#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