Okta: AI adoption fuels issues for id administration
Analysis from id administration provider Okta is pointing to new safety issues, related with the emergence and development of synthetic intelligence (AI) brokers and non-human identities (NHIs).
Commissioned by Okta and carried out by analysis agency AlphaSights, the provider’s AI at work survey polled 260 C-level executives throughout 9 international locations – Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, the Netherlands, the UK and the US – in Might 2025.
Okta stated the analysis “uncovers a posh panorama the place effectivity and pace are high priorities however safety stays important to realising AI’s full worth”.
Stephen McDermid, EMEA chief safety officer on the agency, stated: “The rise of AI brokers and non-human identities underscores the pressing want for brand spanking new safety and governance frameworks.
“AI adoption is greater than a technical improve – to maximise its strategic worth, organisations should outline clear use instances and construct strong foundations from the beginning,” he added.
“Whether or not it’s utilizing AI for buyer help interactions, gross sales and advertising and marketing initiatives or safety enhancements, id is prime to how companies will optimise their use of AI, while additionally protecting their information secure.”
Governance and oversight
In accordance with the analysis, the principle safety concern associated to AI brokers over the subsequent three years is governance and oversight, cited by 58% of organisations, adopted by compliance and regulatory necessities at 50%.
Securing NHIs is now a “important” or “very vital” precedence for 76% of organisations globally, with 78% citing management of NHI entry and permissions as their main concern.
Nevertheless, solely 10% of organisations have a governance technique in place for managing NHIs, whereas 91% are already deploying AI brokers.
In an interview with Pc Weekly, McDermid stated the projected proliferation of brokers in enterprise software program is “terrifying”.
“You could possibly have brokers your self, doing all of your purchasing or attempting to make your life simpler in different methods,” he stated. “However the problem is when you’ve got an agent speaking to a different agent. How do you outline the boundaries between what they’re and what they aren’t allowed to do?
“And we all know from chatting with prospects that they’ve the problem no longer solely of constructing their very own brokers, however having them work with different brokers, too,” stated McDermid. “That’s the place it will get actually messy and complex, and that’s the reason in case you have a look at the exponential development [of agents], individuals are responding with speaking about governance and frameworks to keep away from information being shared inappropriately, which is already taking place within the discipline.”
The survey discovered that globally, AI adoption has surged from 64% to 80% up to now 12 months, with 62% of organisations citing safety and menace detection as the highest AI objective for the 12 months forward.
In EMEA, AI adoption carefully matches the worldwide fee, however country-level variation is important, in accordance with the survey. France is main with 83%, adopted by Germany (77%), the Netherlands (70%) and the UK (70%). Nevertheless, solely 9% of worldwide respondents described themselves as “very ready” to defend in opposition to AI-driven threats.
Some 85% of worldwide respondents now view id and entry administration (IAM) as vital to their safety posture, up from 79% final 12 months.
The share of firms utilizing AI for safety functions decreased from 71% in 2024 to 65% in 2025, however the cohort of respondents who “strongly agree” with the view that “AI is the most effective defence in opposition to AI” rose from 18% to 41%.
In EMEA, using AI for safety appears robust, with 70% of UK organisations exploring AI-driven safety programs, and France (63%), Germany (57%) and the Netherlands (57%) additionally exhibiting uptake. These figures nonetheless path world leaders such because the US and India, stated Okta.
Quick development in AI brokers and NHIs
In 2025, 42% of organisations globally attested to widespread use of NHIs. In EMEA, adoption is decrease general at 22.5%, with the Netherlands main at 30%, and the UK, France and Germany every at 20%.
AI brokers appear to be complementing human workforces, in accordance with this analysis. The most typical reported profit from integrating with AI brokers is elevated productiveness, adopted by price financial savings.
For 2025, 47% of firms count on AI brokers to have a reasonable affect on operational effectivity, and 55% consider these brokers will complement human roles, whereas solely 5% see AI brokers changing human employees. High traits for AI brokers embody – unsurprisingly – automating repetitive duties; enhancing customer support; and optimising workflows.
