Norbert Kiss, Head of Asia Pacific, Delinia, says the identity landscape is more vulnerable than ever.
The rise of AI, machine-to-machine communications and the increasing number of non-human identities have introduced new layers of complexity to cybersecurity.
Attackers are leveraging AI to automate attacks, bypass security controls and exploit human and machine identities. Meanwhile, businesses are integrating AI-driven decision-making, often granting these systems privileged access to critical applications and infrastructure. The result is an identity landscape that is more vulnerable than ever.
Compromised credentials remain the easiest way for attackers to access sensitive systems, whether through phishing, insider threats or AI-powered impersonation. Criminals are also targeting and using machine identities, service accounts and AI bots.
The growing reliance on interconnected cloud and hybrid environments further complicates identity security, as traditional perimeter-based defences are no longer enough.
This surge in identity-based threats is reshaping cybersecurity strategies, and here are critical trends any CISO should be paying attention to right now:
- Protecting the Digital DNA – Organisations must confront a growing blind spot in their security strategies: machine-to-machine communications across AI systems, bots, and IoT devices. These non-human identities have become integral to operations and a prime target for attackers. If organisations fail to secure these identities, they risk handing cybercriminals unrestricted access to their most critical systems. The challenge is staying ahead of attackers who weaponise machine identities for their advantage. One way to do that is to secure and provision non-human identities with the same strict protocols as human identities.
- A New Kind of Insider Threat – AI-powered identity theft is redefining insider threats. Attackers are leveraging deepfake technology to hijack trusted identities, impersonating employees or executives to bypass security controls. This makes it increasingly difficult to distinguish legitimate users from sophisticated impersonators. As AI evolves, organisations must rethink how they protect internal and external access. Organisations must enhance behavioural analytics and adopt zero-trust security models that challenge every identity before granting access.
- Quantum Threatens Global Security – Quantum computing is poised to disrupt global cybersecurity, with nation-state actors already working to break traditional encryption methods through quantum enhanced AI and machine learning models. When this happens, once-secure data will become vulnerable in seconds, leading to an unprecedented escalation in cyber warfare, espionage, and data theft. While quantum-resistant encryption is in development, it may not arrive in time to prevent attackers from gaining a strategic advantage. Forward-thinking organisations must start investing in post-quantum cryptography, ensuring their identity security measures can withstand quantum-level threats.
- The Smart Security Stack – As the cybersecurity landscape becomes more complex, security teams are under pressure to consolidate security tools while ensuring they remain interoperable. Simply layering more security solutions on top of one another creates gaps that adversaries can exploit. A truly smart security stack integrates best-in-class identity security, AI-powered threat detection, and access governance to provide a holistic defence against modern cyber threats. Organisations must prioritise interoperability, ensuring that all security tools, whether cloud-native or on-premises, work together to improve efficiency and speed up threat response times.
