6 Critical Security Measures for Protecting Non-Human Identities in Your Organization

A Non-Human Identity refers to any account or entity that interacts with digital systems and is not linked to an individual, human user. These identities include API keys, machine-to-machine communications, and service accounts used for automated processes. Unlike human users, these identities don't log in through traditional means but often have broad access to systems and sensitive information.

Inadequate security practices around NHIs can result in compromised credentials, data leakage, and unauthorized access to your systems. As NHIs become more prevalent across organizations, attackers increasingly target these entities to gain entry into networks. Therefore, securing NHIs should be a top priority in your cybersecurity strategy.

Let’s explore six critical security measures you can implement to protect the Non-Human Identities in your organization.

1. Implementation of Least Privilege Access

The principle of Least Privilege Access is a cornerstone of modern cybersecurity strategies. This approach involves providing NHIs with the minimal access required to perform their functions—nothing more, nothing less.

Understanding Least Privilege: By restricting NHIs to only the resources they need, you reduce the potential damage if one of these identities is compromised. Many organizations mistakenly provide non-human identities with excessive privileges, allowing attackers to exploit these permissions to access critical systems or sensitive data.

Strategies for Access Control: You can enforce Least Privilege by continuously reviewing and adjusting the access rights of NHIs, ensuring their access is limited and up to date. Implement access checks and maintain logs that provide visibility into what resources your NHIs are accessing, ensuring unauthorized actions are quickly identified and mitigated.

2. Regular Security Assessments and Audits

While many companies conduct regular audits for human users, NHIs often slip through the cracks. A lapse in security assessments for NHIs can leave your organization vulnerable.

The Need for Regular Assessments: Regular security assessments help you identify potential vulnerabilities in how your NHIs are being used. These assessments can uncover dormant or over-privileged NHIs that need to be decommissioned or adjusted.

Assessment Techniques: Conduct penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, and compliance checks specifically for NHIs. Tools that offer automated auditing features can help ensure compliance with industry standards while identifying weaknesses that need to be addressed.

3. Behavioral Analytics for Anomaly Detection

Incorporating behavioral analytics into your security strategy can be a game-changer for detecting suspicious activity among NHIs.

The Role of Behavioral Analytics: Behavioral analytics uses machine learning and AI to monitor the typical behavior of NHIs and flag any anomalies. For instance, if a service account that typically accesses a particular database suddenly begins downloading data at unusual times or accessing new files, the system would raise an alert.

Spotting Anomalies in NHI Behavior: By tracking these anomalies, your security team can detect potential breaches early. Solutions that integrate with Splunk or Microsoft Azure Sentinel can help identify abnormal behaviors associated with NHIs, reducing the risk of attacks going unnoticed.

4. Secure API Management

APIs are often the backbone of machine-to-machine communication, making API security a vital component of NHI protection.

Best Practices for API Security: Implement strong authentication and encryption measures for all APIs, including multi-factor authentication where possible. Ensure that each API is assigned a unique key or token, minimizing the risk if one key is compromised. Rate limiting, input validation, and secure coding practices also help ireduce attack surfaces for APIs.

Essential API Management Tools: Tools like Postman, Apigee, and AWS API Gateway provide centralized management of your APIs, enabling you to monitor traffic, manage keys, and apply policies that bolster security.

5. Credential Rotation and Management

Static credentials for NHIs, such as API keys or service account passwords, can pose a serious risk if not updated regularly.

The Importance of Credential Updates: Credential rotation prevents long-standing access tokens or passwords from becoming potential attack vectors. By frequently updating these credentials, you limit the amount of time an attacker has to exploit compromised identities, and reduce the chance of having valid credentials land in the wrong hands.

Automation Tools for Credential Management: Use automated credential management to manage the frequent rotation and updating of your NHI credentials. These tools automate password and API key rotation, ensuring credentials are updated without manual intervention.

6. Education and Training for IT Staff

No matter how advanced your security tools are, human error remains one of the biggest risks to cybersecurity.

Why Training Matters: Your IT staff should be well-versed in the unique risks associated with Non-Human Identities. They should understand how these identities function and the security implications of mismanaging them. The goal of training should be to raise awareness of the risk associated with over-privileged admin roles, keys, and accounts, so that IT teams use scrutiny and discretion when assigning or modifying permissions.

Effective Training Techniques: Regular workshops, simulations, and role-based training can help your team identify vulnerabilities and improve their NHI management practices. Encourage your team to stay updated on the latest security tools and techniques to keep NHIs protected.

Securing Your Software Ecosystem

By taking these proactive steps, your organization can safeguard its NHIs, strengthen its security posture, and stay one step ahead of cyber threats.

As more organizations rely on automation and interconnected systems, Non-Human Identities are becoming an essential part of the digital landscape. Securing these identities proactively is critical for maintaining a robust defense against modern cyber threats. With these six security measures, you can significantly reduce the risks associated with NHIs and protect your organization's most sensitive data.

If you're unsure whether your current measures are sufficient, we can help with a comprehensive assessment that will identify any vulnerabilities in your NHI security.

For further reading, check out our blogs on API security and credential management for NHIs.