The Hacker NewsMay 20, 2026Identity Security / Enterprise Security

New Industry Data Just Released Suggests Not.

On May 19th, 2026, Orchid Security released the results of our Identity Gap: Snapshot 2026. Among the findings, "identity dark matter" (the unseen, unmanaged elements of identity) now overshadows the visible elements 57% vs. 43%. And it couldn't have occurred at a worse time, with enterprises embracing Agent AI with both arms (and unfortunately, as Orchid co-founder Robert Wiseman explains, more than one eye closed).

Why the concern, you may ask?

AI agents are shortcut-seekers by design. When given a task, they are trained to find the most efficient way to complete it, with the speed of machines and the creativity of humans. Denied access to a necessary system? Use a hard-coded credential stored in plaintext within the application. Need information they aren't entitled to read? "Borrow" a credential with higher privilege. Constantly being challenged across many different systems? Grab a broadly accepted token. Truly, Agent AI's creativity is remarkable. It just cuts both ways.