Are you ready for the machine identities take-over?

Steve Bradford at SailPoint describes the importance of managing the lifecycle of machine identities in the business landscape

  

The rise of AI means an explosion of identities for organisations. Nearly seven in ten (69%) now manage more machine identities, such as software bots and robotic process automation, than human identities.

 

At the same time, cyber-criminals are using AI to ramp up the frequency and severity of attacks, as highlighted by the NCSC’s recent warning that the UK faces a ‘widening gap’ in its ability to fight cyber-threats.  

  

With most breaches coming down to some sort of account compromise, losing sight of identities plays directly into the hands of cyber-criminals. Organisations must take concrete action to manage and protect these – mitigating the opportunity for attacks within organisations and wider supply chains. 

  

Volume, variety, velocity: the machine identity explosion 

Machine identities are expected to grow faster than any other type of identity over the next 3-5 years. As the volume, variety, and velocity of identities continue to expand, businesses must rethink their perspectives and ensure that these are properly protected.  

  

Yet, our research shows that 72% of companies find managing machine identities more challenging than handling human identities, citing poor internal processes and inadequate identity management tools as the primary causes.  

  

Manual management is an uphill battle: 66% of security professionals surveyed indicated that these require far more manual resources than human identities, taxing an already overburdened workforce.  

  

Without robust governance, the doors are wide open for potential data loss or compromised access. Concerningly, with 57% of organisations admitting that a machine identity has been granted inappropriate access to sensitive data, inadequate oversight is putting organisations at risk.  

  

Gateway to the wider supply chain  

This risk of a security breach via the supply chain is heightened, given machine identities can also act as a gateway to external resources and services, including cloud and SaaS solutions, partners, suppliers, and other third parties. 16% of surveyed respondents couldn’t say for certain whether such an incident has occurred, highlighting either a lack of knowledge about potential risks or a failure to learn from past incidents.  

  

With so much at stake, organisations should continue to evolve their security strategies to address new and emerging threats. Machine identities are an increasingly popular attack vector, and the longer organisations grapple with how to effectively manage them, the greater the risk.

 

Organisations must protect all access points – giving the same level of focus to machine identities as they would human employees. This shift in mindset will be crucial if organisations are to ensure a robust defence against attacks.    

  

Taking back control  

An identity security strategy that provides visibility across all identities in the enterprise is the foundation of a solid defence. Better visibility and enhanced efficiency through automation will be critical for organisations to keep on top of the complex web of human and machine identities that now exist.  

  

Tools empowered with artificial intelligence can help streamline identity processes. This provides real-time information on machine identities, removing the manual steps from processes and helping to automate decisions such as access requests, role modelling, and access certifications. Not only does it free up IT teams to focus on more strategic tasks, but it ultimately reduces the risk of unauthorised access to sensitive data, protecting against evolving threats.   

  

Being able to see, manage, control, and secure all variations of identity is also a crucial component of regulatory compliance. Failure to comply with stringent regulations, such as GDPR and NIS2, can result in substantial fines, not to mention reputational damage.

 

By speeding up critical identity decisions at scale through the implementation of AI-empowered solutions, organisations can provision machine identities with only as much access as is required to carry out roles and responsibilities, reducing security risk across the organisation. 

  

The future demystified 

Cyber-criminals are consistently using the latest technologies to execute increasingly sophisticated assaults. With an explosion of identities to target in recent years, and more powerful tools in their arsenal, businesses must be on the front foot.

 

AI-empowered identity security can provide that defence, helping teams act and react in an agile and speedy manner when in the face of danger.  

  

By investing in tools that provide live monitoring, reduce the manual burden and limit access to only what is necessary, organisations can better keep up with the full spectrum of identities present within their environment. By doing so, they can improve security, strengthen compliance and manage threats long before a breach occurs.    

 

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Steve Bradford is Senior Vice President EMEA at SailPoint

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and imaginima