Welcome to the Definitive Glossary of Non Human Identity Management

Unlock the Language of Security and Efficiency in IAM
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In the rapidly evolving landscape of Identity and Access Management (IAM), understanding non-human identities — from bots and service accounts to IoT devices - is crucial.

Our comprehensive glossary provides clear, authoritative definitions of key terms and best practices in non-human identity management. Whether you're an IT professional, a cybersecurity enthusiast, or simply keen to learn about the mechanisms that protect digital entities, this resource is tailored for you.
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Dive into our glossary to demystify the complex world of non-human identities and enhance your organization’s security and compliance.

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Non Human Identity Lifecycle Management

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Identity types

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Non Human Identitiy Security Violations

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IAM Concepts

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Vendors

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Regulation

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Identity types

AWS Document DB User

An AWS Document DB user is an identity granted access to resources and services within an Amazon Web Services (AWS) DocumentDB...

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Identity types

AWS RDS User

An AWS RDS user is an identity granted access to resources and services within an Amazon Web Services (AWS) Relational Database Service...

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IAM Concepts

Access Management

Access Management is the process of authenticating and authorizing users and machines to access systems, applications, and APIs.

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Identity types

Application

An application is a software program or set of software components designed to perform specific tasks or functions to meet...

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IAM Concepts

Attestation

Access attestation, also known as access recertification or entitle review, enables you to review and validate the access privileges...

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Identity types

Break Glass Account

A break glass account is a special user account or emergency access mechanism used to gain privileged access to critical systems...

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IAM Concepts

CIEM

Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) refers to tools and practices for managing and governing cloud-based identities...

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IAM Concepts

Conditional Access

Conditional access is a security feature that controls access to resources based on specific conditions or criteria, such as...

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Non Human Identity Lifecycle Management

Decommission

Decommissioning is the process of retiring, deactivating, or shutting down IT systems, hardware, software, or services that are no...

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Identity types

Device identity

A device identity is a subset of machine identities (or non-human identities) that represents physical or virtual hardware...

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Identity types

External Account

An external account refers to a user account or identity managed by an external identity provider (IdP) or authentication...

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Vendor

GCP Secret Vault

The Google Cloud Secrets Engine automates the generation of service account keys and OAuth tokens, aligning with...

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Vendor

HashiCorp Vault

HashiCorp Vault is a popular open-source tool for managing secrets, encryption keys, and...

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Identity types

Human Identity

Human identity refers to the unique characteristics, attributes, or identifiers associated with individual users or persons within...

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IAM Concepts

IAM

Identity and Access Management (IAM) is a framework or system used to manage digital identities, authentication, and access controls...

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Identity types

IAM User

An IAM (Identity and Access Management) user is an individual or entity granted access to resources and services within an IAM system or...

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IAM Concepts

IDP

IDP stands for Identity Provider, a service or system responsible for authenticating and verifying the identities of users or entities...

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IAM Concepts

IGA

Identity Governance and Administration (IGA)

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IAM Concepts

Identity Fabric

Identity Fabric is a framework of interconnected tools, technologies, and processes designed to collectively manage both human and NHIs...

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Identity types

KMS Key

A Key Management Service (KMS) key is a cryptographic key used for encryption, decryption, and access management of data, usually for...

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Non Human Identity Lifecycle Management

Lifecycle Management

Lifecycle management refers to the process of managing the entire lifecycle of resources, assets, or entities within...

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IAM Concepts

MFA

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is a security mechanism that requires users to provide two or more forms of...

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Identity types

MSA Key

MSA is the consumer side of Microsoft that powers authentication for all consumer based platforms...

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Identity types

Machine Identity

A machine identity refers to the unique digital representation of a machine within an organization's network or system...

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Identity types

NHI

NHI stands for Non Human Identity. A Non-Human Identity (NHI) is a digital construct used for machine-to-machine access and authentication.

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IAM Concepts

OAuth 2.0

OAuth 2.0 is an open standard for access delegation that allows applications to obtain limited access to user resources...

