In today’s business environment, the management of non-human identities (NHI), such as service accounts and artificial intelligence (AI) agents, has become increasingly complex and risky. Many organizations now report having hundreds of these accounts operating in the background, many of which have been created automatically and lack clear ownership. This proliferation of identities has posed serious security challenges, as most of these NHIs were not designed with security in mind.
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A concerning aspect is that often, the number of non-human identities exceeds that of human users by a ratio of more than 80 to 1. These IHN are often created during the deployment of services and are not properly tracked or documented, becoming “shadow identities.” Without a complete inventory, organizations may be leaving an unknown and expanding attack surface.
The lack of access controls and the assignment of excessive permissions are common problems that pose a significant risk. IHNs, which often have broad permissions to avoid disruptions, become valuable targets for attackers. With fixed credentials and no context, it can even be difficult to detect malicious activities before it’s too late.
To mitigate these risks, organizations are beginning to adopt proactive approaches to identity governance. Identity security platforms like Okta are emerging as effective solutions, providing a unified inventory of identities and helping to implement scalable controls to reduce exposure to threats. Recognizing and treating IHNs as critical access points is a necessary step to prevent potential exploits in the future.