Mastering Non-Human Identity Lifecycles A CISO's Guide

Understanding Non-Human Identities: The New Security Perimeter

Okay, let's dive into the world of non-human identities – it's kinda like giving every bot and service a digital passport, y'know? Without them, well, things just wouldn't work.

Essentially, Non-Human Identities (NHIs) are digital identities assigned to non-human entities, such as applications, services, devices, scripts, and automated processes, enabling them to authenticate and interact with systems and resources. Think api keys, service accounts, certificates, and managed identities. They are the digital credentials that allow machines to talk to each other securely.

• NHIs are super important for things like automation, cloud services, and iot.
• They enable secure communication and data sharing between authorized entities.
• For example, manufacturing plants use NHIs for robotic arms, ensuring only authorized robots perform specific tasks.

With cloud adoption and automation going nuts, the number of NHIs is growing like weeds. They actually outnumber human identities by a whole lot! and that's where a problem starts.

According to an ESG survey, organizations, on average, have 20X more non-human identities than human identities.

Human identities are usually managed centrally, but NHIs? Not so much. they rely on secrets like api keys, which, if compromised, can lead to huge problems.

• Traditional security controls don't always work for NHIs.
• Managing them is a decentralized nightmare compared to human identities.
• It's a whole new security perimeter we gotta wrap our heads around.

So, now that we've got a handle on why NHIs are important, let's dive into how they are managed throughout their lifecycle.

The Five Critical Stages of the NHI Lifecycle

Ever wonder how secure those automated processes running in the background really are? It all boils down to how well you manage the lifecycles of your non-human identities, or NHIs.

Basically, managing NHIs isn't a one-time thing, but a cycle with five critical stages. Each stage plays an important role in keeping your systems secure and compliant. so, what are they?

It all starts with creation, where you define the unique attributes, roles, and permissions for each NHI. This includes:

• Making sure each NHI has a digital identity that matches its purpose and access needs.
• Registering the NHI within an identity management system.
• Using IAM platforms and automated provisioning tools to make things easier.

For example, a hospital might use this stage to create an NHI for a new diagnostic machine, defining its access to specific patient data sets.

Next up is usage, where you monitor how NHIs are being used.

• Ensuring NHIs are operating within their defined permissions.
• Detecting any abnormal or unauthorized activity.
• This involves proactively reviewing and updating identity attributes as a service's role or responsibilities change, or reactively adjusting permissions based on monitoring alerts.

Think of a retail company tracking an api key used by a third-party logistics provider to make sure they're only accessing shipping information.

Rotation is all about regularly changing credentials, like passwords, certificates, and keys, to reduce the risk of compromise. This means:

• Automating rotation using identity management tools.
• Enforcing policies for credential updates at specific intervals.
• Regularly rotating credentials such as passwords, certificates, or keys reduces the risk of compromise.

For example, a financial institution might automate the rotation of api keys used by its trading algorithms every month.

Expiration involves setting clear expiration dates for NHIs and their credentials. It's about:

• Notifying administrators of approaching expiration dates.
• Automatically disabling or deactivating expired identities.
• Limiting the window of exposure if credentials are forgotten or overlooked.

A cloud service provider might set expiration dates for service accounts used by temporary virtual machines.

Finally, there's revocation, which is the formal process of removing NHIs from active use.

• Disabling access and deleting credentials.
• Following data retention policies and privacy regulations.
• Cleaning up configurations to prevent any further authentication.

For instance, when a project ends, a software company would revoke the NHIs used by the development team.

Managing the NHI lifecycle helps organizations adhere to standards by providing granular control over NHI access and generating audit trails for compliance reporting.

Now that you understand the five stages, let's explore the common challenges organizations face in managing NHI lifecycles.

Challenges in Managing NHI Lifecycles

Are you managing your non-human identities, or are they managing you? It's a question every CISO needs to be asking, cause frankly, things can get outta hand fast.

One of the main headaches is simply knowing what NHIs you even have. It's like trying to count grains of sand, y'know? NHIs are all over the place, spread across different systems and platforms.

• Maintaining an accurate inventory of NHIs is tough, like, really tough.
• They're fragmented across systems, making it hard to get a handle on things.
• This lack of visibility makes it almost impossible to identify risks or fix misconfigurations.

Then there's the fear of breaking things. Security teams often hesitate to mess with NHIs that are tied to critical business processes. because who wants to be the one who brought down the whole factory?

• There's this hesitation to disable or rotate credentials, cause it might disrupt stuff.
• This leads to risky credentials being left untouched for way too long.
• And that can lead to critical business process failures, which, uh, ain't good.

Another issue? Privilege creep. It's like giving a bot the keys to the kingdom, and then forgetting about it.

• Broad, persistent permissions are granted and rarely reviewed.
• Privileges accumulate over time, expanding the attack surface.
• For example, a service account initially granted read-only access to a database might later be given write access without its original read-only permissions being revoked, leading to excessive privileges.
• Attackers can then escalate access across systems, causing major damage.

So, with all these challenges, it's easy to see why managing NHI lifecycles is such a pain. Next, we'll look at best practices for effective NHI lifecycle management.

Best Practices for Effective NHI Lifecycle Management

Are your NHIs running wild? It's a common problem, but don't sweat it, there's ways to bring order to the chaos. Let's look at some best practices for managing those non-human identities effectively.

First off, you gotta know what you got. Employing automated tools is key to identify and catalog all your NHIs. Think about it—you can't secure what you don't know exists, right?

• Use automated tools to find and list all NHIs across your systems.
• Keep a central spot for all NHI info—like a digital rolodex.
• Update your inventory regularly, so it shows all the changes in your setup.

