Identity, AI top of mind for RSA CEO as conference kicks off

Ask RSA CEO Rohit Ghai what he thinks people will be discussing at his company’s annual conference this week, and the answer is one word: identity.

Ghai told IT Brew that he’s expecting to see people embracing passwordless login and using AI in identity management.

“The importance of assuring identity to assure your digital estate is going to be a big topic,” Ghai said.

Log off. While there’s been a lot of talk around the potential of passwordless logins for years, organizations have been slow to adapt to the technology. Ghai said he expects that to change. FIDO authentication is opening the door for innovation in the passwordless space and allowing companies like RSA to introduce products and services that will let users develop more secure technology for the hardware token and mobile authenticator space.

“RSA has been hard at work over the last decade to bring passwordless to the enterprise, inside businesses, as opposed to consumer authentication use cases,” Ghai said.

Hideaway. Identity administration will also evolve with the rise of AI. Ghai described the process as something akin to piloting a plane; the more automated the instruments are, the easier it is for the pilot to fly. So too with identity management, where the use of AI can bring “actionable insights to the identity and security operations center, making a normal human lower the skill level needed to actually administer identity.”

Ghai suggested enterprises deploy AI to manage permissions. Users shouldn’t have permissions that exceed their needs, and catching unnecessary access is easier with AI.

“We recommend that you de-credential [the user], and reduce the amount of privilege he has,” Ghai said.

The RSA Conference takes place from Monday, May 6, to Thursday, May 9. IT Brew will be reporting on site, and you can catch our coverage as we tell all about the trends and products we see on the show floor.