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Security company Okta ensures the authenticity of AI agents

Technology of the modern age, particularly Artificial Intelligence, stands as the significant paradigm shift, powering transformations in organizations of varying scales and sectors. This shift comes with the prospect of elevating businesses and industries to new heights.

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Strengthening the security of an AI agent's identity through Okta's assistance
Strengthening the security of an AI agent's identity through Okta's assistance

Security company Okta ensures the authenticity of AI agents

In the rapidly expanding age of Agentic AI, characterized by increasingly autonomous AI systems, ensuring the security and governance of these non-human entities has become paramount. A recent study reveals that only 44% of organizations have policies governing AI agents, while 51% of companies have already deployed AI agents, including customer service chatbots, manufacturing agents, and enterprise finance agents [1].

One such company addressing this growing concern is Okta. Okta's approach to securing AI agent identity centers on an **identity-first security model** that treats AI agents as first-class identities within an organization. This approach is designed to address the emerging risks of AI and agent-driven threats by extending traditional proven identity security principles to AI agents, thereby preventing identity blind spots related to AI [1][2].

Key elements of Okta's strategy include comprehensive AI agent lifecycle management, a unified control plane for agent identity, Auth for Gen AI, Cross App Access protocol, and a focus on trust and security in an autonomous AI environment.

Okta enables organizations to securely build, govern, and manage AI agents from inception, embedding identity security at every stage. This ensures AI agents are integrated into the organization's overall identity security fabric with full visibility, control, and remediation capabilities [1][2].

The company provides a single platform to manage all agent identities—whether third-party or homegrown. This includes capabilities for authentication, governance, posture management, threat response, and cross-application access [1][2].

Leveraging Okta’s Auth0 platform, organizations can build AI agents with identity security in mind. Auth for Gen AI ensures that agents act strictly on behalf of authenticated users and comply with authorization policies, preventing unauthorized access or privilege escalation [1].

Okta introduced Cross App Access, a new protocol extending OAuth, to secure both agent-driven and app-to-app interactions. This protocol provides visibility, fine-grained permissions, auditability, and governance for AI agents connecting with enterprise applications, addressing the complexity and scale of AI-driven integrations [3][4].

As AI agents become more interconnected and autonomous, managing their identities is critical to maintaining a strong security posture and enterprise trust. Okta’s identity-centric approach provides the foundational control necessary for secure AI innovation [1][2].

Elizabeth Baier, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Okta, responsible for go-to-market strategy for Okta Privileged Access, emphasizes the importance of securing AI agent identity. "Granting an AI agent broad access without proper controls is similar to giving a highly autonomous 'super admin' unrestricted keys to an organization's kingdom," she says [1].

With 23% of IT professionals reporting AI agents being tricked into revealing access credentials and 80% of organizations noting unintended actions by bots, the need for a secure and governable AI agent identity solution is evident [1]. Okta's approach to help secure AI agent identity is through the Okta Secure Identity Commitment.

In summary, Okta's Auth for Gen AI plays a critical role by enabling secure, user-authenticated AI interactions and embedding identity controls directly into AI agents. This reduces the risk of unauthorized actions by AI agents and integrates them seamlessly into an enterprise’s security ecosystem, ensuring effective governance and trust as AI capabilities grow [1][2].

Sources: [1] Okta. (2022). Okta Secure Identity Commitment. Retrieved from https://www.okta.com/security/secure-identity-commitment/ [2] Okta. (2022). Okta for AI. Retrieved from https://www.okta.com/solutions/ai/ [3] Okta. (2021). Introducing Cross App Access: Simplifying Identity and Access Management for APIs. Retrieved from https://www.okta.com/blog/introducing-cross-app-access-simplifying-identity-and-access-management-for-apis/ [4] Okta. (2021). Okta Cross App Access: Secure Identity for APIs. Retrieved from https://www.okta.com/solutions/apis/

  1. Okta prioritizes AI agent identity security using an 'identity-first security model', treating such agents as integral identities within an organization.
  2. Okta's strategy encompasses AI agent lifecycle management, a unified control plane for agent identity, Auth for Gen AI, Cross App Access protocol, and a focus on trust and security in an autonomous AI environment.
  3. Okta Secure Identity Commitment aims to securely build, govern, and manage AI agents from inception, embedding identity security at every stage.
  4. Leveraging Okta's Auth0 platform, organizations can develop AI agents with built-in identity security, ensuring agents only act on behalf of authenticated users and adhere to authorization policies.
  5. Okta's Cross App Access protocol secures interactions between AI agents and enterprise applications, offering visibility, fine-grained permissions, auditability, and governance.
  6. The importance of securing AI agent identity is emphasized by Elizabeth Baier, as granting broad access without controls can lead to unauthorized actions and compromised security.

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