Time to Rethink Privileged Access for Machines and AI Agents
Security Boulevard, Friday, May 1st, 2026
Legacy PAM systems must evolve to manage machine identities and AI agents in modern cloud-native environments.
Traditional Privileged Access Management (PAM) systems were designed for human administrators but are increasingly inadequate as machine identities and autonomous AI agents outnumber human users in organizations.
Legacy PAM approaches fail because they are credential-centric, point-in-time, and human-focused, breaking down in modern cloud-native architectures where access is continuous and autonomous. The article advocates for a fundamental shift toward continuous, identity-centric security that brokers access in real-time rather than granting persistent privileges, treating privileged access as an ongoing condition to be continuously governed.
Modern PAM strategies must adapt to dynamic, diverse identities and apply consistent controls across humans, machines, and AI agents through approaches like just-in-time access and real-time behavioral visibility.