How NHIs Support Your Security Goals – Source: securityboulevard.com

Why Do You Need Non-Human Identities for Your Security Goals?

Companies are increasingly turning their attention towards the realm of Non-Human Identities (NHIs) to bolster the fortifications around their cyber territories. My role involves highlighting the essential role of these NHIs in achieving your security goals. But what exactly are NHIs and how do they aid risk management while ensuring secure data management?

Non-Human Identities (NHIs) Explained

Imagine an international traveler. They carry a passport (their identity) and a visa, granted by the country they wish to visit (the access permissions to a particular system). NHIs function similarly. They are essentially machine identities that are created by combining a ‘Secret’ – an encrypted password, token, or key representing the identity (the “tourist”) – and the permissions granted by a destination server (the “visa”). The management of NHIs thus involves securing both the identities and their access credentials, as well as monitoring their behaviors.

Managing NHIs for Improved Security

NHIs hold an unparalleled position in cloud security. The management of these NHIs aims to bridge the security gaps stemming from the disconnect between the Security and R&D teams by creating a secure cloud. By addressing all lifecycle stages – from discovery and classification to threat detection and remediation – NHI management emphasizes a holistic approach to securing machine identities and secrets. This contrasts with point solutions like secret scanners, which offer limited protection.

NHI Management Benefits

Implementing robust NHI support in your organization delivers a range of benefits:

• Reduced Risk: By proactively identifying and mitigating security risks, NHI management helps reduce the likelihood of breaches and data leaks.
• Improved Compliance: It aids organizations in meeting regulatory requirements through policy enforcement and audit trails.
• Increased Efficiency: The automation of NHI and secret management enables security teams to focus on strategic initiatives.
• Enhanced Visibility and Control: Provides a centralized view for access management and governance.
• Cost Savings: Reduces operational costs by automating secrets rotation and NHIs decommissioning.

Keys to Effective NHI Management

Achieving an optimal level of NHI management requires a keen focus on several key elements. Firstly, establishing clear ownership of NHIs and their secrets is crucial. This provides insights into permissions, usage patterns, and potential vulnerabilities, allowing for context-aware security.

Secondly, regularly auditing the NHIs to ensure their secrets have not been compromised and rotating these secrets helps in maintaining the integrity of the system. Thirdly, decommissioning unused or unnecessary NHIs is an essential aspect of NHI management, as these can become potential loopholes for cyber threats.

Adopting NHI Management as a Core Security Strategy

For far-reaching control over cloud security, organizations need to incorporate NHI and Secrets management into their cybersecurity strategy. This data-driven approach significantly decreases the risk of security breaches and data leaks, making your cloud environment more secure and reliable.

Aligning NHI Support with Your Security Goals

For organizations operating in the cloud, especially in industries such as healthcare, travel, financial services, and departments like DevOps and SOC teams, the significance of NHI management is paramount. By ensuring a secure and controlled environment, companies can operate with less risk, better regulatory compliance, and higher efficiency.

In essence, effective NHI management aligns perfectly with your security goals. It equips your organization with robust defenses against cyber threats, making your data management more secure and streamlined. The strategic importance of NHI management cannot be overstated, making it a pivotal aspect of any security-focused organization’s approach to risk management.

Therefore, NHI support and effective management should be seen not as an optional add-on but as an integral component of every organization’s security goals. It’s time to harness the power of Non-Human Identities for your organizational cybersecurity. Are you ready to take the leap?

Learn more about how NHIs are being used in the healthcare industry here or read our latest research on AI and OWASP here.

Envisioning Organizational Security with Non-Human Identities

Are NHIs an overlooked part of your cybersecurity strategy? Businesses must maneuver with versatility and foresight. It’s no longer just about protecting the human element. The non-human component – devices, applications, algorithms – is equally essential.

NHIs are the answer to this deepening complexity of information systems, offering burgeoning prospects for bolstered security measures. In essence, NHI management is about permitting machine identities, authorizing, monitoring their actions, thus integrating them smoothly into the broader security strategies of an organization.

The NHI Lifecycle: A Closer Look

At every stage of a non-human identity’s lifecycle, vigilant management is key. But what does this lifecycle look like? NHI Lifecycle encompasses a chain of actions including the creation of the identity, the authorization of permissions, alteration of attributes, the use of identity, and eventually the termination of the identity.

Every stage is as critical as the other. The goal is to maintain a comprehensive set of policies that direct the path from creation to termination, helping organizations maintain robust oversight and protect against potential security risks.

The Interplay of NHI and Data Management

The practice of managing NHIs has a significant role to play in data management too. It holds the promise of making data use more transparent and accountable. By maintaining a comprehensive record of the identity and activity of all non-human entities, organizations can make more informed decisions about policies, usage controls, and mitigation strategies.

For instance, the routine usage data generated from managing NHIs can offer valuable insights about how data is being accessed and used by non-human actors. This information can serve as the foundation for refining data retention policies, adopting more efficient cloud computing practices, and reinforcing data integrity.

Navigating Cloud Security with NHI Management

If your organization leverages cloud technologies, NHI management comes into play again. The key benefit of cloud computing – access to data and applications from any location – also increases the potential for cybersecurity risks. The role of NHIs is even more pronounced here.

Managing NHIs in a cloud demands an understanding of the sensitivities particular to that space. It involves not only managing the identities and permissions of non-human entities but monitoring their actions in real-time, ensuring swift detection and remediation of potential security issues. This proactive approach serves to bolster the security of your cloud operations, making it safer for sensitive data processing, storage, and retrieval.

Future Outlook: NHI in an Increasingly Automated World

With the digital contours of businesses become more complex, the importance of NHIs is destined to grow. With relentless advancements in AI and automation, the role of non-human actors in business operations is expanding at an unprecedented pace.

This increase in non-human participation amplifies the need for meticulous NHI management. Embracing this shift will help organizations stay ahead of the curve in the security domain, while also boosting overall operational efficiency. Mastering NHI management could very well be the deciding factor between resilient security and vulnerability.

Unlocking Resilient Security with NHI

In conclusion, the proposition of Non-Human Identities is transformative for an organization’s cybersecurity. By adopting effective NHI management, organizations can strengthen their defenses, improve compliance, increase efficiency, and unlock cost savings.

Most importantly, it fosters a security culture within the organization, led by the understanding that protection involves not just the human actors but non-human agents too. Integrating NHI into your security strategy may soon become not just a best practice, but a necessity. So, has your organization recognized the power of Non-Human Identities yet?

For further insights on NHIs, explore the best practices for building an incident response plan or discover how Entro partners with Torq for NHI security on our blog.

The post How NHIs Support Your Security Goals appeared first on Entro.

*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Entro authored by Alison Mack. Read the original post at: https://entro.security/how-nhis-support-your-security-goals/