Identity-related security incidents have become alarmingly prevalent, with up to 90% of organizations experiencing an identity-driven breach in 2023. As identity and security leaders grapple with these challenges, a crucial question emerges: Who is the main cause of identity protection challenges - human or non-human identities?

The Interconnected Nature of Human and Non-Human Identities

The human factor is undeniably the #1 problem for identity protection. Humans are at the core of creating, using, configuring, and, unfortunately, abusing both human and non-human identities. 

Humans are responsible for creating and managing non-human identities, designing complex identity infrastructures, implementing security controls, and responding to threats. Developers and IT teams create service accounts, API keys, and other non-human identities, often without proper oversight or security considerations. Human design decisions also result in the complexity of identity systems, including cloud IdPs, on-premises ADs, and PAM platforms.

Moreover, humans are responsible for implementing and maintaining security controls, including those protecting non-human identities. Misconfiguration or neglect of these controls leads to blind spots and vulnerabilities that can be exploited. Even with automation elements in place, human judgment remains crucial in interpreting alerts, investigating incidents, and making decisions about threat response.

According to Verizon's 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report, 68% of all breaches involve the human element, such as privilege misuse, the use of stolen credentials, social engineering, or human error. This statistic underscores the critical role that human actions play in causing and potentially preventing identity-related security incidents. 

The Need for a Comprehensive Approach to Holistic Identity Protection

Given the intricate relationship between human actions and identity security, a holistic approach to identity protection addressing both human and non-human elements is crucial. This is where solutions like the AuthMind Identity Protection Platform come into play.

The AuthMind Platform is designed to offer comprehensive visibility into all identities - human, machine, managed, and unmanaged - across cloud, SaaS, and on-premises assets. Furthermore, AuthMind creates full contextual observability of the identity-related activities, access patterns, and relations between human and non-human identities (NHIs), ownership, usage, etc  By combining Identity Security Posture Management (ISPM) with Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) capabilities, AuthMind helps organizations identify and resolve identity posture issues quickly, enhancing resilience and preventing potential breaches before they occur.

AuthMind detects and responds to a wide range of identity-related threats originating from both human and non-human sources. Some key examples include:

• Potential misuse of NHIs by human users
• Human identities being used as NHIs
• Shadow access by humans and non-human identities
• Unauthorized access to sensitive data or systems
• Anomalies in NHI activity, such as NHIs being used from unauthorized hosts or IP addresses, or NHIs accessing unauthorized resources

This comprehensive approach is essential in today's complex digital environment, where human actions continue to shape the landscape of identity security challenges.

By focusing on both human and non-human identity security, while recognizing the human element behind both, AuthMind enables organizations to build more robust, resilient security postures. This holistic strategy allows enterprises to move faster without introducing identity-related security risks, addressing the complex needs of large organizations in today's dynamic threat landscape.

Request a personalized demo to learn how AuthMind can help you solve your identity protection challenges.