Non human identities (or non person identities), the backbone of automated processes and digital operations, are the unsung heroes of our cybersecurity infrastructure. Yet, in the shadow of their critical functions, lies a significant vulnerability — non human identity security risks are often overlooked. While organizations have fortified human user access with robust security measures, the management and security of non human access like service accounts, API keys and cloud tokens have not received the same level of scrutiny. This gap in non human identity management presents a fertile ground for cyber attackers, who have quickly learned to exploit these vulnerabilities to their advantage.
This article strips away the obscurity surrounding non human identities, exposing their security risks, and delivers actionable insights to tighten the reins on these critical yet vulnerable assets.
Enterprise Security for AI Agents & Non-Human Identities
What are non human identities?
In order to understand the impact that non human identities have, we must first understand what they are.
Non human identities provide machine-to-machine access and authentication within software ecosystems. These identities are digital constructs that enable automated processes, services, and applications to authenticate and perform tasks without direct human intervention. Access is granted to NHIs through various authentication methods, which include secrets like access keys, certificates, and tokens.
For example, an application or workload can use a service account, which is a type of non human identity, or use an API key to authenticate to a cloud service and perform operations as permitted by its assigned role and permissions. Here, the access granted would be typically defined by the scope of the service account’s required interactions and is often more permissive than that of human users, as they need to operate autonomously and continuously. And that is a problem.
Non human identities vs human identities
While non-human identities are created rapidly through a machine-to-machine process, human identities are created by – you guessed it – humans.
Human identities in the context of identity and access management (IAM) are unique identifiers, like usernames or credentials, assigned to individuals. These identities enable tracking of user activities, setting permissions, and ensuring accountability.
Non-human identities, often called service accounts, system identities, or machine identities, are used by applications or services to interact with one another. Managing these identities is crucial to ensure secure communication, prevent unauthorized access, and maintain accountability.
The primary distinction between human and non-human identities is that human identities are linked to individual users and their personal attributes, whereas non-human identities are associated with systems or applications and are not tied to personal characteristics or individual behaviors.
The rise of non human identities
As more developers are using secrets and keys from places like GitHub, BitBucket etc, the risks that come along with them rise as well. Conventional security solutions often fall short when it comes to managing these non-human identities, leaving a glaring blind spot in enterprise security.
The lack of visibility, monitoring, and management over these non human entities creates a substantial security challenge. These digital actors, if compromised, can unravel an organization’s security from the inside out. The oversight is glaring: visibility is insufficient, monitoring is sporadic, and governance is an afterthought.
The types of non human identities
What we discussed above are more general issues. Let’s talk about specific non-human identities and the risks associated with them.
1. API Keys
API keys enable secure interaction between applications, guaranteeing that only approved entities can gain access and engage with one another. However, the exposure of these keys can lead to significant security risks, including:
- Unauthorized access to sensitive data and systems
- Data breaches and theft of intellectual property
- Potential for malicious activities and system disruption
To mitigate these risks and address non human identity security challenges, organizations should follow these best practices:
- Continuously monitor all non human identity access and make sure it’s legitimate
- Implement automated key rotation to regularly update and invalidate old keys
- Enforce strict access permissions based on the principle of least privilege
2. Service accounts
Service accounts are specialized accounts used by software applications, automated services, etc to interact with computer systems and perform tasks without direct human oversight. various cloud platforms offer service accounts to allow VMs and workloads to interact with their APIs.
Associated security risks include:
- Increased attack surface for both internal and external threats
- Potential for lateral movement and privilege escalation within the network
- Unauthorized access to sensitive resources and data
To address these challenges that NHIs create, we can implement a few strategies, such as:
- Regularly audit service account privileges to ensure they align with the principle of least privilege
- Automate credential lifecycle management to ensure timely creation, rotation, and deletion of service account credentials
3. Containers & images
Containers and images such as Docker containers and Kubernetes pods play a major role in modern software development enabling applications to be packaged with their dependencies and run consistently across different environments. However, managing the identities associated with containers and images introduces unique security challenges such as:
- Containers with excessive permissions or insecure settings can become entry points for attackers
- Images containing outdated software or known vulnerabilities can be exploited, compromising the container and potentially the host system
- Hard-coded secrets in container images or environment variables can be exposed
Here are a few best practices to consider:
- Start with the smallest possible base image to reduce the attack surface
- Regularly scan container images for vulnerabilities and apply patches promptly
- Use secrets management tools to inject secrets at runtime securely
4. Cloud services
Cloud services including infrastructure, platform, and software as a service (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS), are integral to digital operations. Non human identities in cloud services, such as Azure Service Principals (used by applications or automated tools to access Azure resources) or AWS IAM roles (used to define permissions for actions that can be performed on AWS resources), facilitate automated access and interactions between cloud resources.
