Security Report · github.com/jacobdjwilson

Ping Identity and Deloitte Outline Six Identity Security Trends for 2026

Nov 8, 2026 · Original Report (PDF) ↗

Summary

Ping Identity and Deloitte outline six 2026 IAM trends, including AI-agent identity, helpdesk and hiring fraud, decentralized identity, quantum-resistant cryptography and continuous verification, alongside global trust survey findings.

Key points

The report says 17% of consumers trust the organizations managing their identity data, 75% are more concerned about data security than five years ago, and 23% are confident they can spot a scam.
It argues that enterprises need verified AI-agent identities, delegated authority controls, dynamic entitlements and human oversight.
It identifies helpdesk social engineering, including AI-generated voice deepfakes, as a way to trick staff into resetting credentials or disabling MFA; it recommends mandatory identity verification during recovery.
It describes hiring fraud tactics including deepfake interviews, false credentials and bait-and-switch hiring, and cites a 220% rise in IT-worker hiring fraud incidents over the past year.
It recommends decentralized, consent-based identity systems to give users more control over personal data and reduce risks from centralized data silos.
It advises auditing cryptographic dependencies and preparing for quantum-resistant cryptography and modernized signing mechanisms.
It advocates continuous verification of access requests, credential resets and privilege escalations rather than relying on a single login checkpoint.

Article Details

Publisher: Ping Identity and Deloitte
Report Period: 2026 outlook and beyond; last updated 2025-11-01
Scope: Six identity and access management trends: AI agents, helpdesk security, hiring fraud, decentralized identity, quantum computing, and continuous verification.
Sample Size: Not disclosed
Key Statistics: 17% of consumers trust the organizations managing their identity data; the cited survey sample size is not provided.
75% of people globally are more concerned about their data security than five years ago; the cited survey sample size is not provided.
23% of people worldwide are confident in their ability to spot a scam; the cited survey sample size is not provided.
IT worker hiring fraud incidents increased 220% over the past year, according to a cited Fortune article.
The report states that organizations implementing continuous verification achieve 50% faster threat detection and response; supporting study details are not provided.
Recommendations: Establish verified, governable identities for AI agents and extend accountability to their actions.
Embed identity verification into every helpdesk workflow and remove password dependencies from recovery and verification.
Use high-assurance identity verification throughout hiring and onboarding, including reusable, verifiable digital credentials.
Audit cryptographic dependencies and adopt quantum-resistant cryptography and modernized signing mechanisms.
Continuously validate access requests, credential resets, and privilege escalations with real-time assurance.