The Rise of Non-Human Identity in IAM: Why It’s Crucial

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As organizations embrace automation, cloud services, and AI, non-human identities—like applications, devices, and workloads—are growing exponentially. Recently, Aembit raised $25 million, marking a surge of activity in this space.

The thing about non-human identities? They multiply fast. Unlike humans, where hiring has some limits, these digital entities can explode overnight. As they proliferate, organizations must integrate them into their Identity and Access Management (IAM) plans—ensuring security while maintaining agility.

Non-human identities aren’t a future problem; they’re today’s pressing challenge. Every new workload, API, or microservice added to your architecture means more permissions, keys, and access rights to manage. The speed at which these identities scale outpaces traditional identity governance strategies.

The Explosive Growth of Non-Human Identities

The digital landscape is expanding at breakneck speed, and with it comes an exponential increase in non-human identities. Unlike human identities—which scale predictably with hiring patterns—non-human entities like applications, microservices, bots, and IoT devices are multiplying at a rate that can leave traditional IAM practices gasping for air.

The reality is that every new cloud instance, API, or automated process adds to the roster of identities needing management. And unlike human employees, these non-human actors don’t take time off—they’re constantly active, requiring around-the-clock access. So, how do you govern something that’s not only growing faster than human personnel but also constantly “on the clock”?

This growth isn’t slowing down, either. With the rise of automation, AI, and cloud-native infrastructure, businesses are relying more on services and devices that need access privileges. But here’s the rub: every new identity introduces new risks. Without proper management, these digital actors can be exploited, leading to breaches, data loss, and other security nightmares.

The Security Risks of Ignoring Non-Human Identities

Here’s the scary part: non-human identities are often an overlooked backdoor in many organizations. It’s easy to get focused on human access control—after all, we’re used to managing user credentials, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and role-based access for people. But what about the hundreds (or thousands) of services that run behind the scenes? They need permissions to talk to databases, APIs, and other systems. And if you’re not careful, these permissions can be way too broad.

Over-permissioning is one of the biggest risks in this space. When a microservice or app has more access than it needs, it becomes a prime target for attackers. Imagine a hacker gaining control of a bot or service with admin-level access across your cloud infrastructure. You can see where that’s going—disaster.

The sheer volume and speed at which non-human identities are growing mean businesses can’t afford to sit back and hope their existing IAM solutions will scale. They won’t. Security breaches, loss of sensitive data, and compliance issues could be around the corner if you’re not proactive

Incorporating Non-Human Identity Into Your IAM Strategy

Let’s be real—managing non-human identities sounds like a daunting task, especially when your infrastructure scales by the day. But here’s the thing: ignoring it is far worse. So, how do you integrate non-human identities into your existing IAM strategy?

1. Audit your existing non-human identities: Start by understanding what’s already in place. How many microservices, bots, and devices are you working with? Who, or what, are they interacting with? What permissions do they have?

2. Apply the principle of least privilege: Just like with human identities, non-human actors should only have the minimum access required to do their jobs. No more, no less. Review permissions regularly and automate access revocation for unused identities.

3. Implement automated identity lifecycle management: Managing non-human identities manually is a losing battle. Use automation to handle the lifecycle of non-human identities—provisioning, deprovisioning, and monitoring access rights as things scale.

4. Monitor continuously: Because non-human entities are always on, real-time monitoring is key. Set up alerts for suspicious behavior, and track interactions between services, APIs, and devices.

5. Prepare for the future: If there’s one thing we know, it’s that this space will only get bigger. Your IAM strategy needs to be flexible enough to handle the continued growth of non-human identities. This might mean investing in new tools (like Aembit’s offerings) or reevaluating your current IAM infrastructure.

Non-human identities are already transforming the IAM landscape. They’re multiplying faster than human employees ever could, and they present a serious security risk if not managed properly. Businesses need to start treating these digital actors as critical parts of their access management strategy. The recent surge in funding—like Aembit’s $25 million—is just the beginning of the wave.

If your IAM strategy isn’t ready to manage thousands (or millions) of non-human identities, it’s time to get serious. The longer you wait, the more challenging—and risky—it becomes.