AI Agents Gone Rogue: Okta's Solution to the Autonomous Agent Dilemma

Rogue AI agents are here, and they're not as glamorous as your typical Hollywood spy. Instead of daring stunts, they bring a very real security headache. Enterprises are rushing to deploy these agents like there's no tomorrow. But securing them? That's a different story.

AI Agents: A Security Wild West

Okta's own research paints a worrying picture. A staggering 92% of executives report using autonomous AI agents. Yet, only 22% say their organizations have identities tied to these agents. That's a massive security blind spot. As Eric Kelleher, Okta’s COO, bluntly put it, this is a “measurable, quantifiable exposure.” In short, companies are tossing AI agents into the wild without a proper leash.

The Kill Switch Solution

Enter Okta's kill switch feature. When AI agents go rogue, Okta claims it can sever connections and revoke access tokens at the authorization layer. ServiceNow, a key player in IT service management, is keen on this solution. Why? Because when things go awry, someone needs to pull the plug.

Meanwhile, ServiceNow's acquisition of Veza aims to provide similar capabilities. With Veza, ServiceNow maps permissions across human, machine, and AI identities. This gives them their own version of a kill switch. But can they match Okta's finesse in identity governance?

Industry Giants Join the Race

Okta isn't alone in this battle. Microsoft Entra offers its own set of tools, assigning identities to agents and enabling Conditional Access rules. They even let customers disable entire classes of agents in one swoop. But let's be honest, the real question is: who does it better?

Okta's collaboration with AWS and Salesforce indicates a growing trend. The industry is waking up to this need, and partnerships are forming faster than a coffee shop queue in Stockholm. Todd McKinnon, Okta's CEO, emphasizes that customers want flexibility. An independent identity and connectivity layer is the clear ask.

The Bottom Line

So, what's the takeaway? Enterprises are playing with fire by deploying AI agents without proper controls. Okta's kill switch might just be the fire extinguisher they need. But the bigger picture is clear: the industry needs to grow up and get serious about AI security. Show me the product, and then show me it works.