents and Zero Trust are affecting a new identity paradigm.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/ai-agents-zero-trust-and-the-new-identity-paradigm\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/ai-agents-zero-trust-and-the-new-identity-paradigm\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/ai-agents-zero-trust-and-the-new-identity-paradigm\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/files\/2025\/11\/AI-Agents-Zero-Trust-and-the-New-Identity-Paradigm.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/files\/2025\/11\/AI-Agents-Zero-Trust-and-the-New-Identity-Paradigm.jpg","width":800,"height":400,"caption":"AI Agents, Zero Trust, and the New Identity Paradigm"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/ai-agents-zero-trust-and-the-new-identity-paradigm\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"AI Agents, Zero Trust, and the New Identity Paradigm"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/#website","url":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/","name":"Identity and Access Management Solutions | Solutions Review","description":"Evaluating Enterprise IAM Software, Identity Governance & Access Control Tools.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/#\/schema\/person\/137aadc6b6e067f2ebc3b7fa4547009b","name":"Duncan Greatwood","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/files\/2025\/11\/Duncan-Greatwood.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/files\/2025\/11\/Duncan-Greatwood.jpg","caption":"Duncan Greatwood"},"description":"Duncan Greatwood is the CEO of Xage Security, overseeing all facets of the business including corporate positioning, product and market strategy, organizational development and go-to-market acceleration. Prior to Xage, Duncan was an executive at Apple, leading search-technology projects and products. He's also held executive leadership roles at companies like Topsy, PostPath, and more.","sameAs":["https:\/\/xage.com\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/duncan-greatwood-15a0362\/"],"url":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/author\/dgreatwood\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7522"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1369"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7522"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7522\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/identity-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}