Passwordless Security in the Age of AI: A Conversation with Slavik Markovich, CEO of Descope

Passwordless Security in the Age of AI: A Conversation with Slavik Markovich, CEO of Descope

Cybersecurity is once again at a critical crossroads—this time, driven by the explosive growth of AI technologies. During a recent visit to Descope’s Palo Alto office, I sat down with CEO Slavik Markovich, a veteran in the cybersecurity space whose past ventures, Demisto (acquired by Palo Alto Networks) and Sentrigo (acquired by McAfee), shaped much of the modern security landscape. Our conversation centered around how AI is radically reshaping digital identity.


Slavik and his team—collaborators for nearly three decades—launched Descope with a bold mission: eliminate passwords altogether. “Passwords are the worst of both worlds,” he noted, “hard for humans to remember and easy for computers to crack.” As AI supercharges phishing and other attack vectors, traditional passwords only grow more inadequate.


Instead, Slavik advocates for passkeys—phishing-resistant, cryptographic keys stored locally and authenticated via biometrics, without ever exposing the biometric data. It's a fundamentally more secure and seamless approach to authentication.


Descope’s innovation doesn’t stop there. As AI evolves into “agentic” form—digital agents acting on behalf of users—the company is tackling a new security frontier. These agents don’t fit neatly into existing models of user authentication or machine-to-machine trust. “The industry is shifting toward agentic AI,” Slavik explained, “and that’s expanding the scale and complexity of identity management.”


One surprisingly common challenge they’re solving is the "confused agent problem," where digital agents unintentionally act with higher privileges than intended. Descope positions itself as the intermediary—managing progressive authorization, mediating between users, agents, and applications, and ensuring secure, compliant interactions.


For CISOs and enterprise leaders, this shift presents both urgency and opportunity. AI is no longer an emerging edge case—it’s embedded in tools and workflows across organizations. Security teams must act swiftly to secure agent-driven interactions and identity touchpoints or risk falling behind.


At Clarity, where I focus on AI-powered threats like deepfakes and next-gen phishing, I see firsthand how vital identity management has become. It’s no longer just a login issue—it’s the first and most critical line of defense. Security solutions must be both robust and frictionless, balancing user experience with airtight protection.


Slavik also shared a personal insight that stood out to me: “We prioritize having fun. We’ve built multiple companies together because we genuinely enjoy the journey.” That mindset resonates. The best cybersecurity innovations come from passionate teams that love solving hard problems, not just building defenses.


The identity revolution is already underway. Organizations that embrace passwordless, agent-aware authentication now will dramatically improve both their security and user experience. Those that delay will face rising vulnerabilities and growing user frustration.


Our industry isn’t just evolving—it’s undergoing a full-scale transformation. Proactively embracing agentic AI, passkeys, and adaptive identity strategies is not just smart—it’s essential. Those who lead will define the future of digital trust. Those who don’t may find themselves struggling to catch up in a threat landscape redefined by AI.

Jaksot(1169)

Ep10: Hillel Fuld | Startup Advisor and Tech Columnist

Ep10: Hillel Fuld | Startup Advisor and Tech Columnist

Hillel Fuld has been named the 7th top tech blogger worldwide, Israel’s top marketer, and on Forbes, was dubbed “The Man Transforming Startup Nation to Scale up Nation.”   He is a global speaker, tech blogger, startup marketer, and leading online influencer. Today, Hillel collaborates with companies such as Google, Oracle, and Microsoft to help early and later stage entrepreneurs take their local technology to a global scale.

15 Elo 202025min

Ep6: Oded Hermoni | Managing Partner at J-Ventures

Ep6: Oded Hermoni | Managing Partner at J-Ventures

J-Ventures is a community empowered VC fund based in Silicon Valley and backed by over 150 leading investors. Previously a Partner at Rhodium, and was a VP at Capital Point group (early stage traded investment firm). Founded a startup that was acquired by YellowPages group. He formed and led the largest Israeli Tech and VC organization (now called IATI) and was a founding member of ICON and INTRO. Before becoming a VC, Oded was an editor and journalist covering tech and economy at Haaretz/TheMarker/ Red Herring.

