Non-Human Identity Security: The Risk Nobody's Governing
Network Intelligence News, Saturday, October 17th, 2026
Service accounts, API keys and AI agents now outnumber human identities, yet most lack owners, rotation and recertification.
Network Intelligence says non-human identities such as service accounts, API keys, pipeline credentials and AI agents now routinely outnumber human identities, yet most lack a lifecycle, a clear owner, credential rotation and inclusion in recertification cycles, and AI agents inherit broad standing access with no consistent registration.
A compromised non-human identity can often do more damage than a compromised human account.
The post recommends a real inventory, assigned ownership, rotation, least privilege and audit trails, governing human and non-human identities as one population.