Non Human Identity Management

Non Human Identity Management: The Complete Guide
Non Human Identity Management (NHIM) is the practice of discovering, securing, and automating the lifecycle of digital identities used by machines such as applications, AI agents, bots, and cloud resources rather than by human users.
The push for innovation has led to the adoption of microservices, third-party solutions, and cloud-based platforms, creating a complex web of interconnected systems. In this intricate network, Non Human identities (NHIs), such as service accounts, service principals and IAM roles are key players in facilitating secure communication and authentication. This blog explores the concept of Non Human Identity Management (NHIM), why it is now essential for security and operational resilience, the risks of unmanaged NHIs, and how Oasis Security is purpose-built to address these challenges.
What is Non Human Identity Management?
Non Human Identity Management (NHIM) refers to the governance, security, and automation of identities that belong to software, applications, services, bots, and devices, rather than to human users.
In modern digital ecosystems, these non-human identities (NHIs) are essential for automated processes, system integrations, and cloud operations. However, without proper management, they can become significant security risks.
- NHIM encompasses the entire lifecycle of non-human identities, including:
- Discovery and Classification
Detecting all non-human identities across cloud, on-premises, and hybrid environments, and categorizing them based on purpose and risk. - Provisioning
Creating identities with appropriate permissions and ensuring secure setup from the outset. - Ownership Assignment
Establishing clear accountability by assigning NHIs to responsible teams or individuals. - Posture Monitoring and Detection
Continuously assessing security configurations and identifying misconfigurations, excessive privileges, or suspicious activity. - Vaulting and Secure Storage
Storing secrets, credentials, and keys securely to prevent unauthorized access. - Rotation of Credentials
Regularly updating secrets and credentials to minimize the risk of breaches from stolen or stale credentials. - Compliance
Enforcing policies and maintaining audit trails to meet regulatory and security standards. - Decommissioning
Safely retiring identities that are no longer needed to eliminate unnecessary access paths.
- Discovery and Classification
Why do we need non human identity management?
Effective Non Human Identity Management is essential for several reasons:
- Identity-based breaches have grown significantly, according to the IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023, the global average cost of a data breach in 2023 was USD 4.45 million, marking a 15% increase over three years. Moreover, credentials remain the primary target for attackers. The 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report by Verizon states that stolen credentials account for 77% of basic web application attacks.
The threat is real, even for the most security-aware organizations. Below is an illustrative list of compromised organizations in the last 12 months: - Traditional Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) tools are designed with human identities in mind, relying on authoritative sources such as human resources (HR) or Active Directory. However, these tools fall short when applied to non-human identities, which are decentralized and distributed across various environments (in the cloud(s), on-premises system,...).
- Modern enterprise systems are characterized by a network of interconnected devices, applications, and automated processes. The scale and growth of NHIs, combined with the lack of a centralized repository and clear ownership, makes operationalizing security policies and best practices for NHIs extremely hard without purpose-built automation.
Unmanaged non human identity can expose organizations to security violations
Unmanaged Non Human Identities (NHI) pose significant security threats to modern organizations. As businesses adopt complex cloud architectures, microservices, and automated workflows, the number of NHIs—like service accounts, bots, and application credentials—has exploded. Yet many remain invisible, unmonitored, and unsecured.
Attackers actively target these identities to gain unauthorized access, escalate privileges, and move laterally across systems. According to the MITRE ATT&CK® Matrix for Enterprise, non-human identities are exploited in numerous adversary tactics and techniques, including:
- Initial access: The adversary tries to enter your network.
- Persistence: The adversary aims to maintain access.
- Credential Access: The adversary tries to steal credentials aiming to escalate privileges and move laterally within the network.
Attackers gain access via NHI using the following threat vectors:
- Stale privileged unrotated NHIs: Despite their privileged access, stale or orphaned accounts remain unchanged and susceptible to exploitation due to the lack of ownership and accountability and lack of credential rotation.
- Unrotated secrets exposed to off-boarded employees: Secrets left unrotated and exposed to a former employee pose a significant risk, especially when they can be accessed on the internet and have privileged access.
- Stale storage accounts: Stagnant storage accounts present a potential security loophole, outdated configurations might leave sensitive data vulnerable to unauthorized access or compromise.