15 Elo 202024min

Ep8: Cliff Weitzman | Founder and CEO of Speechify

Ep8: Cliff Weitzman | Founder and CEO of Speechify

Cliff is an American Israeli entrepreneur, Founder of Speechify Text To Speech software - the 10th highest grossing productivity app on Apple's App Store, used to read more than a billion words every month. Cliff is one of the youngest people named to Forbes magazine's 30 Under 30 list. He is a Dyslexia advocate, listens to 100 books a year, & has the first chapter of harry potter memorized. Cliff is one of the CEOs discussed in the book The Great CEO Within.

15 Elo 202019min

Ep2: Shuly Galili | Founding Partner of Upwest

Ep2: Shuly Galili | Founding Partner of Upwest

Shuly is the co-founding Partner at UpWest, a Silicon Valley seed fund investing in startups at the Israel-US technology junction. UpWest portfolio crossed $1B in VC funding and includes companies such as SentinelOne, HoneyBook, Stampli, CyCognito, Airobotics and more.

15 Elo 202021min

Ep5: Izhar Shay | Israeli Knesset, former VC

Ep5: Izhar Shay | Israeli Knesset, former VC

Prior to joining the Israeli Parliament, Shay was a high-tech entrepreneur, CEO of start-up companies, member in boards of directors, mentor for entrepreneurs and a social activist. He wrote a popular weekly column at Globes for 11 years, authored two books, and founded Israel’s largest digital community for entrepreneurs (“Start-Up Stadium”) with about 45 thousand members. Previously, Shay was a Managing General Partner with Canaan Partners Israel and was a board member with promising start-up companies, some of which reached significant ‘exit’ events.

15 Elo 202023min

Ep4: Yasmin Lukatz | Executive Director of ICON

Ep4: Yasmin Lukatz | Executive Director of ICON

Yasmin Lukatz, MBA Stanford, Startup Investor and Philanthropist, is the Founder and Executive Director of ICON - Israel Collaboration network, helping Israeli entrepreneurs penetrate the US market by bridging Silicon Valley and Israel. ICON's members are VC Partners, Executives at Fortune 500 companies and Founders of rising-star startups. Yasmin only asks, is to pay it forward, and also pay it back by rallying the ICON community to support and mentor children in Israel's periphery.  Yasmin is also a respected startup investor, starring in the new season of the Israeli TV version of Shark Tank.

15 Elo 202019min

Ep3: Alon Matas | Founder & President of BetterHelp

Ep3: Alon Matas | Founder & President of BetterHelp

BetterHelp is the world’s largest counseling service. They connect people facing life's challenges with a counselor from their network of licensed, accredited, and board-certified therapists. Each month, over 2,000,000 counseling messages, chats, voice calls, and video sessions are facilitated through BetterHelp’s secure website and mobile app!

15 Elo 202020min

Ep1: Amir Shevat | Co-Founder and CPO, Reshuffle

Ep1: Amir Shevat | Co-Founder and CPO, Reshuffle

Amir is a co founder at reshuffle, early-stage investor, and an author. Previously, he led initiatives at companies such as Google, Slack, Amazon Twitch and Microsoft. Amir is an innovator at heart.

12 Elo 202020min

Suosittua kategoriassa Liike-elämä ja talous

sijotuskasti
psykopodiaa-podcast
rss-rahapodi
mimmit-sijoittaa
ostan-asuntoja-podcast
rss-lahtijat
oppimisen-psykologia
rss-sisalto-kuntoon
rss-neuvottelija-sami-miettinen
rss-laakispodi
pomojen-suusta
lakicast
asuntoasiaa-paivakirjat
rss-uskalla-yrittaa
rss-sensuroimaton-kukkonen-kausi-3
rss-bisnesta-bebeja
rss-lentopaivakirjat
rss-juurisyy-johtamisesta-kilpailuetua
rss-seuraava-potilas
rss-paasipodi