The Kill Switch for AI Agents

About this episode

Can AI agents be trusted when 80% of today's breaches start with compromised identities?

Carey Frey, Chief Security Officer at TELUS, joins Threat Vector host David Moulton to tackle the most overlooked security challenge in the AI revolution: identity. With 20+ years protecting everything from Canada's Communication Security Establishment to one of North America's largest telecommunications companies, Carey brings hard-won wisdom about why identity isn't just important—it's the foundation that determines whether agentic AI becomes a force multiplier or an attack surface disaster.

You'll learn:

• Why 95% of organizations haven't thought about AI agent identity (and what happens when they deploy anyway)

• The single data layer CISOs need to build before AI agents can operate safely at scale

• How threat actors have already abandoned malware for something far simpler—and why AI makes it exponentially worse

• What "delegated authority" means for AI agents and why Gmail's EA permissions model points the way forward

• The maturity model that tells you if your identity foundation will crumble under agentic AI

Carey leads security programs protecting TELUS's global assets while delivering managed cybersecurity services to 450+ customers across Canada. As a member of the Security Innovation Network (SINet), he co-authored practitioner guidance defining what "AI-native identity fabric" actually means—and why solving identity before deploying agents isn't optional. His insights bridge 20 years of government intelligence work with real-world enterprise security at telecommunications scale.

Read Carey's work on identity and AI:

• The AI Revolution: Identity Will Unleash Its Full Power - Carey's deep dive on Medium

• SINet Identity Working Group Strategic Guide - The practitioner guidance referenced throughout this episode

This episode is essential listening if you're: evaluating AI agent platforms, struggling with fragmented IAM systems across cloud and on-prem, implementing Zero Trust for non-human identities, or trying to understand why identity suddenly became the CISO's #1 priority after being the "third rail" for decades.

Related Episodes:

• Transform Your SOC And Get Ahead Of The Threats

• Securing AI in the Enterprise

• How to Scale Responsible AI in the Enterprise

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