Can AI Replace Authentication Systems? Frontline Security Lessons | Cheryl Hung | SAG 2025

From real-world coding pitfalls to large-scale cloud security challenges: In this talk, Cheryl Hung, a tech executive and cloud-native expert with 15+ years of experience at companies like Google, Apple, and ARM, explores one of the toughest challenges in modern software architecture: customer identity and access management in AI-driven systems. She is a former leader at the Cloud Native Computing Foundation and founder of Cloud Native London, known for her work in Kubernetes, open source ecosystems, and large-scale distributed systems. Starting from an experiment using AI to build an authentication system, Cheryl uncovers surprising security flaws and demonstrates why authentication is far more complex than it seems. She dives into the risks of AI-generated code, the evolving challenges of identity across multiple systems, and why security remains a Sisyphean task even after years of progress. This talk also introduces the concept of “shift-down security”, a practical approach to distributing responsibilities across application, platform, and security teams, and highlights the growing importance of the social side of architecture—communicating ideas, aligning teams, and building consensus around technical visions. 💡 If you work with AI, cloud, security, or modern architectures, this session is packed with insights you can apply today. In this keynote, you’ll discover: ✅ Why authentication touches everything in our digital lives ✅ The hidden risks in AI-generated code ✅ Why security is still just as hard today as it was years ago ✅ The growing complexity of identity in a world of AI agents ✅ A new approach to security architecture: “shift-down security” #ai #claudecowork #claudebot #chatgpt #cybersecurity #cloudcomputing #kubernetes #devops #softwarearchitecture #authentication #iam #cloudnative #techtalk #aiengineering #platformengineering #securityengineering #securitystrategy _______ Resources mentioned in the Keynote: https://github.com/kubernetes/sig-se curity/blob/main/sig-security-d ocs/papers/shift-down/shift-down-security.md https://oicheryl.com _______ Save the date for iSAQB Software Architecture Gathering 2026, from November 16 to 19, 2026 in Berlin: https://sag.isaqb.org Follow us on: LinkedIn:   / isaqb.org   Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@isaqb Bluesky: https://isaqb.bsky.social Facebook: https://facebook.isaqb.org Instagram:   / isaqb.official   _______ Video Production ‪@Kameramensch-Filmproduktion‬ for iSAQB GmbH Executive Producer: Johannes Klemt 1st Camera OP: Nico Schallat 2nd Camera OP: Vladimir Traut Stage, Light & Sound: Kingsize.Events