Okta helps secure AI agent identity
AI is the defining platform shift of this generation, changing organizations of every size and industry.
On one hand, this offers the opportunity to transform employee and customer experiences. But on the other hand, without security and governance implemented from the start, AI introduces new threats, such as AI-powered phishing, deepfakes, and hardcoded credentials ready for exploitation.
This powerful technology also introduces new and complex security challenges that demand a proactive and robust identity-centric approach.
The rise of AI agents and the evolving threat landscape
At the heart of this transformation are AI agents, increasingly autonomous AI systems that act on behalf of people, teams, and orgs. From customer service chatbots in retail to manufacturing agents that can coordinate factory floor robots to enterprise finance agents that can execute complex transactions — the age of Agentic AI is here, and it’s expanding rapidly.
The more access these agents have to data and resources, the more effective they become, and with increased access comes increased risk. Granting an AI agent broad access without proper controls is similar to giving a highly autonomous "super admin" unrestricted keys to your organization's kingdom. Poorly built, deployed, or managed agents can quickly become new attack vectors, ripe for exploitation by threat actors. A single prompt injection or persona-switching attack could grant unauthorized access to sensitive tokens, enabling lateral movement within your systems.
AI agent identity is different
Seemingly "human" in their interactions, AI agents require distinct identity management as non-human entities throughout their lifecycles — from provisioning to task execution and decommissioning.
Managing AI agent identity is different from managing human user identities due to key distinctions in definition, lifecycle, and governance. AI agents are part of the broader non-human identity category.
They lack accountability to a specific person, have short, dynamic lifespans requiring rapid provisioning and de-provisioning, and rely on various non-human authentication methods like API tokens and cryptographic certificates. They also need very specific and granular permissions for limited periods and often access privileged information, making robust control crucial to prevent prolonged escalated access.
Unlike human accounts, agents often lack traceable ownership and consistent logging, complicating post-breach audits and remediation.
The urgency for a dedicated AI identity security strategy is undeniable. A staggering 51% of companies have already deployed AI agents, yet 23% of IT professionals report AI agents being tricked into revealing access credentials, and 80% note unintended actions by bots. Alarmingly, only 44% of organizations have policies governing AI agents, leading to audit gaps and unclear accountability when agents use human credentials.
Okta's approach to help secure AI agent identity
At Okta, we believe that identity is the cornerstone of security. Through the Okta Secure Identity Commitment, we’re leading the charge against identity attacks, including those emerging from the new generation of AI and agent-driven threats. Our approach extends proven identity security principles to AI agents, preventing AI from becoming an identity blind spot within your organization.
Okta provides a comprehensive solution for the entire AI agent lifecycle, enabling agents to be built securely from the ground up and governed as first-class identities within your organization. This creates a robust identity security fabric that helps ensure unmatched visibility, control, and remediation capabilities as AI agents evolve in capability and number.
With the Auth0 Platform, you can build your agents with identity security in mind with Auth for Gen AI. This helps ensure the agent is acting on behalf of a user and doesn’t violate any authorization policies.
Within your organization, the Okta Platform lets you bring all agents — third-party or homegrown — into your identity security fabric. You get a single control plane to manage all agent identity needs, including authentication, governance, posture management, threat response, and cross-application access.
As AI agents become increasingly interconnected and autonomous, managing their identities will become the critical foundation for trust and security. Okta's identity-first approach empowers organizations to innovate confidently with AI while protecting their most valuable assets and maintaining a strong security posture in this new era.
