Okta companions with ISVs to ascertain a brand new open protocol that securely manages how AI brokers work together throughout methods
Okta, Inc, the main unbiased identification companion, at this time introduced Cross App Entry, a brand new protocol to assist safe AI brokers. As an extension of OAuth, it brings visibility and management to each agent-driven and app-to-app interactions, permitting IT groups to determine what apps are connecting and what info AI brokers can entry.
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Why it Issues:
- Extra AI instruments are utilizing protocols like Mannequin Context Protocol (MCP) and Agent2Agent (A2A) to attach their AI studying fashions to related knowledge and apps throughout the enterprise. Nevertheless, for connections to be established between brokers and apps, comparable to Google Drive or Slack, customers must manually log in and consent to grant the agent entry to every integration.
- These app-to-app connections happen with out oversight, with IT and safety groups having to depend on handbook and inconsistent processes to realize visibility. This creates a giant blind spot in enterprise safety and expands an more and more unmanaged perimeter.
- This problem shall be amplified with the explosion of AI brokers, that are introducing new, non-deterministic entry patterns, crossing system boundaries, triggering actions on their very own, and interacting with delicate knowledge.
- Immediately’s safety controls aren’t geared up to deal with their autonomy, scale, and unpredictability. Present identification requirements are usually not designed for securing an interconnected net of companies and functions within the enterprise – and whereas MCP improves transparency and communication between brokers, it doesn’t assist handle entry.
“Whereas we’re actively working with the MCP and A2A communities to enhance AI brokers’ performance, their elevated entry to knowledge and the explosion of app-to-app connections will create new identification safety challenges,” mentioned Arnab Bose, Chief Product Officer, Okta Platform at Okta. “With Cross App Entry, Okta is happy to carry oversight and management to how brokers work together throughout the enterprise. Since protocols are solely as highly effective because the ecosystem that helps them, we’re additionally dedicated to collaborating throughout the software program business to assist present brokers with safe, standardized entry to all apps.”
What we’re introducing – Cross App Entry
Okta, working with business main ISVs, is launching Cross App Entry to assist ISVs ship safe, enterprise-ready integrations in an AI-powered world. Anticipated to be obtainable for choose Okta Platform clients as a characteristic in Q3 of this 12 months, it is going to allow ISVs’ enterprise clients to higher join their AI instruments to different apps and knowledge, ship extra seamless experiences for the tip consumer by eradicating repetitive authorization consent screens, and handle agent entry for higher safety and compliance.
For instance, an AI software could must entry an inner communication app to retrieve info or take motion on a consumer’s behalf. With out Cross App Entry, the consumer should log into the AI software through their firm’s SSO after which manually approve every integration, logging into and consenting to the interior communication app individually. This course of would then should be repeated for different crucial functions, comparable to a file storage service or a undertaking administration software. Every consent and entry is invisible to the enterprise buyer.
With Cross App Entry, the AI software can as a substitute request entry to the interior communication app from Okta, which evaluates the request in opposition to enterprise insurance policies and determines whether or not the software is permitted to entry that particular consumer’s inner communication app knowledge. If permitted, Okta points a token to the AI software, which it presents to the interior communication app for validation. As soon as validated, the interior communication app gives entry – all with out extra consumer interplay, and below enterprise-defined safety controls. The enterprise has visibility into when the AI software accesses the interior communication app on behalf of the consumer.
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What challenges does this resolve for ISVs?
ISVs face rising strain to help safe, seamless cross-app experiences for his or her enterprise clients, however the underlying identification and entry flows are sometimes inconsistent, fragmented, and onerous to scale. These integrations usually depend on dangerous token exchanges and user-granted entry, resulting in token sprawl and visibility gaps. As AI brokers start to autonomously join throughout methods, this complexity and the danger solely will increase.
How Cross App entry will help: Cross App Entry permits ISVs to ship safe, enterprise-grade integrations for AI brokers and different autonomous methods, comparable to workflow automation instruments. By shifting entry management to the identification supplier, like Okta, ISVs can scale back safety dangers, simplify integration complexity, and higher help their clients’ compliance and governance wants.
What challenges does this resolve for enterprises?
Integrating AI instruments with present knowledge and methods presents important hurdles. Many companies at the moment depend on advert hoc strategies like long-lived tokens and fragmented entry controls, making these integrations inherently dangerous. AI adoption is being stalled by this lack of visibility and management over how brokers entry knowledge throughout apps.
Past safety, the consumer expertise can also be impacted when brokers can’t act seamlessly on behalf of customers, as a result of repetitive and outdated authorization flows.
How Cross App entry will help: With Cross App Entry, enterprises can improve safety and usefulness, empowering IT to handle agent entry whereas enabling seamless, low-friction experiences for customers. It helps safe interoperability between apps and AI methods, making it simpler to undertake modern ISV options with out compromising oversight or efficiency.
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