Non-Human Identities: A Complete Guide for CTOs, CISOs & Security Teams

In every modern enterprise machines now authenticate access and act far more often than humans. These silent identities spread across cloud platforms, pipelines and AI systems and they grow faster than security teams can track. One weak credential can trigger massive breaches, outages or lateral movement. 

For security leaders this is no longer an emerging issue. It is the core identity layer shaping enterprise risk. Understanding non-human identities is now a strategic necessity and not a technical detail.

In this guide you will learn how to uncover every hidden machine identity, how to reduce risk with modern zero trust controls, how to automate the full lifecycle of non-human access and how to apply AI driven governance that leading enterprises use to stay secure without slowing innovation.

What Are Non-Human Identities?

Non-human identities are digital profiles used by machines to access systems and they are now seen as common examples of non human identities in modern environments. They let apps and services talk without people. Most teams miss how fast these identities grow. This creates risk because they hold powerful access. They do not follow normal rules like sign in checks or offboarding.

• Service Accounts. Service accounts are machine level profiles that apps use to run and reach what they need. People do not log in with them. They often hold more access than needed. They stay active for years without checks.
  
• API Keys. API Keys are secret strings that give software a quick way to prove who they are. Many get created by developers and never removed. They live in code or shared tools. If someone steals one they can reach data without setting off alarms and this makes strong API key management important for keeping systems safe.
  
• Tokens and Certificates. Tokens and certificates work like digital proof for systems. They can be short lived or stay around for months. Many run without people watching. If expired they break apps and cause panic.
  
• Workload Identities. Workload identities belong to containers or serverless functions that start and stop very fast. They do not stay long enough for normal checks. Teams struggle to see who owns them.

What Types of Non-Human Identities Exist Inside Modern Enterprises?

Non-human identities show up in every corner of modern tech and their rapid growth creates ongoing non human identities security risks. Most teams do not notice how many are created each day. Cloud tools build them on the fly. DevOps pipelines spawn more with each release.  Vendors connect using their own keys, adding to the many types of non-human identities organizations must manage.

• Service Accounts. Service accounts sit inside apps and backend systems. They power tasks without human sign in. They often hold broad permissions that no one remembers granting. They stay active past project end dates.
• Secrets and API Keys. Secrets and API keys sit inside code and automation tools. They let systems talk with trust. Developers create them fast during build cycles. Many never get removed. If leaked they allow access without alerts. Since they are small and hidden most audits miss them. This makes them prime targets.
• Workload Identities. Workload identities belong to containers, virtual machines and serverless functions. They exist for short periods. Traditional reviews cannot keep up. They get rights to storage and data flows.
• Third Party Integrations. Third party integrations use machine credentials issued by vendors. They connect SaaS tools and internal systems. Teams often rely on them for daily operations and many organisations now apply Zero Trust for machine identities to reduce exposure from these external connections.
• IoT and Device Identities. IoT and device identities belong to sensors, printers and edge hardware. They stay online for years. They rarely get updates. Many share the same credentials across fleets. 

Why Traditional IAM Failed to Manage NHIs

Traditional identity programs were built for people. They expect sign ins passwords and approvals. Non-human identities do not behave that way. They multiply without notice. They do not clock in or out. Old systems cannot track what they were never designed for and this gap creates challenges in non human identities management.

• Human First Design. Old IAM assumed users with passwords. Policies focused on login rules and access requests. Machines do not request access the same way. They operate nonstop. They need automatic checks and reviews.
  
• Lifecycle Blind Spots. Traditional IAM manages onboarding and offboarding. Machines do not follow that pattern. They appear and disappear during builds and deployments. Tokens never get revoked. Certificates stay active long after use.
  
• Lack of Visibility. IAM tools were not built to scan code vaults or pipelines. They cannot see secrets hidden in scripts. Without full discovery security teams guess and many teams now look for the best tool for non human identities to fix this visibility gap.
• Scale and Speed Limits. Human identity reviews happen monthly or yearly. Machines change every hour. Traditional controls cannot match that pace. Manual reviews collapse under volume. When scale grows risk grows faster.
• Fragmented Tooling. IAM sits apart from DevOps secret stores and cloud consoles. Each holds pieces of the puzzle. No single source tracks them all. Teams argue over ownership. Policies never align. This fragmentation leaves NHIs unmanaged across environments. 

Real-World Failures of Poor NHI Management

Real world examples show how weak management of non-human identities can lead straight into breach, outage or data loss. In many enterprises there are 82 machine identities for every 1 human and many organizations report incidents linked to unmanaged machine identities.

• Exploding Identity Volumes. Research shows machine identities now grow far faster than human ones across most enterprises. This rapid expansion turns unmanaged NHIs into a major attack surface. When identities scale at this pace without strong governance the risk is not theoretical. It becomes real and immediate.
  
