#427 - Identiverse 2026 Preview with Heather Flanagan and Andi Hindle

Jeff and Jim are joined by Heather Flanagan, Content Chair, and Andi Hindle, Conference Chair, for a full preview of Identiverse 2026 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. They cover the 2026 theme of trust and change, why AI was removed as a standalone track and redistributed across all content areas, the provocative argument that non-human access now dramatically outpaces human access and is reshaping identity system design, whether authentication is truly solved, authorization as the harder unsolved problem, CFP surprises, networking events including Women at Identiverse, and predictions for 2027. Save 30% with code IDV26-IDAC30%. New IDPro members save $25 at idpro.org/idac. Connect with Heather: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hlflanagan/ Connect with Andi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahindle/ Identiverse 2026: https://events.identiverse.com/2026/begin?code=IDV26-IDAC30%25 Heather's IAM Conference List: https://github.com/fedidcg/meetings/wiki/2026-List-of-Identity-and-Related-Conferences-and-Standards-Development-Events Connect with us on LinkedIn: Jim McDonald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmcdonaldpmp/ Jeff Steadman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffsteadman/ Visit the show on the web at http://idacpodcast.com TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 Introduction and SolarWinds breach banter 00:03:27 Identiverse preview and discount codes 00:06:10 Guest introductions 00:06:52 Role of Content Chair 00:08:46 Role of Conference Chair 00:11:16 2026 conference theme 00:15:00 AI as context, not a standalone track 00:16:32 Control plane vs enablement plane debate 00:22:19 What the industry is underestimating 00:24:00 Non-human access outpaces human access 00:26:52 Is authentication solved? Passkeys 00:30:31 Authorization: far from solved 00:36:04 Extensibility in standards and deployments 00:38:22 CFP surprises: fraud and identity proofing 00:41:48 Usability and UX gaps 00:43:18 Agentic AI: identity or governance? 00:47:55 Networking and newcomer programming 00:51:45 Women at Identiverse 00:52:46 AI-generated CFP submissions 00:55:00 Predictions for Identiverse 2027 00:58:04 Theme songs for Identiverse 2026 01:02:58 Heather's identity conference list on GitHub 01:04:47 Swag culture at identity conferences 01:12:25 Wrap-up KEYWORDS Identiverse 2026, Heather Flanagan, Andi Hindle, identity conference, NHI, non-human identity, agentic AI, passkeys, authentication, authorization, IAM, IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, digital identity, continuous identity architecture, zero standing privilege, verifiable credentials, identity governance