Non-Human Identities Unveiling Hidden Risks and Robust Strategies

Non-Human Identities: Unveiling Hidden Risks and Robust Strategies

Understanding the Non-Human Identity Landscape

Okay, let's dive in! Ever wonder how apps talk to each other without us even knowing? That's where non-human identities come in, and honestly, it's a bigger deal than most people think.

Well, they're basically digital things – like apps, machines, and automated processes – that need their own identities to do stuff. CyberArk says it best, they aren't tied to a person.

• Think api keys that let apps connect securely.
• Or service accounts, which allow programs to interact with other systems.
• Then, there's system accounts, which are used for general system administration.

These NHIs are crucial for all sorts of automation, like in healthcare for managing patient records or in retail for keeping track of inventory.

The number of NHI's are growing crazy fast. It's driven by things like cloud adoption, you know, everyone moving to the cloud, and the rise of microservices. It's estimated that NHIs outnumber humans something like 20 to 1, and some organizations can have NHIs outnumber human identities as much as 50 to one (according to CSOOnline). This increases the attack surface a lot.

NHIs are what makes modern infrastructure tick. For example, they're vital for continuous integration and delivery (ci/cd) pipelines, making sure software updates are smooth. They also manage cloud services and resources, and connect different apps and systems.

So, with all these NHIs running around, managing them securely is super important. As we'll see, this landscape introduces risks like compromised credentials, lateral movement, and a general lack of visibility.

Human vs Non-Human Identities Key Differences

Alright, let's get into what makes human and non-human identities different, cause it's not as straightforward as you might think!

• Human identities usually use things like multi-factor authentication (mfa) and single sign-on (sso) to make sure it's really you.
• NHIs, on the other hand, often rely on static credentials, like api keys or certificates. It's like leaving the key under the mat – convenient, but not exactly secure.
• Managing NHIs becomes tricky because you can’t just apply the same security stuff you use for people.

Monitoring humans is easier, with behavior analytics and all. But non-human identities? They're harder to keep an eye on because they operate continuously and in high volumes. Plus, no one always knows who owns them, which is a problem.

So, managing these non-human things is a whole different ball game. Up next, we'll look at the lifecycle and privilege management challenges these identities present.

Security Risks and Challenges Unique to NHIs

Did you know that non-human identities (NHIs) are often the weakest link in an organization's security posture? It's true, and the risks are only growing.

• Compromised credentials are a huge problem. NHIs often rely on static credentials like api keys, which can be easily stolen or leaked. Think of it like this: if a bad actor gets their hands on an api key, they can impersonate that application or service.

• Lateral movement becomes easier. Once an attacker compromises an NHI, they can use it to move around inside the network. For example, they might escalate privileges or access sensitive systems that they shouldn't be able to. This is often because NHIs frequently have more permissions than they actually need. This over-permissiveness is common due to the complexity of managing granular permissions for automated processes and the tendency to grant broad access to ensure functionality, especially in legacy systems.

• Lack of Visibility is a killer. Many organizations don't even know how many NHIs they have, which means they can't properly monitor what they're doing. Service accounts, for example, are often created and then forgotten about, leaving them vulnerable to misuse.

Beyond compromised credentials and lateral movement, NHIs can also be targets for denial-of-service attacks that disrupt automated workflows, or their misconfigurations can be exploited to gain unauthorized access.

Imagine a retail company where an automated script that updates inventory gets compromised. The attacker could use that NHI to not only steal inventory data, but also potentially access customer payment information if the script has overly broad permissions. Or, in healthcare, a compromised NHI used for managing patient records could lead to a massive data breach and compliance violations.

These are just a few examples of why securing NHIs is so important, and as CyberArk says, they aren't tied to a person.

Now, let's move onto best practices for securing these identities.

Best Practices for Robust Non-Human Identity Security

Credential rotation and vaulting? It might sound boring, but trust me, it's one of the most important things you can do to keep your non-human identities secure.

• Regularly rotating credentials is vital to minimize the risk of compromise. Think of it like changing the locks on your house – you wouldn't use the same key forever, right? The same goes for api keys, certificates, and passwords used by NHIs.

• Frequency depends on your risk tolerance and industry standards. For critical systems, you might want to rotate credentials every week, or even daily. For less sensitive systems, monthly rotation might be sufficient.

• Automation is key here. Manually rotating credentials is a pain and prone to errors. Use tools that can automatically generate and distribute new credentials on a schedule.

• Secure vaults, or key management systems (KMS), are essential for storing and managing NHI credentials. These vaults provide a centralized, secure location for all your secrets. A secrets manager, often complementing a vault, automates the storage, access, and rotation of these credentials, frequently integrating with ci/cd pipelines for dynamic credential injection.

• Avoid hard-coding credentials in scripts or applications at all costs! This is like leaving the front door wide open for attackers. Instead, use secure methods to inject credentials dynamically from the vault at runtime.

Imagine a financial institution using automated scripts to transfer funds between accounts. By rotating the api keys used by these scripts every day and storing them in a secure vault, the bank significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized access and fraud.

So, by rotating credentials and using secure vaults, you're making it way harder for attackers to compromise your NHIs.

Non-Human Identity Management Solutions and Strategies

So, you're probably wondering how to actually tackle all these NHI challenges, right? There's a lot to it, but it doesn't have to be a nightmare.

There are various solutions and strategies for effective NHI management. These often involve discovering and classifying NHIs, implementing posture monitoring and detection, and automating credential rotation. Guidance regarding holistic contextual visibility, hybrid cloud support, and active posture management can be particularly helpful.

For instance, organizations can leverage consultancy services to implement robust NHI management strategies, helping them understand and address key challenges. This approach empowers you to tackle NHI risks head-on, rather than feeling like you're always playing catch-up.

Staying updated on non-human identity management is critical for safeguarding your organization's assets. Seeking expert guidance can provide the insights and strategies needed to navigate this complex landscape.