• Ownership Blind-spots. According to an industry study 75%  percent of machine accounts lack a designated owner. Without clear human accountability these identities often persist unchanged and many eventually behave like non-human privileged identities when their access is never reduced.
  
• Privilege Creep & Misuse. One report found that 42% of machine identities hold sensitive or privileged access, even though traditional IAM still treats “privileged user” as a human only. When over-privileged NHIs drift out of view they become ideal jumping-off points for attacks that skip human-facing controls.
  
• High-Impact Incident Potential. Surveys reveal 50+ % of organisations experienced breaches tied to machine identity issues in the past year. Systems meant for automation became attack vehicles. That shows poor NHI management isn’t a corner case. It’s an emerging norm requiring urgent attention.

Core Operational Challenges in Managing Non-human Identities

Non-human identities sound simple at first. They are just accounts for apps and scripts. In real life they turn into a daily headache. They are born inside cloud accounts and tools. They change fast. They do not follow normal access rules. 

• Discovery And Inventory. Non-human identities live in many places. In cloud roles. In scripts. In-build tools. No single team can list them all. Manual tracking fails fast. New identities appear each day. Old ones never leave. 
• Ownership And Accountability. Every non human identity should have a clear owner. In real life many do not. A script is built then the team changes. The identity stays. No one feels responsible.
• Permission Sprawl And Least Privilege. Many non-human identities start with wide access. It feels easier at that moment. Later no one cuts access back. Over time they collect more rights. This breaks the idea of least privilege.
• Credential Lifecycle And Rotation. Secrets and tokens need care across their full life. They must be created, stored, rotated and retired. In most environments this work is manual. People forget. Old keys stay active.
• Monitoring And Detection. Non-human identities create a flood of activity. Logs fill with automated traffic. It is tough to see what normal looks like. Simple rules often miss abuse. Real alerts hide inside noise. 

How to Address the Non-Human Identity Threats

The good news is that non-human identity risk is not random. It follows patterns. That means you can fight it with clear steps. The goal is simple. Make every machine identity visible, owned and right sized. Then keep it that way as systems change around it so non-human identities stay controlled instead of drifting into risk.

• Build A Unified Inventory. Start by creating one view of every non-human identity. Pull data from cloud accounts, secret stores and pipelines. Use automation where you can. The aim is a living map not a static sheet.
• Assign Clear Ownership. Give each non-human identity an owner. This can be a team or a named person. Link that owner inside your inventory. Owners approve access scope and lifetime. They also respond to alerts.
• Design For Least Privilege. Shift from open access to right sized access. Give every non human identity only what it needs. Tie permissions to clear roles and tasks. Use templates so teams avoid guesswork.
• Automate Lifecycle And Rotation. Build automated paths for creating rotating and retiring credentials. Use short lived tokens where possible. Store secrets in trusted systems not in code. Tie rotation to events like releases or role changes.
• Monitor And Respond In Real Time. Treat non-human activity like any other high value signal. Feed identity data into logging systems. Build views that highlight unusual use. Such as a script touching new data. Or a token used from a new location. 

How to Manage Non-Human Identities in 2026

In 2026 non-human identities keep growing faster than any security team. Cloud native apps AI agents and automation tools create them all day. Old one time projects turn into live services. Secrets move across clouds and SaaS. 

• Treat All Identities As Untrusted. Start with one mindset. Every identity is guilty until proven safe. Human or machine. Use strong auth for every call. Break big flat access into small clear scopes.
• Build A Live Identity Map. Create one place that tracks every non human identity. Service accounts tokens agents workloads. Pull data from cloud platforms, secret stores and CI pipelines.
• Automate Secrets And Token Hygiene. In 2026 manual key rotation is not enough. Use tools that issue short lived tokens. Store secrets in vaults not in code or wikis. Tie rotation to releases and infrastructure events.
• Use Workload Native Identity. Shift from static keys to identities that come from the platform. Use cloud roles and workload identities for containers and serverless. Let systems mint proofs of identity just in time.
• Put AI Agents Under Strong Control. Treat every AI agent and bot as a powerful non human user. Give each agent its own identity. Do not share tokens across many agents. Limit what they can see and do. Log every action.
• Make Policy Code Not Slides. Write access rules as code. Keep them in version control. Use approvals and testing like any other code. Connect policy checks into CI and deployment. This keeps non-human access aligned with design.
• Watch Behavior Not Just Logins. In 2026 attackers bypass classic checks easily. So watch what machine identities actually do. Learn normal patterns for each key account and agent. Alert when something looks off. Like new regions. New data sets. New volumes. 

How Infisign Helps You Secure and Govern NHIs End-to-End

Infisign brings a unified identity platform where workforce users, customers, and non-human identities stay governed in one place through the power of UniFed and the IAM Suite. Its AI engine, passwordless design, and Zero Trust architecture give you complete visibility and policy control without slowing automation or developer workflows.

