Non-human identity management
Non-human identity management brings Zero Trust security principles to AI agents, service accounts, and automated workflows. By treating non-human identities as first-class entities with proper lifecycle management, least-privilege access, and continuous monitoring, you contain risk while enabling automation at scale.
💡 Why this matters
You secure the growing ecosystem of AI agents and automated systems that operate without human oversight while maintaining full visibility and control over their actions and access.
Key capabilities​
- Identity lifecycle management – Register, manage, and retire AI agents and service accounts with proper credential rotation
- Proof-of-possession tokens – Issue short-lived, bound tokens using OAuth 2.1, DPoP, or mTLS to eliminate static credentials
- Fine-grained authorization – Apply policy-based and relationship-based access controls at the object and action level
- Real-time policy enforcement – Evaluate every agent request against risk, context, and business policies
- Comprehensive audit trails – Generate verifiable, immutable logs for every action and access decision
- Cross-boundary federation – Safely authorize third-party and SaaS agents with scoped, revocable access
Outcomes​
Organizations that implement non-human identity management typically achieve:
- Eliminated security risks from static credentials and over-privileged automation
- Enhanced compliance posture with complete audit trails for all automated activities
- Scalable automation security that grows with AI and workflow adoption
Design principles​
- Apply least privilege by default with minimal necessary scopes and permissions
- Use short-lived credentials with automatic rotation and binding to specific contexts
- Implement continuous monitoring of all non-human identity activities and behaviors
- Plan for scale as AI agents and automation workflows multiply across the organization
Where to configure​
Use these guides to implement non-human identity management:
Compliance note​
Non-human identity management supports compliance frameworks by providing complete audit trails, enforcing least-privilege principles, and enabling governance controls for automated systems and AI agents.
FAQ​
What types of non-human identities are supported?
AI agents, service accounts, automated workflows, API clients, DevOps tools, and any system-to-system or automated process requiring secure access.
How does this differ from traditional service account management?
Non-human identity management uses short-lived, bound tokens instead of static credentials, applies fine-grained policies, and provides comprehensive audit trails.
Can policies adapt to non-human behavior patterns?
Yes. Risk-based policies can evaluate non-human identity behavior, usage patterns, and contextual factors to make dynamic access decisions.
How are AI agent credentials rotated?
Credentials use short-lived tokens that automatically refresh, with policy-based rotation schedules and the ability to instantly revoke access when needed.
What audit information is captured?
Complete audit trails include identity actions, resource access, policy decisions, risk evaluations, and timestamps for comprehensive compliance reporting.