Code Guardians: Mastering Non-Human Identity Management

ReportApril 12, 2024Hacker NewsDevSecOps/Identity Management

Identity now transcends human boundaries. Every line of code and every API call contains a non-human identity. These entities act as program access keys, support authentication and facilitate interactions between systems and services, which is critical for every API call, database query or storage account access. As we rely on multi-factor authentication and passwords to protect human identities, a pressing question arises: How do we guarantee the security and integrity of these non-human counterparts? How do we authenticate, authorize, and regulate entities that are inanimate but critical to the operation of critical systems?

Let’s break it down.

challenge

Think of a cloud-native application as a bustling metropolis made up of small communities called microservices, all neatly packaged in containers. These microservices function like diligent worker bees, with each microservice diligently performing its designated task, whether it’s processing data, validating credentials, or retrieving information from a database. They communicate seamlessly through APIs to ensure seamless operation of services for our users. However, to utilize these APIs, microservices must authenticate themselves using non-human identities and secrets (similar to program access keys).

Now, consider the consequences if a malicious actor obtained one of these non-human identities or secrets. The potential for chaos is enormous—secrets could be stolen, data tampered with, or even entire systems brought to a standstill.

Without strong security measures, systems are vulnerable to such attacks. Companies need to lock things down tightly to ensure data security and systems function smoothly.

solution

We need a comprehensive set of capabilities to address the need to manage non-human identities.

Comprehensive secret visibility

To manage non-human identities and secrets at scale, you need a bird’s eye view of all the machine identities in your system. From ownership details to permissions and risk levels, all of this critical information needs to be centralized to give your security team complete visibility into what’s going on behind closed doors. No more guessing games, but clear insights into non-human identities and their potential vulnerabilities.

Real-time monitoring and protection

To effectively monitor non-human identities, it is critical to employ real-time surveillance to maintain constant vigilance for sensitive information. Any signs of suspicious behavior should be spotted and flagged immediately. Whether it involves unauthorized access attempts or unforeseen permission changes, ongoing confidentiality review ensures proactive defense against potential risks. Merely raising an alert is not enough; when suspicious activity occurs, a comprehensive solution must be in place that provides actionable steps that can be resolved immediately.

centralized governance

Centralized governance simplifies the secret management of non-human identities. By consolidating all security controls into one streamlined platform, you can easily oversee access to non-human identities. From identification to prioritization and remediation, you need seamless collaboration between security and development teams to ensure everyone is on the same page when it comes to protecting digital assets.

Vulnerability detection and false positive elimination

Not all alarms require immediate alarm. Therefore, vulnerability detection must go beyond merely highlighting potential risks; it should differentiate between real threats and false alarms. By eliminating false positives and focusing on actual vulnerabilities, your security team can effectively resolve issues without being distracted by unnecessary distractions.

This is what is needed to manage the secret security of non-human identities. This is what we at Entro are obsessed with.

Why choose Entero

With Entro’s non-human identity management solutions, organizations can:

• Gain complete visibility into the secrets that protect code, APIs, containers and serverless functions scattered across systems and environments.
• Identify and prioritize security risks, remediate vulnerabilities, and prevent unauthorized access to critical financial systems and data.
• Automatically remediate identified security risks, saving time and resources for security and development teams.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements such as SOC2, GDPR and more by maintaining strong access controls and security measures.

Please contact us to learn more about Entro’s machine identity and confidentiality management solutions.