Identiverse 2025 Recap - Another Perspective

Identiverse 2025 took place June 3–6 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, bringing together over 3,000 identity and cybersecurity professionals for four days of keynotes, panels, and hands-on sessions. This year marked a pivotal shift: as artificial intelligence rapidly advances, the need to secure agent-based authentication and authorization has emerged as the next critical—and still largely uncharted—frontier.

Here are some highlights of the standout sessions, announcements, and community moments that shaped Identiverse 2025.

Highlights

IDPro Members’ Reception

The IDPro community gathered for a vibrant Members’ Reception at Mandalay Bay. The event, which drew a packed house of identity innovators, standards leaders, and privacy advocates, was standing-room only — a testament to the strength and momentum of the digital identity profession. IDPro members were welcomed by IDPro Board Members Hannah Sutor, Dr. Tina Srivastava, Heather Flanagan, and Bertrand Carlier. The evening unfolded seamlessly and stress-free, fostering meaningful connections in a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Drinks were provided courtesy of sponsor Hydden!

The reception reflected the heart of IDPro’s mission: to create, manage, and use digital identities in ways that are professional, ethical, secure, and privacy-preserving — all in service of reliable and high-value digital services. That shared commitment echoed throughout the room, as members old and new affirmed the principles that guide our growing community.

IDPro & IDAC “Identity Feud”

Fresh off their hit game show at FIDO Authenticate, Identity at the Center podcast hosts Jeff Steadman andJim McDonald brought the fun to Identiverse with a spirited installment of “Identity Feud.” This high-energy showdown saw Team IDPro: Heather Flanagan, Mike Kiser, andDr. Tina Srivastava in a battle of identity trivia, best practices, and buzzy survey questions. The event packed a laughter-filled pavilion, cheering them on.

The event was more than just entertainment—it was a celebration of community. Practitioners and thought leaders mingled and bonded over shared identity quirks, highlighting the camaraderie that defines the IDPro community. In true Identiverse fashion, Identity Feud delivered connection, levity, and a reminder that the identity world knows how to work hard—and play hard too.

Identiverse 2025 Sessions

Ping Identity CEO Andre Durand headlined with a keynote on scaling secure digital business at the speed of trust. With more users, devices, bots, and AI expanding the threat landscape, Durand argued that continuous, contextual, and verified trust is needed to keep pace. He painted a picture of an identity future where adaptive, continuous authentication enables agility without sacrificing security, giving organizations an edge over adversaries. This call to embrace a zero-friction, high-trust paradigm set an optimistic tone for the conference.

“Data Provenance: Keystone of Trust in the Age of Deepfakes” – Top-ranked cybersecurity analyst Jack Poller held a fascinating discussion with IDPro Board member and Badge Inc. Co-Founder Dr. Tina P. Srivastava and former DARPA CybersecurityDan Kaufman on preserving trust as AI-generated deepfakes blur reality. The panel discussed the critical need for strong data provenance to combat manipulated identities and forged credentials.

Masterclass – Identity-First Security: In a technical deep-dive, Wade Ellery (Field CTO, Radiant Logic) led a masterclass on fortifying defenses through an “identity-first security” approach. Ellery highlighted that identity has become the number one attack surface in cyber breaches, placing identity teams on the front line of defense. He showed how high-quality identity data is the linchpin: garbage in/garbage out identity data undermines security decisions, so organizations must transform their identity data management to enable fully empowered identity-first security. Attendees gained strategies to improve data integration and consistency, reinforcing that strong identity foundations are key to better defense.

Cisco spotlighted its identity vision with a focus on resilience and user experience. In a keynote, Matt Caulfield (Cisco Duo) urged teams to plan for outages and breaches—“your worst day on the job”—by embracing passwordless, proximity-based authentication. Later, IDPro member Chris Anderson tackled rising threats from fake identities, outlining how context-aware signals like device trust and anomaly detection can help spot imposters. Together, their message was clear: with modern design, security and seamless access aren’t in conflict—they’re two sides of the same strategy.

“Italian Precision and German Creativity” – Thales & NAB Conversation.

In a standout cross-continental session, Marco Venuti (Thales) and Olaf Grewe (National Australia Bank) explored B2B identity through the lens of “Italian Precision and German Creativity.” Their candid dialogue offered real-world strategies for managing third-party access and building trust in partner ecosystems. The session reflected Identiverse’s global outlook, and Thales reinforced its forward-thinking stance by showcasing quantum-safe, phishing-resistant authentication for future-ready MF.A

The IPSIE panel, featuring experts from Workday, Beyond Identity, Okta, and SGNL, tackled the complexity of identity standards like SAML, OAuth, and FIDO. Panelists including Jen Schreiber and Dean Saxe emphasized how technical profiles and frameworks (e.g. OpenID profiles) can bridge the gap between evolving protocols and enterprise needs—enabling secure, mix-and-match interoperability without the chaos. The message: simplifying identity integration is a shared challenge, but real progress is underway.

Expo Hall

The Expo Hall featured multiple booths, including IDPro, and was the location of many debates on identity, AI, and the future!

The message was clear throughout the week: identity isn’t just foundational to cybersecurity; it’s becoming the anchor point for securing a future shaped by intelligent systems.