Non-human identities (NHIs) are digital credentials assigned to machines, applications, and automated processes — not people. These identities authenticate and interact with systems, services, and data using credentials like API keys, tokens, and certificates.
Why non-human identities matter
NHIs are the invisible drivers of modern infrastructure and outnumber human identities by up to 50 to 1 in some environments. From cloud platforms to DevOps pipelines, they power critical operations at machine scale. However, as they grow in number and scope, these identities also introduce one of the fastest-growing security risks in enterprise environments.
Organizations rely on automation to scale. Every machine-to-machine (MTM) interaction requires a digital identity, whether provisioning a cloud service or syncing data across SaaS apps. In many organizations, non-human identities proliferate exponentially, but lack foundational security controls.
Because NHIs typically operate with long-term credentials and elevated privileges, they’ve become a top target for attackers. Unlike humans, NHIs don’t log in with multi-factor authentication (MFA) or rotate passwords. Without proper oversight, they become security blind spots.
Common types of non-human identities
Service accounts: Used by applications or services to interact with other systems automatically.
API keys and tokens: Provide secure, programmatic access between apps, services, or integrations.
Machine identities: Certificates or cryptographic keys used to authenticate VMs, containers, or devices.
Cloud workload identities: Auto-generated credentials for serverless functions and containerized workloads.
Automation scripts and bots: Credentials accessed by automation scripts and bots that execute CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure code, or RPA tasks.
How non-human identities work
When a system or service needs to access a resource, it presents credentials, like an API key, certificate, or token, to prove its identity. If validated, access is granted according to predefined permissions.
In a typical enterprise, service accounts retrieve data from a database thousands of times a day. Then, a CI/CD pipeline deploys new code to production, and a Kubernetes pod authenticates to pull secrets from a vault. A non-human identity powers each of these tasks.
Comparing human vs. non-human identities
At a high level, NHIs differ from human identities in how they are authenticated, managed, and behave. Human identities are interactive and tied to individuals, while NHIs operate automatically at scale, often with limited oversight.
Aspect | Human identity | Non-human identity |
Authentication | MFA, passwords, biometrics | API keys, tokens, certificates (cryptographic proofs of identity) |
Lifecycle | Onboarded and offboarded via HR/IAM processes | Often created automatically, rarely retired |
Ownership | Tied to an individual | Often lacks a defined owner |
Behavior | Interactive, varied | Repetitive, predictable |
Monitoring | Behavior analytics, SIEM visibility | High volume, low visibility in traditional tools |
In many environments, NHIs are created by humans (e.g., DevOps teams, automation tools), making their security inherently connected to human identity practices and digital identity management strategies.
Why NHIs are harder to secure
Non-human identity lifecycle gaps increase risk
Unlike human users, whose digital identities are typically managed through structured onboarding and offboarding, NHIs are often created automatically and persist long after their intended purpose ends. Without robust lifecycle policies, NHIs become orphaned, unmonitored, and vulnerable to security risks.
Exponential scale
NHIs are created rapidly across cloud and SaaS environments, often without centralized oversight. Enterprise organizations may manage tens of thousands of NHIs across siloed tools and teams.
Overprivileged access
Default settings may grant many NHIs expansive privileges or administrative access. Organizations seldom review these permissions, increasing the risk of privilege sprawl.
Insecure credentials
Hardcoded secrets, long-lived tokens, and static API keys are common. These credentials are rarely rotated and may be stored insecurely in code or configuration files.
Lack of visibility
Most organizations don’t maintain a complete inventory of NHIs. Without continuous monitoring, security teams struggle to detect anomalies or identify unused credentials.
Weak lifecycle management
NHIs can persist after projects end or employees leave, resulting in orphaned accounts with valid credentials.
Best practices for securing non-human identities
Apply Zero Trust to all identities
Every human and machine identity should be treated as untrusted by default. Enforce verification for every access request, limit permissions to the minimum required, and monitor all activity.
Enforce least privilege access
Define the minimal necessary permissions. Avoid default admin roles, and review permissions regularly to prevent drift.
Rotate secrets automatically
Use a secrets management system to:
Eliminate hardcoded credentials
Rotate secrets on a schedule
Expire credentials when unused
Monitor behavior and anomalies
Set baselines for NHI activity to detect deviations (e.g., sudden access from unknown environments, excessive data reads). Monitor usage patterns.
