In this first episode of Identity Matters, Mark McClain, CEO and Founder of SailPoint, is joined by Ron Green, cybersecurity fellow at Mastercard and SailPoint board member.   Green discusses his impressive career journey, from a childhood aspiration to become a Philadelphia police officer to serving in the U.S. Army, the Secret Service, and later leading security initiatives at major organizations like Bank of America and MasterCard. The conversation delves into the evolution of cybersecurity, reminiscing on Green’s early days dealing with cybercrime to today’s complex landscape to the human impact of cybersecurity during crises, comparing unique challenges of supporting teams through unexpected global threats.  A key theme of this episode is the importance of fundamentals in security—often overlooked but critical for preventing attacks. McClain and Green explore the role of AI in cybersecurity, not only for defending against today’s threats but also for anticipating future risks through techniques like threatcasting. They also discuss the growing significance of identity security, explaining how securing access to applications and data has always been the goal and why identity security is at the core of everything.  This episode explores the future of cybersecurity and the human side of defending in our digital world. It’s a must-listen for anyone trying to wrap their arms around the future of cybersecurity, threat intelligence and the critical role identity security plays in safeguarding our digital world.