Here are a few associated risks with these services:
- Configuration drift or inconsistent security configurations across cloud environments may lead to vulnerabilities
- Over-privileged identities can pose significant risks if compromised
- Orphaned identities or identities that are unused or unmanaged can become security liabilities
Here are a few recommended best practices:
- Assign minimal necessary permissions to cloud service identities.
- Continuously monitor cloud environments non human identities for suspicious activities and audit access usage
5. DevOps tools
DevOps tools streamline software development processes through automation, enabling continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD) pipelines. Major players here are Jenkins and GitHub CI/CD pipelines which are used by devs to build, test, and deploy applications, and Ansible which is an automation tool for configuring systems. However, misconfigurations and insecure handling of secrets within these tools can pose risks such as:
- Exposure of sensitive information, including credentials and API keys
- Unauthorized access to development and production environments
- Potential for supply chain attacks and compromise of the software development lifecycle
Best practices to mitigate these risks of non human identities in SaaS environments:
- Scan all CI/CD pipelines and their logs for secrets
- Utilize secure secret management solutions to store and manage secrets
- Enforce role-based access control (RBAC) to ensure that only authorized individuals have access to critical DevOps tools and processes
6. Software supply chain
Securing the software supply chain is a complex challenge, as vulnerabilities can arise from various sources, including commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software and independent software vendor (ISV) applications. Key risks include:
- Compromise of third-party components, leading to supply chain attacks
- Introduction of vulnerabilities through outdated or unpatched software
- Lack of visibility into the security practices of third-party vendors
To address these non-human identity security risks, organizations should:
- Implement least privilege principle and monitor the activities of all non-human identities and secrets given to a third-party vendor
- Conduct comprehensive risk evaluations of third-party vendors prior to engagement and continuously thereafter
7. RPA bots
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) bots are software programs designed to automate routine tasks traditionally done by humans. They mimic human actions in digital systems to perform tasks like data entry, transaction processing, and simple customer service responses. Some of the major risks include:
- Unauthorized access to sensitive data and systems
- Execution of fraudulent transactions or malicious activities
- Disruption of critical business processes and operations
Here are a few recommendations for reducing non-human identity security risks in the context of RPA bots:
- Implement comprehensive monitoring and logging of the non human identities used by RPA bot activities
- Establish strict governance protocols and access controls for the non-human identities used RPA bots
- Utilize behavioral analytics and anomaly detection to identify and respond to suspicious non human identity activities
By proactively managing the risks associated with NHIs, organizations can reduce the likelihood of successful attacks or breaches and maintain the integrity of their software ecosystem.
As we rely on MFA and passwords to secure human identities, the question arises: How do we ensure the security and integrity of non human identities? How do we authenticate, authorize, and manage access for entities that lack a heartbeat but hold the keys to critical systems?
The challenges we face with non-human identities
Consider a cloud-native application which is made up of tiny neighborhoods called microservices, all packed neatly into containers. These microservices are like little worker bees, each doing its own specific job, whether it’s processing data, checking your credentials, or fetching stuff from a database. And they chat with each other using APIs, making sure everything runs smoothly for us users. To use those APIs the microservices need to authenticate and they are using non-human identities and secrets for it, which are incessantly programmatic access keys.
- Now, if a hacker managed to get one of those non-human identities or secrets, they could cause chaos—stealing your secrets, messing with your data, or even shutting down the whole system. One of these risks come from privilege escalation. It’s not uncommon for a non-human identity to be granted more privileges than they actually need. If an attacker compromises one of these over-privileged identities, they can wreak havoc on your network, accessing sensitive data and causing all sorts of mischief.
- Reliance on third-party tools and services that require access to their systems is yet another concern. If a third-party tool is compromised, attackers could potentially get the token you provided to the third party vendor which means, a foothold in your organization’s network without you even realizing it.
