Topic starter
25/08/2026 6:11 pm
TL;DR: Zero Trust breaks down when access data is fragmented across SaaS, cloud, and directories, making least privilege, JIT access, and reviews hard to enforce consistently, according to Veza. The core problem is identity debt: access accumulates faster than manual governance can remove it, leaving blind spots for both human and non-human identities.
Editorial analysis by NHI Mgmt Group, based on content published by Veza: “Identity Security IS the Foundation for Zero Trust”.
Key questions
Q: What breaks when access data is fragmented in a Zero Trust programme?
A: Zero Trust breaks when teams cannot see the full effective access path across SaaS, cloud, and directories.
Q: Why do fragmented entitlements increase the risk of identity debt?
A: Fragmented entitlements slow down review, ownership assignment, and revocation, so access accumulates faster than governance can remove it.
Q: How should security teams implement Zero Trust for non-human identities?
A: Start by inventorying every machine identity, assigning an owner, and mapping its access to a specific business function.
Practitioner guidance
- Map effective access across all identity stores Build one inventory that connects SaaS, cloud, data platforms, and directories to the identities that can reach them, including object-level access where possible.
- Automate review and certification workflows Use workflow automation to surface usage, ownership, and business context so reviewers can remove unnecessary access rather than approve it by default.
- Include non-human identities in the same governance queue Bring service accounts, tokens, and other NHIs into entitlement reviews, with the same ownership and lifecycle expectations used for user access.
Bottom line: Zero Trust weakens quickly when entitlement data is split across cloud, SaaS, and directory systems, because no team can verify effective access end to end.
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25/08/2026 6:11 pm
Identity debt is the structural failure behind broken Zero Trust programmes. Zero Trust assumes the organisation can keep access current enough to verify continuously, but fragmented identity data makes that assumption false in practice. When permissions are scattered across SaaS, cloud, and directory systems, the programme cannot reliably distinguish necessary access from accumulated excess. The practitioner conclusion is that identity debt must be treated as a control failure, not a cleanup backlog.
A few things that frame the scale:
- 90% of IT leaders say properly managing NHIs is essential for a successful zero-trust implementation, according to the Ultimate Guide to NHIs.
- By 2029, 40% of enterprises that successfully implement zero trust within cloud service provider environments will rely on the advanced visibility and control capabilities offered by CNAPP solutions.
A question worth separating out:
Q: When does just-in-time access reduce risk, and when does it not?
A: JIT access reduces risk when it replaces standing privilege, expires automatically, and is tied to a specific task. It does not reduce risk when long-lived secrets, weak approval rules, or broad default roles remain in place. Temporary access only helps if the surrounding trust model also shrinks.
👉 Read our full editorial: Zero Trust fails when access review and privilege data stay fragmented