THE Hacker News reports on an upcoming expert-led webinar titled “How to Stop AI-Driven Privilege Escalation With Runtime Identity Controls,” published on 13 October 2026. The piece argues that the real risk of identity theft goes beyond initial sign-in: once an attacker has foothold, they can move through systems by abusing privileged access, aided by AI-enabled reconnaissance and automation.
Traditional identity controls—focused on authentication and static permissions—are portrayed as insufficient because they don’t govern what a valid-looking identity does after access is granted. The article stresses that attackers may automate parts of an attack chain, outrunning security teams’ ability to investigate and respond in real time.
What the webinar will cover, according to the article, includes identifying where identity gaps exist across cloud, on‑premises, SaaS, and AI environments; explaining why AI-powered attacks compress defenders’ response windows; and detailing how runtime identity security works—evaluating access continuously and enforcing timely security decisions while an identity is in active use. It also highlights practical preparation for defence against attacks that can progress at machine speed.
The piece frames runtime identity security as a means to not only determine who has access, but whether that access remains trustworthy at each moment, aiming to close the gap between authentication and ongoing access control in modern, AI‑assisted threat landscapes.