- Active secrets with 50+ year expiration data: Secrets with excessively long expiration dates pose a security risk, they provide an extended window of opportunity for malicious actors to exploit vulnerabilities.
- Vaults with unused access policies: Vaults containing unused access policies represent an overlooked security gap, they may inadvertently grant unauthorized access to sensitive resources or data.
Being able to find and highlight these vulnerabilities is the first step to proactively managing and securing non-human identities to mitigate security risks and safeguard organizational assets.

How to choose the right non human identity management platform
NHIM represents a significant shift in Identity and access management (IAM). While identity has become the new security perimeter, focusing only on human identities is no longer enough. Organizations need specialized solutions designed specifically for the unique requirements of non-human entities These solutions should address fundamental requirements, including:
- Holistic Contextual Visibility: Complete visibility into the non-human identity landscape is indispensable. An NHIM platform should offer holistic contextual visibility, providing insights into usage patterns, dependencies, and relationships within the ecosystem.
- Work across the hybrid cloud: the NHIM platform must go beyond the boundaries of traditional infrastructure and must operate seamlessly across hybrid cloud environments. From leading Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) providers like AWS, Azure, and GCP to Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS) offerings, the platform should cover the full range of cloud technologies as well as on-premise services.
- Active Posture Management: Proactive posture management is indispensable in the face of evolving threats. An NHIM platform should enable organizations to assess the security posture of non-human identities in real-time and take proactive measures to mitigate risks.
- Lifecycle Management & Automation: From provisioning to rotation and decommissioning, lifecycle management of non-human identities must be automated. An NHIM platform should offer robust capabilities for automating key lifecycle management tasks, enhancing operational efficiency and security.
- Work across secret managers and PAMs: An NHI platform should integrate with popular secret management solutions such as HashiCorp Vault, Azure Key Vault, and CyberArk. Moreover, seamless interoperability with Privileged Access Management (PAM) solutions like CyberArk and Delinea so that secrets found by the NHI platform can be properly secured and vaulted in the PAM solution.
- Developer-ready: The NHIM platform should feature robust APIs for easy integration with applications and services, supporting automation and customization. It should also integrate seamlessly with the operational stack, including Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools, IT Service Management (ITSM) systems, logging frameworks, and development tools.
By implementing a robust non human identity platform, equipped with the integration to the necessary ecosystem and capabilities, organizations can effectively manage non-human identities, strengthen their security posture, and fully leverage the benefits of automation and interconnected systems.
Introducing Oasis: The Non Human Identity Management Platform
Oasis is designed for NHIs from the ground up. Our approach ensures comprehensive management and security of non-human assets across different environments. Oasis combines powerful Discovery & Inventory, Posture & Remediation, and Lifecycle Management capabilities in a single integrated and easy-to-use solution.

Here’s how Oasis unlocks real, effective non human identity management:
- Non-Human Identity Centric: Identities are the key starting point of our platform, not infrastructure or secrets. This allows us to create a complete and actionable view of the operational context of how systems are interconnected allowing us to create a high fidelity view of dependencies, usage and entitlements.
- Cross-System Insights: Oasis is engineered to work without pre-existing knowledge of an environment and doesn’t depend on a single authoritative source. The Oasis platform connects, aggregates and analyzes data across various systems (IDPs, event logs, secret managers, ASPMs, DSPMs) providing a holistic inventory with rich contextual information on each identity and its posture
- Lifecycle Orchestration: We offer powerful lifecycle management capabilities, automating key processes from creation to decommissioning. This ensures that all identities are properly managed throughout their entire lifecycle, reducing the risk of security breaches.
- Support the Hybrid Cloud: Oasis supports hybrid cloud environments, allowing organizations to manage non-human identities across both on-premises and cloud infrastructures. This flexibility ensures consistent security and compliance in diverse IT landscapes.
- Fast Time to Value: Our platform delivers quick and tangible benefits, enabling organizations to see value rapidly. Oasis customers have been able to identify and resolve the first issues in as little as a few days since starting to use the platform. With streamlined implementation and intuitive features, Oasis helps businesses enhance their security posture without lengthy deployment times.

