Sara Sokorelis | Senior Marketing Communications Specialist, Thales
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Sara Sokorelis | Senior Marketing Communications Specialist, Thales
More About This Author >
What connects a medieval historian, a discarded smartphone, a satellite orbiting Earth and an AI agent booking your next business trip? Quite a lot, as it happens. Welcome to issue 5 of IAM 360. For the past six months, we've been gathering stories that have taken us to some unexpected places.
In brief: IAM 360 is Thales’s magazine on identity, access management and cybersecurity. Issue 5 explores how to govern and authorize AI agents that act on our behalf; the hidden environmental footprint of technology, from discarded smartphones to the energy and water demands of AI; carbon credits, satellite data and the security of water infrastructure; quantum readiness and the EU Cyber Resilience Act; and how to design identity systems that work for everyone.
This issue stays true to its roots in identity and cybersecurity, while venturing beyond passwords, permissions and authentication. We've explored electronic waste, AI agents making decisions on our behalf, and some of the industry's biggest challenges. Sustainability is a strong theme, too, and one that's becoming increasingly important to me.
Growing up in Norway, we frequently drove past Bøyabreen, a glacier my mother told me would always be there. Back then, it reached almost to the road. Today, much of the ice has retreated high up the mountain. Something I believed would never change has changed dramatically.
It's a reminder that even the things we assume will always be there can change. And while the challenges are very different, identity is going through its own transformation, with AI rewriting long-established rules at breakneck speed. So, before I get too nostalgic, here's a taste of what's inside.
AI agent identity: Clever colleagues or uninvited guests?
AI agents are increasingly capable of doing things on our behalf. Booking travel, accessing information, completing transactions. Very handy, until you wonder exactly what they're allowed to do.
Analyst Ant Allan explores trust and accountability between autonomous systems in Identity in an Agent-to-Agent World. In The Agentic Traffic Jam, Jason Keenaghan compares unpredictable AI agents to drivers who don't follow the rules. Without clear boundaries, things could get messy rather quickly. Meanwhile, Gal Helemski from PlainID and Marco Venuti from Thales put authorization in the spotlight. As AI agents multiply, deciding who (or what) gets access to what becomes increasingly important. For a look at how Thales is helping to secure the wider AI agent ecosystem, see our partnership with Google.
Sustainability and technology: A complicated relationship
Technology has an environmental footprint, even when we can't see it. This issue explores some of its less obvious sources.
Professor David Bol of UCLouvain introduces research into securely erasing data from discarded smartphones so they can be reused rather than becoming electronic waste. Etienne Chevreau examines how the environmental impact of physical identity documents might be reduced without compromising security. Marcus Knight, founder of Be Green AI, asks how much energy, water and computing power our growing appetite for artificial intelligence demands. And in our fifth IAM Academy session, David Noel-Lardin of Thales explores how passkeys could support sustainability objectives while improving authentication security.
From carbon credits to outer space and water security
One of my favourite things about IAM 360 is discovering how far a conversation about identity and trust can take us.
Berend de Haas, co-founder of Carboneers, introduces biochar, made from agricultural waste to remove carbon while improving soil health. He also explains how digital verification makes carbon credits traceable and transparent.
Loïc Rognant takes us considerably further afield in The World, Seen from Space, exploring how satellite data supports environmental monitoring, agriculture and disaster response, and why protecting its integrity matters.
Closer to home, Ron Wagterveld examines cyber threats facing water infrastructure, while Olivier Paris explores the connections between climate risk, cybersecurity and resilience. These stories surprised me, revealing just how closely our physical and digital environments are connected.
Preparing for the next phase: Identity migration, quantum and the CRA
There's plenty of valuable insight for IAM and cybersecurity professionals, too. Bill Nelson of Identity Fusion shares lessons from migrating more than five million identity records, a project where careful planning and maintaining user trust were essential. Itan Barmes of QIZ explores what quantum computing could mean for cryptographic protections and why organizations should prepare for post-quantum cryptography now. And William Janssen examines the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) and the growing importance of demonstrating product security.
Identity is, above all, deeply human
Some of my favourite conversations in this issue were about people. Haider Iqbal of Thales asks whether we're designing identity systems for everyone, including those without the latest smartphone, reliable internet access or digital skills.
And then there's Heather Flanagan. Oh, how I loved our conversation! Her journey from medieval history and library science to internet governance and digital identity is fascinating. We discussed privacy, accessibility, community and making technology work for people. I came away with lots to think about.
We also take a look at public transport. Marco Kartman of Translink and Venceslas Cartier of Thales discuss the evolution of contactless payments and how the Dutch approach could inspire transport systems elsewhere.
Things to get you thinking
From the retreating glacier I remember as a child to the almost endless possibilities of AI agents, this edition has made me think about what's changing and what we ought to protect. I'm grateful to everyone who shared their knowledge and ideas.
IAM 360 issue 5 is out now. I hope you enjoy reading it and perhaps discover something that gets you thinking, too.
Missed the previous edition? Catch up on IAM 360 Issue 4: Identity on the Go.