Fahad Kabir
Canada Identity Security Lead, Accenture Cybersecurity
Kristine Osgoode
Canada Market Unit Lead, Accenture Cybersecurity
With machine identities outnumbering humans and AI agents transforming workflows, identity has become the foundation of digital trust.
Identity security — once seen as back office IT — has become foundational to business resilience and innovation. The rise of machine identities, now outnumbering human ones by more than 80 to 1, combined with accelerating adoption of AI agents across enterprises, shows why identity must be treated as critical infrastructure. Accenture’s acquisition of IAMConcepts in Canada reinforces this point: identity is no longer optional — it is central to competitiveness and resilience.
The rise of machine identity & AI agents
In my 20 years in identity security, I’ve seen the field expand from passwords to biometrics to zero trust. But today, the most urgent challenge is machine identity. These are the digital credentials used by APIs, service accounts, cloud workloads, IoT devices, and increasingly AI agents.
The scale is staggering: machine identities now outnumber human identities by over 80 to 1, with nearly half holding sensitive or privileged access. In DevOps environments, that ratio can exceed 45 to 1, and many organizations expect their identity inventories to triple in the near term. Unmanaged or orphaned machine identities have already been implicated in breaches that bypass traditional controls.
Meanwhile, AI agents are rapidly entering the enterprise. By the end of 2025, 85 per cent of enterprises will deploy AI agents in at least one workflow. Early adopters report 61 per cent workflow efficiency improvements, and the AI agent market is projected to hit US$8 billion by 2025. However, 77 per cent of organizations remain without foundational AI security. These agents, while transformative, add to identity complexity: each must be securely governed to avoid becoming an invisible vulnerability.
5 Key Action Items for Identity Security
Discover and Inventory All Identities:
Identify every human and non-human identity (NHI), including shadow IT and machine accounts. Many hold privileged access yet remain unmanaged — posing major risks.
Secure Every Identity Type:
Build a program that addresses all identities — workforce, vendors, IT admins, DevOps, AI agents, workloads, and devices. Include end users, partners, certificates, APIs, and servers to ensure full coverage.
Foster Shared Accountability:
Create a cross-functional team that combines internal staff with specialized external expertise. Make accountability clear across all parties to break down silos and strengthen identity protection.
Operationalize with Change Management:
Treat identity as an ongoing program, not a project. Establish strong change management and embed monitoring, policy updates, and training into daily
operations.
Build Trust in AI:
As AI agents proliferate, secure them with verified identities, limited privileges, and monitoring. Building trust in these systems enables safe adoption and accelerates AI-driven transformation.
Weak identity controls are no longer minor IT flaws — they are existential risks. In an era where machine identities multiply exponentially and AI agents reshape workflows, organizations that embed identity into their digital core will not only stay secure but also gain trust, resilience, and market advantage.
Accenture’s acquisition of IAMConcepts
In 2025, Accenture acquired IAMConcepts, a leading Canadian identity and access management (IAM) services provider, to expand its ability to deliver advanced identity security solutions across key industries in Canada. Since its founding in 2013, IAMConcepts has grown into one of the country’s top Identity Security services providers, serving major banks, insurance companies, higher education institutions, and critical infrastructure organizations. Recognized in the 2024 KuppingerCole North American Leadership Compass for IAM systems integrators, the firm’s local expertise and track record now complement Accenture’s global scale — bringing together global strength with a sharp local focus for Canadian clients.
Kristine Osgoode, Accenture Cybersecurity Lead in Canada, explains, “By strengthening our Canadian IAM capabilities — spanning privileged access, identity governance, and customer IAM — Accenture is aligning with its broader secure digital core strategy and investments in AI.”
This acquisition illustrates what Accenture highlights in its State of Cybersecurity Resilience 2025 report: building a secure and resilient digital core is not just a technical necessity but a strategic imperative. Businesses cannot scale AI responsibly without modernized identity governance, including the management of machine identities. Organizations that act now-adopting Zero Trust principles and embedding security into their AI-powered transformation-will be best positioned to survive and thrive.
IAMConcepts is now part of Accenture.
About Kristine Osgoode
Kristine Osgoode leads Accenture’s Cybersecurity business in Canada. With 30 years of experience in security, business resilience and complex transformations, Kristine is a partner who brings together the talent, ecosystem, innovation and commercial structures needed to reinvent cybersecurity, stay ahead of the threat and regulatory landscape and drive business value.
About Fahad Kabir
Fahad Kabir is the Canadian Leader for Accenture’s Identity Security practice, where he helps organizations strengthen their digital core and manage complex identity challenges. He previously served as the CEO of IAMConcepts Security Solutions Inc., a cybersecurity professional services firm specializing in digital identity and access management, which was acquired by Accenture in 2025.
With over 20 years of experience leading consulting organizations and global systems integrators, Fahad has built a reputation as a visionary in cybersecurity. He has spoken at global conferences on topics such as the future of Identity & Access Management, cyber threats in financial services, and enterprise security program management, and is a published contributor to several industry publications. Under his leadership, IAMConcepts became one of the largest and most respected identity-focused professional services firms worldwide.
Explore how this combined expertise is shaping the future of identity security in Canada by visiting accenture.com/security.
