Non-Human Identity (NHI)

What is Non-Human Identity (NHI)?

Non-Human Identity (NHI) refers to digital identities that are assigned to systems, applications, services, APIs, automated processes, and other technical components rather than human users. As organizations increasingly adopt cloud technologies, microservices architectures, and automation, the number of non-human identities often vastly exceeds human identities within IT environments. These machine identities require the same level of security management and governance as human identities, but present unique challenges and considerations.

Non-human identities are essential components of modern technology environments, enabling secure machine-to-machine communications, automated processes, and service-to-service authentication. They play a crucial role in maintaining security, compliance, and operational efficiency in complex digital ecosystems.

Types of Non-Human Identities

Service Accounts

Digital identities used by applications or services to authenticate and interact with other systems, often with elevated privileges to perform specific functions.

API Keys and Tokens

Credentials that grant applications and services access to APIs and cloud services, typically with defined scopes and permissions.

Service Principals

Identities used by applications to access resources secured by identity providers, particularly in cloud environments like Azure.

Certificates

Digital credentials that establish trust between systems, commonly used in TLS/SSL communications and code signing.

Managed Identities

Platform-provided identities that eliminate the need for developers to manage credentials, such as AWS IAM roles or Azure Managed Identities.

Workload Identities

Specialized identities for containerized applications and cloud-native services, allowing them to securely access resources.

Bots and RPA Identities

Identities assigned to robotic process automation tools and chatbots that interact with systems and data.

Challenges in Non-Human Identity Management

Proliferation and Sprawl

The explosion of machine identities in modern environments often leads to unmanaged credentials and expanded attack surfaces.

# Example of machine identity proliferation in a mid-sized organization
Human Identities: ~1,000
Non-Human Identities:
  - Service Accounts: 3,500+
  - API Keys: 12,000+
  - Certificates: 4,200+
  - Serverless Functions: 8,000+
  - Container Identities: 15,000+

Overprivileged Access

Non-human identities often receive excessive permissions beyond what's required for their function, violating the principle of least privilege.

Credential Management

Securely storing, rotating, and distributing machine credentials at scale presents significant operational challenges.

Visibility Gaps

Organizations frequently lack comprehensive visibility into their non-human identities, their permissions, and their activity.

Lifecycle Management

Many organizations fail to implement proper lifecycle management for non-human identities, leading to orphaned accounts and expired credentials.

Security Risks Associated with Non-Human Identities

Credential Theft

Exposed machine credentials can provide attackers with persistent access to critical systems and data.

Supply Chain Compromises

Non-human identities used in software supply chains can be targeted to infiltrate development pipelines and inject malicious code.

Lateral Movement

Compromised service accounts with excessive privileges enable attackers to move laterally through environments.

Identity Sprawl

Unmanaged machine identities create an expanded and often unknown attack surface.

Compliance Violations

Improperly managed non-human identities may violate regulatory requirements for access controls and audit logging.

Best Practices for Non-Human Identity Management

Inventory and Discovery

Maintain a comprehensive inventory of all non-human identities across your environment.

{
  "identity_type": "service_account",
  "name": "app-payment-processor",
  "owner": "payments-team",
  "creation_date": "2023-01-15",
  "last_accessed": "2023-12-01",
  "permissions": ["read:customer-data", "write:transaction-logs"],
  "risk_score": 72,
  "expiration": "2024-01-15"
}

Least Privilege Access

Implement fine-grained permissions that grant only the specific access required for each non-human identity to function.

Just-in-Time Access

Provide temporary, time-limited access for non-human identities rather than persistent credentials whenever possible.

Automated Rotation

Implement automated credential rotation processes to minimize the impact of exposed credentials.

Centralized Management

Use centralized platforms to manage the lifecycle of all non-human identities from creation to decommissioning.

Monitoring and Alerts

Implement continuous monitoring for suspicious non-human identity activity and permission changes.