Assign ownership
Ensure every NHI has a designated owner responsible for its lifecycle and security posture. Tie identities to people, not just services.
Align with OWASP’s NHI Top 10
The OWASP Non-Human Identities Top 10 for 2025 identifies the most critical NHI security risks. Mitigate top risks, including:
Improper offboarding
Insecure authentication
Overprivileged credentials
Long-term credential exposure
Insecure third-party integrations
Credential reuse across environments
Human use of non-human identities
Lack of NHI discovery and inventory
Insufficient monitoring and logging
Weak cloud deployment configurations
Implement identity security posture management (ISPM)
Organizations should leverage ISPM solutions to continuously discover, assess, and remediate risks related to non-human identity security across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
What is non-human identity management (NHIM)?
NHIM encompasses the policies, tools, and processes used to govern NHIs throughout their lifecycle, from discovery to decommissioning.
Core NHIM capabilities:
Discovery and inventory: Automated discovery and cataloging of all NHIs across cloud, SaaS, and infrastructure environments.
Lifecycle management: Automated NHI creation, modification, and deactivation workflows based on security policies.
Access governance: Controls that enforce least privilege, conduct periodic reviews, and prevent permission sprawl.
Monitoring and analytics: Real-time tracking of NHI usage patterns and automated detection of anomalous behavior.
Credential management: Secure storage, automated rotation of secrets and keys, and elimination of static credentials.
Unified oversight: Centralized management and control of human and non-human identities through a single platform.
Organizations that leverage a unified approach are better equipped to maintain an identity-first security posture in complex, hybrid environments.
The rise of NHIs in AI and automation
AI-driven systems generate thousands of NHIs, often on demand, without human oversight. Each AI agent, pipeline, or model deployment requires dedicated credentials to interact with data and infrastructure.
These identities are:
Ephemeral (created and discarded rapidly)
Autonomous (operating without human oversight)
Privileged (often needing broad access)
Security and governance frameworks must adapt to this accelerated pace and exponential scale. To mitigate risks, organizations should implement guardrails that automate discovery, enforce short-lived credentials, and continuously monitor activity.
Real-world examples
Use case | Example |
Cloud automation | AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) roles allowing EC2 instances to access S3 |
CI/CD pipelines | GitLab Service Accounts deploying containers |
Microservices | OAuth tokens for inter-service communication within Kubernetes |
SaaS integrations | API keys syncing CRM and marketing platforms |
AI workflows | ML pipelines using service accounts to pull training data |
Secrets in code | In 2024, GitGuardian identified 23.8 million exposed secrets in public GitHub repositories, representing a 25% increase from the previous year. |
Why NHIs need first-class security
Non-human identities are now essential to modern infrastructure, but they’ve become one of the largest unmanaged attack surfaces in the enterprise.
46% of organizations experienced NHI-related compromises last year
80% plan to increase spending on NHI security
Today’s organizations need an identity-first approach and a unified control plane. When security teams manage both human and non-human identities together, they can apply consistent controls, gain complete visibility, and quickly respond to threats without sacrificing agility. An identity fabric helps achieve this holistic approach by seamlessly connecting all identity types and security controls.
FAQs
Are non-human identities the same as machine identities?
Machine identities are a subset of NHIs focusing on infrastructure components (e.g., VMs, IoT devices). NHI is a broader term that includes tokens, scripts, and service accounts used in software and integrations.
Can NHIs use MFA?
Not in the traditional sense. NHIs use certificate-based authentication, cryptographic keys, short-lived tokens, or token rotation instead of MFA designed for humans.
What’s the most significant NHI risk?
Over-permissioned, unmonitored, or orphaned NHIs that retain access long after being needed, often with static credentials.
How does Zero Trust apply to NHIs?
Zero Trust security enforces the use of short-lived, scoped credentials, monitors behavior, and validates each access request regardless of the source or context.
Ready to eliminate NHI blindspots?
Organizations implementing comprehensive identity security posture management typically discover significant privilege accumulation across their service accounts that create exponential attack surface expansion, with machine identities often inheriting federated access rights across cloud, SaaS, and hybrid environments that require identity security platforms to correlate and secure effectively.
Discover how the Okta Platform helps enterprises automate NHI discovery, enforce least privilege, and unify identity governance at any scale.
