2026-05-27 –, Arena
This session shares real world lessons learnt and gaps identified from using SPIFFE, OAuth 2.0, and mTLS to automate identity lifecycle management, OAuth client registration, sender-constrain tokens and eradicate secrets.
Enterprises are drowning in machine identities across clouds, clusters, and AI agents. Teams fight secret sprawl, brittle client provisioning causes outages, and manual lifecycle management can’t keep up with the pace of ephemeral workloads.
This session bridges the gap between standards and implementation. First, we will provide a primer on the evolving workload identity landscape, reviewing foundational initiatives like SPIFFE, active working groups like WIMSE and new work in OAuth that are foundational to building a modern, secure, scalable and automated NHI lifecycle management.
Next, we will present a deep-dive into how Signicat built SWIM (Signicat Workload Identity in‑Mesh), a fully automated non‑human identity (NHI) lifecycle system using open standards. SWIM combines SPIFFE, OAuth 2.0, and mTLS with a service mesh to automate identity lifecycle management, OAuth client registration, and sender-constrained tokens.
By combining a standards overview with a real-world implementation, we offer a complete story. You'll leave with hard-won lessons and a practical blueprint to move from client-secret chaos to an automated, standards-based NHI lifecycle that removes developer friction and gives identity teams verifiable, auditable control.
Pieter Kasselman is an Identity Enthusiast, focused on standards based identity products. Pieter has over 25 years' experience as a technologist and engineer, working on bringing new technologies and business models to market. Pieter's first encounter with identity was his final year project which used neural networks to identify users based on typing patterns. Since then he worked in a number of roles as an information security analyst, software engineer and program manager in industries that include finance, software, silicon and cloud. His diverse background gives him a unique perspective of the importance of identity and the role of identity standards as both a business enabler and the first line of defence for.