Non-Human Identity in Different Environments

Cloud Environments

Cloud providers offer specialized identity solutions for managing non-human identities:

• AWS: IAM Roles, Instance Profiles, and Lambda Execution Roles
• Azure: Managed Identities and Service Principals
• Google Cloud: Service Accounts and Workload Identity Federation

Kubernetes and Container Environments

Container orchestration platforms provide unique identity mechanisms:

• Kubernetes: Service Accounts and RBAC policies
• Service Mesh: mTLS authentication between services
• Container Registries: Credentials for image pulling and pushing

CI/CD Pipelines

Automated deployment pipelines require secure identity management:

• Build Systems: Credentials for code repositories and artifact storage
• Deployment Tools: Service accounts for infrastructure provisioning
• Testing Frameworks: Identities for automated testing environments

Non-Human Identity Technologies and Standards

Secrets Management Solutions

Specialized tools for securely storing and distributing machine credentials:

• HashiCorp Vault: Dynamic secrets generation and management
• AWS Secrets Manager: Centralized cloud secrets management
• Azure Key Vault: Managed secrets and certificates storage
• CyberArk: Enterprise privileged access management

Certificate Management

Automated certificate lifecycle management solutions:

• Let's Encrypt: Automated certificate issuance and renewal
• Cert-Manager: Kubernetes certificate management
• Public Key Infrastructure (PKI): Enterprise certificate authority systems

Identity Federation Standards

Standards for cross-domain authentication and authorization:

• OAuth 2.0: Authorization framework for API access
• OpenID Connect: Identity layer on top of OAuth 2.0
• SAML: XML-based standard for exchanging authentication data
• SPIFFE/SPIRE: Identity framework for workloads in heterogeneous environments

Emerging Approaches to Non-Human Identity

Zero Trust for Machines

Applying zero trust principles to machine-to-machine communications, with continuous verification and minimal trust.

Identity-Based Microsegmentation

Using workload identity as the primary mechanism for network segmentation rather than IP addresses or network location.

Passwordless Machine Authentication

Moving away from shared secrets toward certificate-based and cryptographic authentication methods.

Machine Identity Governance

Extending identity governance and administration practices to non-human identities.

Cloud-Native Security Posture Management

Continuous assessment and remediation of non-human identity risks in cloud environments.

Non-Human Identity in Regulatory Compliance

Regulatory Requirements

Many compliance frameworks include requirements that apply to non-human identities:

• SOC 2: Controls around system access and authentication
• PCI DSS: Requirements for secure service accounts in payment systems
• HIPAA: Access controls for systems processing protected health information
• GDPR: Technical measures to ensure data protection

Audit and Reporting

Requirements for tracking and documenting non-human identity activity:

• Access Reviews: Regular certification of appropriate permissions
• Activity Logs: Comprehensive audit trails of machine identity actions
• Attestation Reports: Documentation of controls effectiveness

Implementing Non-Human Identity Management

Assessment and Planning

1. Inventory Current State: Discover all existing non-human identities
2. Risk Assessment: Evaluate the security posture of machine identities
3. Gap Analysis: Identify areas for improvement against best practices
4. Roadmap Development: Create a phased implementation plan

Implementation Strategy

1. Start Small: Begin with high-risk identities in critical systems
2. Automate: Implement automated lifecycle management where possible
3. Integrate: Connect identity management with existing security tools
4. Educate: Train development and operations teams on secure practices
5. Monitor: Establish continuous visibility into non-human identity usage

Common Challenges

• Legacy Systems: Older systems that don't support modern identity methods
• DevOps Friction: Balancing security with developer velocity
• Scale: Managing millions of machine identities across distributed environments
• Organizational Silos: Fragmented ownership of different identity types

The Future of Non-Human Identity

Identity-as-Code

Defining machine identities and their permissions as code, enabling automated provisioning and auditing.

Ephemeral Identities

Short-lived, single-use identities that minimize the risk of credential compromise.

Biometric-Like Authentication for Machines

Using unique characteristics of systems and applications (behavior, code signature, runtime attributes) for authentication.

AI-Driven Identity Governance

Machine learning systems that can detect anomalous behavior and recommend appropriate permissions.

Blockchain and Distributed Identity

Decentralized approaches to machine identity verification that don't rely on central authorities.