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IAM Concepts

Offboarded Employee

An offboarded employee is a former employee or staff member who has left the organization or terminated their employment. Offboarding...

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Vendor

Okta Application

Okta is a platform for identity and access management that offers secure identity verification, single sign-on (SSO), and...

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Non Human Identity Security Violations

Orphaned Accounts

Orphaned accounts are user accounts or identities that are no longer associated with any active user or role within a system or...

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Non Human Identity Security Violations

Out-of-Sync Application

An out-of-sync application is a software application or system that is not synchronized or aligned with other components, dependencies, or d

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Non Human Identity Security Violations

Overconsumed

Overconsumption occurs when resources or services are utilized beyond their intended or...

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Non Human Identity Security Violations

Overprivileged

Overprivileged refers to a condition where user accounts, roles, or entities are granted excessive or unnecessary permissions and access...

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IAM Concepts

PAM

Privileged Access Management (PAM) is a set of tools and strategies designed to manage, monitor, and secure privileged accounts and access.

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Regulation

PCI 4.0

PCI 4.0 refers to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) version 4.0, a set of...

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Vendor

Parameter Store

AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store offers a secure way to store and manage configuration data and...

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Non Human Identity Lifecycle Management

Provisioning

Provisioning is the process of setting up, configuring, and allocating resources, accounts, or services to users, applications, or...

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IAM Concepts

RBAC Role-Based Access Control

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) is a method of managing access to resources in a system based on the roles assigned to individual users...

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Identity types

Role

A role defines a set of permissions and access rights granted to users, groups, or service principals within a system or...

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Identity types

SAS Token

A Shared Access Signature (SAS) token is a security token that provides limited access rights to specific...

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IAM Concepts

SPIFFE Verifiable Identity Document

The SPIFFE Verifiable Identity Document (SVID) is a specification for securely issuing and validating cryptographic identities...

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IAM Concepts

SSO

Single Sign-On (SSO) is an authentication mechanism that allows users to access multiple applications or services with...

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Identity types

Secret Manager Secret

A secret manager secret is a confidential piece of information, such as a password, API token, or database connection string, stored...

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Non Human Identity Lifecycle Management

Secret Rotation

Secret rotation is the process of regularly updating or replacing cryptographic keys, passwords, API tokens, or...

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IAM Concepts

Secret Sprawl

Secret sprawl refers to the uncontrolled proliferation or accumulation of secrets, credentials, or sensitive information across an...

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Identity types

Secure Parameter

A secure parameter is a configurable value or setting used in an application, service, or system that has been designed and implemented...

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Identity types

Service Account

A service account is a type of account used by services, applications, or automated processes to access resources or perform specific...

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Identity types

Service Principal

A service principal is an identity used by a service or application to authenticate and access resources in a secure and controlled...

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Non Human Identity Security Violations

Stale Accounts

Stale accounts are user accounts or identities that remain active within an organization's IT environment despite being unused or...

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IAM Concepts

Vault

A vault is a secure repository used to store sensitive information, such as passwords, cryptographic keys, certificates...

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Identity types

Vault Certificate

A vault certificate is a digital certificate stored securely within a vault or cryptographic system. Vault certificates are used for...

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Identity types

Vault Key

A vault key is a cryptographic key stored securely within a vault for encryption, decryption, or authentication purposes. Vault keys are...

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Non Human Identity Lifecycle Management

Vault Secret

A vault secret is a confidential piece of information, such as a password, stored securely within a vault. Vault secrets are protected...

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IAM Concepts

Workload IAM (Identity and Access Management)

Workload Identity and Access Management (IAM) refers to the application of IAM principles specifically to non-human identities...

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IAM Concepts

Workload IGA (Identity Governance and Administration)

Workload Identity Governance and Administration encompasses the processes, technologies, and policies designed to manage and secure NHIs...

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Identity types

Workload Identity

A workload identity is a specific type of machine identity or non-human identity that represents software-based entities...

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Secure all identities, NHIs first

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