Best Practices to Secure Non-Human Identity Data Access

Read full article here: https://www.oasis.security/blog/best-practices-to-secure-data-access-in-snowflake/?utm_source=nhimg

In light of recent reports surrounding the alleged Snowflake breach, enterprises are once again reminded of a critical truth — most modern data breaches are identity-based. As cloud ecosystems grow more interconnected, both human and non-human identities (NHIs) have become high-value targets for attackers. This article explores essential best practices to secure Snowflake data access by humans, machines, and automated services — emphasizing how Oasis NHI Security Cloud can help enforce strong identity governance and eliminate hidden risks.

The Identity Challenge in Snowflake

Snowflake, one of the most widely adopted data platforms, does not differentiate between human and non-human accounts — treating every user as a single identity type. This unified approach introduces complexity when securing service accounts, API connectors, and integration identities.

While Snowflake provides key features such as Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), network policy controls, and credential rotation, these alone aren’t enough to defend against sophisticated identity-based attacks. For NHIs that can’t use MFA or device-based verification, the lack of contextual oversight and automated lifecycle control creates a serious security gap.

Strengthening Snowflake Access Controls

To minimize the attack surface, organizations should implement layered NHI security measures, including:

• Contextual Visibility: Build and maintain a continuous inventory of NHIs across your Snowflake environment. Include ownership, usage patterns, and access relationships to identify anomalies faster.
• Credential Hygiene: Regularly rotate Snowflake API keys, OAuth2 tokens, and certificates. Replace static credentials with short-lived tokens whenever possible.
• Least Privilege Enforcement: Assign NHIs the minimum permissions needed for specific workloads or automation scripts. Avoid broad roles that could lead to privilege escalation.
• Account Hygiene: Routinely detect and remove stale or orphaned Snowflake accounts that no longer serve an active purpose.
• Passwordless and SSO Controls: Disable direct password authentication for human users where single sign-on (SSO) is enabled, reducing the risk of credential-based attacks.

The Role of Oasis in Securing Snowflake NHIs

Oasis NHI Security Cloud offers a seamless integration with Snowflake, enabling enterprises to manage, secure, and monitor all non-human accounts with precision and automation.

Once connected, Oasis delivers:

• Automated NHI Discovery & Inventory: Gain real-time visibility of every non-human identity in Snowflake — including service accounts, API connectors, and automation scripts.
• Contextual Intelligence: Understand the “who, what, and why” behind every NHI — including ownership, access paths, and usage behaviors.
• Continuous Posture Monitoring: Detect posture violations such as long-lived secrets, inactive accounts, or unrotated credentials.
• Automated Credential Rotation: Rapidly rotate credentials across multiple NHIs following an incident, with minimal operational disruption.
• Faster Incident Response: Get a full, real-time view of all NHI access activities to identify compromised identities and contain breaches immediately.

Conclusion

As identity-based threats continue to rise, securing Snowflake environments demands more than traditional access control. The intersection of cloud data security and non-human identity management requires organizations to shift from reactive measures to continuous, automated governance.

By adopting Oasis NHI Security Cloud, enterprises can ensure their Snowflake data remains protected against evolving threats — achieving the visibility, control, and assurance needed to stay resilient in the era of machine-driven access.