It is well-understood in the digital realm that “identity” usually refers to a person who logs into an application or system using a username and password. But in today’s digital world, identity is not just for people. Many non-human identities are now being used by organizations to meet their needs. Businesses often require applications and systems to talk to each other. To do this, they use non-human identities such as certificates, service accounts, bot accounts and API tokens.
Organizations usually spend a lot of time and money managing people like employees, contractors, customers, partners and vendors. However, non-human identities have often been ignored. These machine identities are not only important, but also very sensitive. Many organizations don’t even know how many machine identities they have, posing a major security risk. This is because they lack proper processes to manage them. Current security systems are not strong enough to properly control these identities.
The use of cloud computing, DevOps, RPA and microservices has caused a big increase in the number of machine identities. In the past, non-human identities mostly meant service accounts. But now, the meaning has grown to include many other types. It is important to manage these identities properly because:
- Usually, there is no multi-factor authentication (MFA) for them.
- Sometimes their passwords or keys are stored in unsafe places like CI/CD pipelines.
- Password rules like rotation and complexity are often not followed.
- The same identity is used for both manual and automated tasks, without any separation.
- Their credentials are often shared in unsafe ways and are not changed during risky times.
- They are often given more access than needed, and least-privilege access is not applied.
- Access reviews are not done, so over time they collect too many permissions.
- No one is clearly responsible for managing these identities.
- There is not enough logging to track what these identities are doing.
Hackers are always trying to steal these credentials to gain control of systems and applications. That’s why it is important to have strong controls and governance in place. Some key steps include:
- Keep a complete inventory of all machine identities. This is a key requirement.
- Assign clear ownership for each non-human identity to have appropriate accountability.
- Set up processes for managing their lifecycle, including requests, removal, and access reviews, to ensure proper governance.
- Use proper methods for vaulting, managing and rotating credentials regularly.
- Monitor their activity, and set up alerts and audits.
Machine identities are now a core part of how modern businesses run, even as they bring special security and management challenges. If not handled properly, they can lead to data leaks and compliance issues.
It’s time for organizations to take machine identities seriously and utilize a full governance strategy that includes tracking, access control, credential handling and monitoring. By managing them well, companies can protect themselves from threats and build a strong foundation for using modern cloud technology.
Strong governance of non-human identities is the key to building a secure and future-ready digital enterprise.
About the author: Rajiv Dewan is an accomplished Identity and Access Management (IAM) Leader, a recognized top contributor to IAM technical communities and a strong presence as an IAM blogger, with a proven track record of delivering scalable, innovative IAM solutions for some of the world’s largest and most prestigious organizations. Rajiv has extensive experience in designing and implementing advanced IAM frameworks across diverse industries, specializing in Single Sign-On (SSO), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), Privileged Access Management (PAM), Identity Governance & Administration (IGA), Directory Services, and Password Vaulting, and is known for aligning IAM solutions with business goals to ensure robust, scalable, and secure digital infrastructures.
