Non-human identities now outnumber human users in many organizations, yet they often receive far less oversight.
Service accounts, workloads, automation and API integrations accumulate permissions over time, creating access paths that are difficult to discover, monitor and control.
This guide explains how organizations can bring non-human identities into the same governance framework applied to human users. It explores why traditional identity programs frequently overlook machine identities, how excessive permissions develop and what practical steps security teams can take to improve visibility and reduce risk.
You’ll learn how to inventory non-human identities, identify unnecessary privilege, implement policy-driven access controls and replace permanent permissions with more dynamic authorization models where appropriate. The guide also examines governance considerations for cloud infrastructure, Kubernetes workloads, CI/CD pipelines and emerging AI agents that increasingly operate on behalf of users and applications.
Whether you’re beginning an NHI security initiative or expanding an existing identity program, this resource provides practical guidance for building consistent governance across every identity operating inside your environment.
