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AI Agent Security: Why Identity Is Becoming the Control Layer | EP 85 | Geoffrey Mattson & Mark van Oppen, SecureAuth

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85

Episode | October 19, 2026

In this episode of the Cyber Security Matters podcast, hosts Tom Wilding and Matt Rose are joined by Geoffrey Mattson, CEO, and Mark van Oppen, Chief Revenue Officer at SecureAuth, to explore how the rise of AI agents is changing cybersecurity and why identity is becoming increasingly important in controlling what those agents can do. 

The conversation looks at the shift from traditional identity and authentication towards real-time authorisation, where organisations need to understand not only who or what is accessing a system, but what they are permitted to do at any given moment. 

Geoffrey and Mark discuss the challenges created by autonomous and increasingly capable AI agents, including over-privileged access, unpredictable behaviour, shadow AI infrastructure and the growing importance of visibility, policy and behavioural analytics. 

Key topics: 

  • Why AI agents represent a fundamentally different security challenge 
  • The move from identity verification to real-time action authorisation 
  • How organisations can begin taking inventory of their AI agents, infrastructure and MCP servers 
  • The risks of over-privileged agents and “friendly fire” from AI systems 
  • Why visibility alone isn’t enough when securing AI 
  • Applying Zero Trust principles to workforce, customer and agent identities 
  • The importance of connecting technical cybersecurity capabilities to real business outcomes 
  • What cybersecurity organisations should look for when building strong sales and technical teams 
  • Why the rapid emergence of AI is forcing the cybersecurity industry to rethink traditional approaches 

About our guests:

Geoffrey Mattson is CEO of SecureAuth and an experienced cybersecurity and technology leader, with previous leadership roles including CEO of Xage Security and co-founder and leader of MistNet.ai. His career has included work with organisations including Juniper Networks, Huawei, Nortel and Bell Labs. 

Mark van Oppen is Chief Revenue Officer at SecureAuth, leading the company’s global sales and marketing efforts. He has held senior commercial and technology roles at companies including IBM, Heptio, VMware and FusionAuth. 

 

This episode of Cyber Security Matters is brought to you by neuco. 

Podcast Guest Profile Geoffrey Mattson & Mark Van Oppen

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