How Mature is Your NHI Security Program?

Michelle Harari January 20, 2025

Managing non-human identities is a top cybersecurity challenge today due to their complexity across interconnected systems, rapid growth, and dynamic nature. Limited budgets and staffing add to the difficulty, leaving many organizations vulnerable and anxious without the right tools and cohesive strategies. This guide provides practical steps to refine your strategy, processes, and tools, helping you understand your current position and the critical next steps to secure and manage your NHIs effectively.

The risk of doing nothing

At the core lies the easiest option – doing nothing. But what does this really mean? A recent survey showed that 1 in 5 organizations has experienced security incidents involving non-human identities due to outdated credential rotation, lack of monitoring, and overprivileged accounts. Organizations that choose to ignore non-human identities expose themselves to serious risks: unauthorized access to sensitive systems, data breaches, loss of critical information, operational disruptions, and delayed detection of malicious activity. Unsecured NHIs can jeopardize confidential data, intellectual property, and customer information.

Stats

Developing in-house solutions

The “build it yourself” option is both impractical and ineffective. Companies attempting this approach face overwhelming demands for man-hours and resources, trying to identify hundreds of thousands or even millions of NHIs scattered across systems. Building and maintaining this type of solution requires specialized skills, which diverts valuable resources from other high-priority projects. This often results in fragmented security, where some areas are protected, but others are left exposed. Despite their efforts, some NHIs will inevitably be missed, and hackers only need one weak point to exploit. The dynamic nature of systems further complicates things, as risks change by the minute.

Without a centralized system to continuously identify and prioritize the most exposed and high-risk NHIs – such as those with admin access, third-party connections, or anomalous behavior – companies risk misallocating resources, focusing on lower-risk identities. At the same time, critical vulnerabilities remain unaddressed, leaving them exposed to potential breaches.

In both cases, doing nothing or building in-house, the risk stays high.

Investing in a comprehensive NHI solution

Purpose-built NHI platforms offer continuous visibility, automated risk prioritization, and proactive threat detection – capabilities that fragmented tools or in-house solutions can’t match. As more organizations recognize the need for NHI-specific tools, 1 in 4 has already invested, with an additional 60% planning to do so throughout 2025. These investments unify NHI security strategies, simplify management, and enhance compliance, addressing critical security gaps and building resilience against evolving threats.

Who should own the NHI program?

Ownership of the NHI program usually depends on the size of the company. In larger organizations, it may fall under specialized IAM or cybersecurity teams. At the same time, in smaller companies, it could be overseen by IT leadership or a cross-functional team involving security, IT, and compliance.

Where do we start?

Managing NHIs effectively requires a comprehensive approach supported by the right resources and tools. The first steps involve mapping all NHIs in your environment, defining their access needs, and implementing policies to monitor and manage their identities. Prioritizing risk-based actions like credential rotations, threat detection, and automation of governance tasks will create a strong foundation for your NHI program – one that’s scalable, secure, and resilient.

Self-Assessment

Where does your NHI program stand?

To understand the effectiveness of your current approach, take the following self-assessment. With this exercise, you can identify gaps or limitations and begin your journey to a solution that simplifies and strengthens how you manage your NHIs. Add the points of each answer (1,2 or 3) and check the table below for the result.

  1. Do you have a complete and up-to-date inventory of all non-human identities across your systems?
    1. No or outdated inventory
    2. Partial inventory
    3. Complete & updated inventory
  1. Are you confident in your visibility over the activities and access of non-human identities?
    1. No visibility
    2. Some visibility, but inconsistent
    3. Full & confident visibility
  1. How much of your NHI management is automated? Are you still relying on manual processes?
    1. Mostly manual
    2. Partial automation
    3. Fully automated
  1. Have you implemented automated secret rotation and policy enforcement?
    1. No automation
    2. Partially automated
    3. Fully automated
  1. Are your tools integrated to provide a single view of NHI security, or do you face tool fragmentation?
    1. Fragmented, not integrated
    2. Some integration, gaps remain
    3. Fully integrated
  1. Do you have overlapping solutions that create inefficiencies or gaps in your security posture?
    1. Overlapping solutions, causing inefficiencies
    2. Some overlap, but manageable
    3. No overlaps, streamlined solutions
  1. Can you proactively detect threats and monitor NHI activity across your entire attack surface?
    1. Reactive, limited coverage
    2. Proactive but not comprehensive
    3. Fully proactive and comprehensive
  1. Do you have an established incident response process for NHI-related breaches?
    1. No established process
    2. Basic process in place
    3. Comprehensive, well-established process
  1. Are your NHI processes aligned with compliance regulations and audit requirements?
    1. Not aligned with regulations
    2. Partially aligned, some gaps
    3. Fully aligned with all regulations
  1. How are you managing third-party risk (TPRM) related to non-human identities, particularly across your supply chain?
    1. No TPRM process
    2. Basic TPRM process in place
    3. Fully developed TPRM across the supply

.

CRAWL

WALK

RUN

.

10-16 Points

17-24 points

25-30 points

Symptoms

  • Manual process reliance
  • Fragmented, overlapping tools
  • Limited integration
  • Incomplete NHI inventory
  • Unmonitored attack surface
  • Reactive secret scanning and threat detection
  • Little to no automation for secret rotation and policy enforcement
  • Lack of coordination and real-time insights
  • Partial automation, with manual work still present
  • Some integration across tools, but fragmentation remains
  • Incomplete NHI inventory
  • Gaps in attack surface monitoring
  • Proactive threat detection but lacking full coverage
  • Inconsistent automation for secret rotation and policy enforcement
  • Coordination in place, but insights remain siloed
  • Full automation of NHI processes
  • Complete integration of tools with no fragmentation
  • Comprehensive NHI inventory with full visibility
  • Continuous monitoring of the entire attack surface
  • Advanced threat detection and response in place
  • Automated secret rotation and policy enforcement
  • Seamless coordination and real-time insights across all systems

Results

A significant lack of visibility and control over non-human identities leaves critical security gaps. This exposes the organization to higher risks of breaches, operational disruptions, and compliance failures.

Visibility and control over NHIs exist, but gaps remain. Security risks, including breaches and disruptions, persist. Compliance challenges continue, and inefficiencies leave the organization with incomplete protection.

Visibility and control over NHIs are fully optimized, minimizing security risks. Compliance and audit requirements are met efficiently, and operational disruptions are rare. The organization benefits from streamlined processes and robust protection across all systems.

Secure your non-human identities today. Schedule a demo with Astrix to build a resilient NHI program, or let us run a free risk scan to identify the top 5% of the most critical non-human identity risks within 24 hours—delivering actionable insights and clarity on your security gaps.

Learn more

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