When Identity Fails, The Business Stops

Identity is now the fabric that determines the viability of every business operation. In this episode of The Watchtower, Ash Hunt talks with Valvoline CISO Corey Kaemming about how identity became the operational backbone of modern companies. As cloud, automation, and AI accelerate, identity failures don’t just create risk - they stop work entirely. They explore why identity decisions are now business decisions, how automation amplifies identity risk, and why CISOs are evolving from gatekeepers into service leaders responsible for keeping operations moving.   Chapters 0:00 Identity Now Runs Everything (Corey Kaemming) 1:20 Why Identity Suddenly Matters More Than Ever 5:40 “Attackers Aren’t Breaking In… They’re Logging In” 9:30 Identity as the Backbone of Enterprise Operations 12:00 You Can’t Just “Turn On” AI in Security 17:00 Moving Beyond Passwords - What Users Actually Want 19:20 Why Identity Workflows Keep Breaking 23:10 When Identity Fails, the Business Stops 26:00 “If You Can’t Log In, Nothing Works” 29:10 Inside a Real Identity Transformation Program 34:50 Who Should Own Identity - Security or the Business? 41:30 Rethinking Hiring, Teams, and Identity Strategy 46:15 Identity Beyond Security Presented by Cyera. Produced by Mission.org. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.