Next, lock down those permissions. Give NHIs only the access they absolutely need, and nothing more. It's like giving someone a key to only one room instead of the whole building.

• NHIs should only get the minimum permissions needed to do their job.
• Review and tweak permissions regularly, so they stay on point.
• Use dynamic authorization to change permissions based on what's happening. For instance, an NHI's access could be temporarily elevated when it's performing a specific, high-privilege task and then automatically reduced afterward.

For example, a retail company might use a service account to access inventory data. But that account shouldn't also be able to access customer credit card info, y'know?

Automation is your friend here. Set up workflows to handle provisioning, renewing, and killing off credentials. Manual stuff? Forget about it!

• Automate workflows for creating, renewing, and getting rid of credentials.
• Use secrets management tools to store and manage credentials securely.
• Have clear rules for when credentials should be rotated and expire.

You gotta keep an eye on things. Watch for weird NHI behavior and set up alerts, so you know when something's up.

• Use real-time monitoring and alerts for any suspicious NHI activity.
• Use behavioral analytics to spot unusual access patterns.
• Jump on potential security incidents fast and figure out what's what.

Finally, bring NHIs into your Zero Trust setup. Verify every access request, even if the NHI is already legit.

• Verify every access request, even if an NHI is already logged in.
• Keep checking NHIs throughout their whole life, not just at the start.
• Make sure NHIs are a key part of your Zero Trust security game plan.

Implementing these practices is a marathon, not a sprint. But trust me, it's worth it to get those NHIs under control. Next, we'll be diving into integrating NHI management with zero trust architecture.

Tools and Frameworks for NHI Governance and Automation

Okay, so you're trying to wrangle those non-human identities, huh? It's not easy. What tools can a CISO use to govern and automate this stuff?

• A solid policy framework is key, it sets the rules for NHI access, rotation, and, uh, eventual decommissioning.
• Least-privilege access is also important, only give NHIs what they need, not more.
• Automate, automate, AUTOMATE. Secret rotation, recertification—all that jazz.

Tools like Identity Governance and Administration (IGA), which helps automate access reviews and policy enforcement for NHIs; Privileged Access Management (PAM), which secures, controls, and monitors privileged accounts and credentials, including those used by NHIs; and Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM), which provides visibility and control over entitlements and permissions for cloud-based NHIs, can help, but choosing the right mix is, well, tricky. Next, we'll look into real-world NHI compromise case studies and lessons learned.

Real-World NHI Compromise Case Studies and Lessons Learned

Oops, think your NHIs are safe? Think again! Real-world breaches show how critical it is to get NHI management right.

• Back in Dec 2024, Microsoft took legal action against a hacking group who exploited Azure OpenAI services by using stolen api keys. (Disrupting a global cybercrime network abusing generative AI)
• A BeyondTrust breach, which affected US Treasury systems—happened because of a compromised api key. (US Treasury Breached Using Stolen BeyondTrust Key - SANS Institute) Quick key revocation and notifying customers is, like, super important.
• Then there's the New York Times breach; an exposed GitHub access token resulted in a theft of 270GB of data, imagine the damage.

These incidents prove that weak NHI lifecycle management can lead to serious security screw-ups. So, what are the lessons to learn?

• Microsoft Azure OpenAI Breach: The exploitation of stolen api keys highlights the critical need for robust api key management, including secure storage, regular rotation, and continuous monitoring for anomalous usage patterns.
• BeyondTrust Breach: This incident underscores the importance of prompt revocation of compromised credentials and effective communication with affected parties to mitigate further damage.
• New York Times Breach: The exposure of a GitHub access token demonstrates the vulnerability of developer tools and the necessity of securing all access credentials, even those used by internal teams.

Having reviewed these critical case studies, let's now look towards securing the future with proactive NHI management.

Securing the Future with Proactive NHI Management

Okay, so you've made it this far! Thinking about the future of non-human identities can feel like staring into a crystal ball, right? It's all about staying ahead of the curve.

NHIs aren't just standalone entities; they're part of a larger, interconnected ecosystem.

• Understanding how they interact is critical. think about it like this: each NHI is a cog in a machine.
• For example, in a smart factory, robotic arms (NHIs) work with conveyor belts (more NHIs) all managed by a central system.
• If the conveyor belt's NHI is compromised and not monitored in conjunction with the robotic arm's NHI, an attacker could manipulate the entire production line, causing a security disaster by disrupting operations or causing physical damage.

Implementing strong lifecycle management and security controls is non-negotiable.

• This means covering everything from creation and usage to rotation, expiration, and revocation.
• For instance, if a service account used by a retail company to access inventory data is not properly revoked after its purpose is fulfilled, it could remain a potential entry point for attackers to access sensitive inventory or customer information.

Adopting a holistic approach is how you reduce risks and build resilient cybersecurity defenses.

• it's about seeing the whole board, not just one piece.
• This means bringing together IAM, Security, IT, DevOps, and Application teams.
• The IAM team can focus on policy and provisioning, Security on monitoring and threat detection, IT on infrastructure, DevOps on secure coding and deployment, and Application teams on understanding their service's specific NHI needs.
• According to the Cloud Security Alliance, you need a "multidisciplinary team" for a robust NHI security strategy.

So, what's the path forward? By recognizing NHIs are part of a larger ecosystem, implementing strong lifecycle management and security controls, and adopting a holistic approach, you're on your way to more resilient cybersecurity defenses! CISOs must prioritize NHI management as a foundational element of their security strategy to protect against evolving threats.