Everything stays visible, governed and easy to control. Its AI engine passwordless foundation and Zero Trust design secure every interaction without slowing developers or automation. 

The sections below show exactly how Infisign strengthens discovery protection lifecycle automation and governance for NHIs in a modern enterprise.

Unified Visibility and Centralized Control

Infisign gives you one clear place to see every non human identity moving through your environment. Service accounts, tokens, API keys, bots and workloads gather in a single live map so nothing stays hidden or scattered. With more than 6000+ connected apps flowing into one identity platform your entire landscape becomes visible, predictable and far easier to manage. This creates a strong foundation for every security decision that follows.

Granular Access Control and Principle of Least Privilege

Infisign keeps access tight, focused and aligned with the true role of each identity. Decisions, use role, device posture, location and real time signals to stay accurate even as systems change. Human and machine identities only receive the permissions they genuinely need. This removes privilege creep and turns least privilege into a natural always-on safety layer by strengthening policies through conditional access instead of relying on manual clean up.

Reviews and Monitoring

Infisign watches identity behavior with steady ongoing attention. It learns normal patterns for users' workloads, scripts and service tokens so anything unusual stands out immediately. Scheduled access reviews also help teams confirm permissions as systems evolve so outdated rights never pile up. This keeps your identity posture clean, predictable and aligned with real activity.

Integration with Existing Workflows

Infisign blends into daily work instead of disrupting it. It connects smoothly with cloud platforms CI pipelines, legacy tools and hybrid networks. Developers manage identities through APIs while business teams enjoy unified access across apps. All of this creates a low friction experience that supports natural work patterns while strengthening security in the background.

Identity Governance

Infisign brings every identity into one governed structure that spans human users, machine accounts, service tokens and workloads. Ownership stays visible, policies remain consistent and access decisions follow clear rules that are easy to trace. With everything in one place outdated rights are simple to catch and remove. This unified governance model strengthens compliance, reduces hidden gaps and supports stronger decision making through well defined identity governance practices.

MPWA and Secure Vaulting

MPWA protects legacy applications by handling passwords quietly and safely. The integrated Password Vault keeps high value credentials fully hidden while Infisign manages the login flow for users. No one handles passwords, nothing leaks and old systems stay secure without code changes. The experience feels simple for users and stable for administrators while bringing legacy apps into a safer identity environment without adding complexity.

Compliance Audit and Reporting Capabilities

Infisign captures every identity action in a clean organized history that auditors can understand right away. Reports align with common compliance standards so teams prepare quickly and confidently. Policy as code keeps rules accurate before deployment and continuous monitoring maintains control all year. When questions arise proof appears instantly and issues surface early instead of staying hidden. This transparency builds trust across security teams and compliance functions.

Passwordless Protection for NHIs

Machine identities operate nonstop and passwords only increase risk. Infisign’s passwordless authentication removes this weakness with passwordless access that gives machines a clean and safe way to prove themselves. For deeper control over how machines authenticate to each other you can also rely on strong machine to machine authentication approaches that keep automated workloads protected end to end. There are no long lived secrets, no forgotten keys and no scattered tokens hiding in old systems. This turns a major attack path into a controlled and predictable layer of protection.

End to End NHI Lifecycle Automation

Infisign manages the entire life of each identity from creation to retirement. New identities appear with the right scope and owner keys rotate automatically and old accounts fade out before they become risks. Clean lifecycle paths adjust to real time changes so teams never chase dormant identities or outdated permissions. This keeps your identity layer healthy, organized and ready for Zero Trust.

Zero Trust Access Enforcement for NHIs

Infisign applies strict Zero Trust rules to every machine identity. Nothing is trusted by default and every request proves itself with real time context. Access stays tied to roles and strong attribute based access policies which keeps identities inside controlled boundaries. Just in time access removes permanent admin rights and blocks silent escalation allowing your environment to adapt safely as risks shift.

See how modern identity security works in real time. Explore unified protection for human and non-human identities today. 

Get your personalized demo and watch your security posture transform instantly.

FAQs

What is non-human identity management?

Non-human identity management controls how machine accounts keys and tokens are created and used. It gives each identity ownership least privilege monitoring. This stops access growth and hidden risks.

how to manage non-human identities securely?

Secure management starts with inventory ownership and least privilege. Use short lived credentials stored in vaults. Automate rotation and reviews. Monitor behavior for unusual use so issues are caught fast.

how to govern non-human identities at scale?

Governance at scale means consistent policies automation and visibility. Give every non human identity an owner. Track access changes through systems. Use reviews linked to events so rights stay correct.

how do non-human identities impact cybersecurity

Non human identities expand the attack surface because stolen keys bypass login controls. Over privileged machine accounts enable lateral movement. Forgotten tokens linger after projects and create entry points for attackers.