For a quick overview of the principles behind Non Human Identity Management, watch this short video on machine identity management. While the terms differ slightly, the core security challenges are the same.
Partner with Oasis Security to achieve robust Non Human Identity Management (NHIM) and protect your digital ecosystem from emerging threats.
Contact us today to discover how Oasis can help you gain visibility, automate identity lifecycle management, and safeguard your business with confidence.
FAQ: Non Human Identity Management (NHIM)
What is Non Human Identity Management (NHIM)?
Non Human Identity Management (NHIM) is the process of discovering, securing, and managing digital identities used by machines, applications, services, bots, and cloud resources rather than by human users. It helps protect modern systems from security breaches caused by unmanaged or over-privileged machine identities.
Why is Non Human Identity Management important?
NHIM is crucial because:
- Machine identities are growing exponentially in modern cloud and DevOps environments.
- Attackers increasingly target these identities to steal credentials, move laterally, and exfiltrate data.
- Traditional IAM tools can’t manage machine identities effectively.
- NHIM helps organizations avoid costly breaches and maintain compliance.
How are Non-Human Identities different from human identities?
- Human identities belong to people and are usually tied to HR systems, Active Directory, or other centralized identity sources.
- Non-Human identities (NHIs) belong to machines, applications, bots, and services, and often:
- Have no single owner
- Are created dynamically in cloud environments
- Carry significant privileges if left unmanaged
What types of Non-Human Identities exist?
Examples of NHIs include:
- Service accounts
- Cloud IAM roles (e.g., AWS IAM roles, Azure service principals)
- API keys and tokens
- Secrets and certificates used for authentication
- Bots and automated scripts
- Machine accounts for workloads or containers
What risks are associated with unmanaged Non-Human Identities?
Unmanaged NHIs can lead to:
- Credential theft
- Lateral movement by attackers
- Compliance violations
- Excessive, unnoticed permissions
- Data exposure via stale or orphaned accounts
Attackers exploit machine identities using tactics like:
- Supply chain compromise
- Valid account abuse
- Stealing secrets from vaults or source code
Why can’t traditional IAM tools handle NHIM?
Traditional IAM tools:
- Were designed for human identities.
- Depend on centralized identity sources like HR databases or Active Directory.
- Can’t track or automate the dynamic nature of machine identities in cloud-native environments.
NHIM requires specialized tools built for:
- Large volumes of identities
- Frequent changes in DevOps environments
- Secret rotation and vaulting
How does NHIM help with compliance?
NHIM helps organizations comply with:
- Regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, SOX
- Security frameworks like NIST and MITRE ATT&CK
- Audit requirements for tracking and controlling privileged access
By discovering, monitoring, and securing NHIs, organizations reduce compliance risks and prove security controls during audits.
What features should I look for in a Non Human Identity Management platform?
An effective NHIM platform should offer:
- Complete visibility into all machine identities
- Integration with cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP)
- Active posture monitoring
- Lifecycle automation (creation, rotation, decommissioning)
- Secrets vault integration (e.g., HashiCorp Vault, Azure Key Vault)
- Developer-friendly APIs for DevOps pipelines
How does Oasis Security solve NHIM challenges?
Oasis Security is purpose-built for NHIM. It:
- Provides complete visibility across hybrid cloud environments
- Detects risks from unmanaged machine identities
- Automates identity lifecycle management
- Integrates with secrets vaults and privileged access tools
- Helps organizations secure their digital ecosystems and avoid breaches
How can I get started with NHIM?
- Begin by discovering all machine identities in your environment.
- Identify stale or risky accounts.
- Implement automated secrets rotation.
- Evaluate purpose-built NHIM platforms like Oasis Security.
- Develop governance policies for ownership, monitoring, and decommissioning of NHIs.
Is NHIM the same as Machine Identity Management?
They’re closely related concepts. While “machine identity management” and “non-human identity management” often overlap, NHIM tends to be broader, covering:
- Service accounts
- Application secrets
- Bots and workloads
- And any identity not tied to a human user
Both terms describe managing identities that machines use to communicate securely.
We do newsletters, too
Discover tips, technical guides and best practices in our biweekly newsletter.