- Traceability is also a challenge with non human identities. If something goes wrong, it can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack to determine which non-human identity was responsible. This lack of non-repudiation can make incident response and forensics a real headache.
Why we need non human identity management
Without strong security measures, a system is wide open to these kinds of attacks. Secrets attacks remain one of the top 3 attack vectors today, and every week we are hearing about another exposure and the data it exposed and damage it caused. Companies need to lock things down tight to keep data safe and systems running smoothly. The only way to do this is with proper management tools that can not only tell you where your non human identities are, but give context to where they are and their potential threat level.
Managing Non-Human Identities
Tracking and Strategy
Achieving visibility and control over non-human identities involves a strategic approach. A foundational step would be to deploy a comprehensive identity inventory system that catalogs all non-human entities within the IT environment. This system becomes the bedrock for understanding the scope and nature of non-human identities, enabling precise monitoring and management. Beyond this, a secrets lifecycle management platform will come in handy for the holistic management of non-human identities, ensuring that sensitive credentials are securely handled from creation to retirement.
Integrating a non human identity management platform would be the next key step. These platforms offer tools for automating the secure management of non-human identities, including provisioning, de-provisioning, and enforcing security policies across the board.
Finally, applying consistent access policies across all non-human identities is essential. These policies should be designed to enforce security best practices, such as regular vaulting, credential rotation, applying and monitoring for anomalous behaviors.
Comprehensive secrets visibility
To manage non-human identities at scale you need a bird’s-eye view of all machine identities in your systems. From ownership details to permissions and risk levels, all this critical information needs to be centralized, empowering your security teams to understand the secrets landscape thoroughly. No more guessing games—just clear insights into NHIs and their potential vulnerabilities.
Real-time monitoring & protection
As you manage non-human identities you need real-time monitoring to keep a vigilant eye on your secrets, flagging any suspicious activity instantaneously. Whether it’s an unauthorized access attempt or an unexpected change in permissions, continuous scanning of secrets will ensure you’re always one step ahead of potential threats. When something suspicious happens, it’s not enough to just sound the alarm, you need a solution that offers practical steps to take to tackle the issue immediately. Employ non-human identity management and security platforms that offer continuous monitoring and management capabilities. This will make room for effectively tracking and controlling non-human access permissions.
Least privilege and centralized governance
Implementing least-privilege ensures that non-human identities are granted only the necessary access rights for the required duration, as this can significantly reduce the attack surface. Combine this with a centralized governance for simplified secrets management for non-human identities. By consolidating all security controls into one streamlined platform, it becomes easy for you to oversee access to non human identities. From identification to prioritization and remediation, you need seamless collaboration between security and development teams, ensuring everyone is on the same page when it comes to protecting your digital assets.
Identity lifecycle management for non-human entities
This will help you manage and secure these elements from creation through expiration, revoking access rights as necessary to minimize risks. Furthermore, identity lifecycle management for non-human entities holds a special place for maintaining the integrity of digital ecosystems, enabling the proactive revocation of compromised identities.
Adaptive Identity and Access Management (IAM)
Managing non-human privileged identities is a delicate balance, requiring stringent controls to prevent abuse while enabling essential automated operations. Make use of adaptive IAM solutions that tailor non-human access permissions based on entities’ unique behaviors, as they can enhance security by minimizing unauthorized access risks.
Vulnerability detection & false positive elimination
Not every alert is a cause for panic. That’s why vulnerability detection should go beyond just flagging potential risks—it should distinguish between genuine threats and false alarms. By eliminating false positives and focusing on the real issues, your security teams can tackle vulnerabilities efficiently, without wasting time on unnecessary distractions.
This is what it takes to manage secrets security for non human identities. It’s what we obsess about here at Entro.
Why Entro
With Entro‘s non human identity management solution, organizations can:
- Gain complete visibility of secrets that protect code, APIs, containers, and serverless functions scattered across various systems and environments.
- Identify and prioritize security risks, remediate vulnerabilities, and prevent unauthorized access to critical financial systems and data.
- Automate the remediation of identified security risks, saving time and resources for the security and development teams.
- Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements such as SOC2, GDPR, and others by maintaining robust access controls and security measures.
Get in touch with us to learn more about Entro’s machine identities and secrets management solution.
