What is a Non-Human Identity?

What is a Non-Human Identity (NHI) and How Does it Work?

A Non-Human Identity (NHI) refers to any identity that is not tied to a workload or a device that requires access to systems, applications, or data. NHIs play a critical role in automation, cloud operations, and modern application workflows. To understand how NHIs function, it’s important to break them down into three core components:

• Machine: A machine can be a workload, such as a container, bot, or AI agent, or it can be a physical device like an IoT sensor, laptop, or smart car. What they all share is a compute function that enables them to perform tasks autonomously.
• Account: This is the identity's unique presence within a system or application. It could be a system account, service account, or IAM role, and it defines what the machine can do in that context. These accounts are typically assigned access permissions and credentials.
• Credentials: These are the secrets used to authenticate the account, such as API keys, tokens, or certificates. Credentials are what allow NHIs to prove their identity and gain access to resources.

Why is Security Non-Human Identities So Challenging?

Securing NHIs is difficult due to their dynamic nature, lack of centralized control, and the complexity of how they operate within modern environments. Here are the key reasons why:

• Decentralized and Widespread Provisioning
  Unlike human identities—which are typically created by IT teams and managed through centralized systems like HR platforms—NHIs can be created by anyone. Developers often spin up service accounts when building apps, and employees may grant bots or tools access without oversight. This lack of centralized control increases governance risk and makes it easy for NHIs to be forgotten or unmanaged.
• Highly Dynamic Behavior
  Machines and workloads are built to scale with demand. Virtual machines spin up and down, apps become inactive, and resources shift constantly. This dynamic behavior makes it difficult to continuously track and govern NHI access across environments.
• Use of Static Credentials and SaaS Applications
  Many NHIs rely on static credentials, such as API keys or hardcoded secrets, which are often difficult to rotate or revoke—making them a significant security risk if compromised. When combined with SaaS applications and complex software supply chains, visibility and control over NHI-related risk becomes even more challenging.

Where Do You Start to Secure Non-Human Identities?

Securing NHIs starts with shifting your approach—moving away from scattered, manual oversight and aligning with Zero Trust principles.

The first step is gaining visibility into all NHIs across your environment, along with their relationships to human owners. Understanding who created each NHI, why it exists, and whether it’s still needed allows you to identify orphaned or unused NHIs, remove them, and validate access permissions based on least privilege.

Next, replace static credentials like API keys and hardcoded secrets with one-time, session-based credentials. Instead of long-lived credentials that are easily compromised, generate short-lived credentials per session that expire immediately after use. This drastically reduces risk and supports a breach-ready posture.

Looking ahead, AI will play a growing role in NHI security, automating low-risk access approvals and escalating exceptions to human reviewers. Starting with visibility and progressing to automation, extending policy-driven governance to NHIs puts your organization on the path to stronger, more scalable NHI security.

Learn more about Saviynt Identity Cloud for Non-Human Identities here!