By Suparna Chawla Bhasin
Publication Date: 2026-03-23 16:22:00
Most enterprises are experimenting with AI agents. Almost none have deployed them at scale. Cisco’s own data puts the numbers at 85% and 5%, respectively. That gap isn’t about model quality. It’s about control.Cisco’s RSA Conference 2026 announcements are aimed squarely at that problem.AI agents don’t just return outputs. They call APIs, trigger workflows, and make decisions autonomously. That changes the nature of risk in ways most enterprise security architectures weren’t built to handle. Jeff Schultz, SVP of Portfolio Strategy at Cisco, notes, “With chatbots, the concern was what AI might say. With agents, the concern is what they can do.”That’s a meaningful distinction. Once AI starts taking actions, accountability becomes the central security question.
Identity controls weren’t built for this
Enterprise identity and access management was designed for humans and static services. Agents fit neither model. They operate continuously, often across multiple systems, with no clear…
