Non-Human Identities: The New Digital Gatekeepers
Non-human identities (NHIs) are the cornerstone of secure machine-to-machine and human-to-machine authentication within modern enterprise systems. As innovation drives the adoption of microservices, third-party solutions, and cloud-based platforms, organizations have created a complex, interconnected ecosystem where NHIs are critical to ensuring secure communication. Today, NHIs outnumber human identities by 10 to 50 times, underscoring their importance in the digital landscape.
What is Non-Human Identity Management?
Non-Human Identity Management (NHIM) is the process of overseeing and automating the entire lifecycle of NHIs. This includes:
- Discovery and classification
- Provisioning
- Ownership assignment
- Posture monitoring and detection
- Vaulting and secure storage
- Credential rotation
- Compliance
- Decommissioning
Why Do We Need Non-Human Identity Management?
Effective NHIM is crucial due to the increasing risks associated with unmanaged NHIs:
- Identity-Based Breaches: The cost of data breaches continues to rise, with the global average in 2023 at USD 4.45 million, according to the IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report. Credential theft remains a leading tactic in cyberattacks, with stolen credentials accounting for 77% of basic web application attacks (Verizon, 2024).
- Vulnerabilities from Unmanaged NHIs: Without NHIM, organizations are prone to significant vulnerabilities, such as stale privileged NHIs, unrotated secrets, and long-lived credentials with excessive expiration periods. These are prime targets for cyber attackers.
Organizations like Cloudflare, Microsoft, and GitHub have experienced breaches tied to compromised non-human identities in recent months.
The Security Risks of Unmanaged NHIs
The MITRE ATT&CK Matrix for Enterprise outlines how NHIs are involved in various adversary tactics, including:
- Initial Access: Techniques like Supply Chain Compromise (T1195) and Valid Accounts (T1078) are used to gain entry.
- Persistence: Adversaries manipulate or create accounts (T1098, T1136) to maintain access.
- Credential Access: Attackers attempt to steal credentials for escalation (T1555, T1552, T1528).
Common threats include:
- Stale privileged NHIs that lack credential rotation.
- Exposed secrets from off-boarded employees.
- Stale storage accounts with outdated configurations.
- Long-lived secrets with expiration dates of 50+ years.
Identifying and addressing these risks proactively is the first step in securing NHIs and safeguarding organizational assets.
How to Choose the Right NHIM Platform
Non-Human Identity Management (NHIM) represents a fundamental shift in Identity and Access Management (IAM). As identity becomes the new security perimeter, organizations need specialized solutions designed for non-human entities. Key features to look for in an NHIM platform include:
- Holistic Contextual Visibility: The platform should provide full visibility into the NHI landscape, including usage patterns, dependencies, and relationships across systems.
- Hybrid Cloud Compatibility: NHIM must work seamlessly across on-premises and cloud environments (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) to ensure comprehensive coverage.
- Active Posture Management: The platform should proactively assess and improve the security posture of NHIs.
- Lifecycle Management & Automation: Automating key lifecycle processes (provisioning, rotation, decommissioning) reduces risk and enhances operational efficiency.
- Integration with Secret Managers & PAMs: The platform should integrate with popular secret management solutions like HashiCorp Vault and CyberArk to secure and vault sensitive credentials.
- Developer-Ready: APIs for easy integration and automation, supporting operational tools and development processes.
Introducing NexusIAM: The Non-Human Identity Management Platform
NexusIAM is built from the ground up to manage and secure non-human identities across all environments. Our platform combines:
- Discovery & Inventory: Identify and classify NHIs across your systems.
- Posture & Remediation: Monitor and resolve posture risks in real-time.
- Lifecycle Management: Automate the full lifecycle of NHIs from creation to decommissioning.
NexusIAM delivers a comprehensive, actionable view of NHIs, providing cross-system insights, operational context, and automated security remediation. Our platform works seamlessly across hybrid cloud environments, enabling organizations to secure non-human identities and enhance their security posture quickly.
Key Features of NexusIAM
- Non-Human Identity-Centric: Focus on managing identities, not just infrastructure or secrets, to provide a complete, actionable view of your operational environment.
- Cross-System Insights: NexusIAM aggregates data from various systems (IDPs, secret managers, event logs) for rich contextual visibility into NHIs.
- Lifecycle Orchestration: We offer powerful lifecycle management capabilities, automating key processes from creation to decommissioning. This ensures that all identities are properly managed throughout their entire lifecycle, reducing the risk of security breaches.
- Support for Hybrid Cloud: NexusIAM supports on-premises and cloud infrastructures, ensuring consistent security across diverse IT landscapes.
- Fast Time to Value: Get immediate benefits from NexusIAM, with customers reporting issue resolution within days of implementation.
Contact NexusIAM Today to begin securing your digital landscape with robust Non-Human Identity Management. Together, we can safeguard your organization against the evolving threat landscape and ensure seamless integration with future technologies.