.svg)
One of the biggest themes at this year’s SailPoint Navigate was the explosive growth of machine identities. With machines now outnumbering humans by staggering ratios, unmanaged identities have become a critical, and often overlooked, attack vector that organizations can no longer afford to ignore.
We explored this topic during our session, “From Shadow to Certainty: Securing Machine Identities with Confidence,” presented by MajorKey’s Director of IAM Services, Phil Martinez. If you weren’t able to attend live, keep reading to discover why machine identities are critical, the risks they pose, and how to secure them with confidence.
Machine identities, such as service accounts, API tokens, containers, and more, are the fastest growing identity management segment. Gartner estimates machines outnumber humans by a staggering 45:1, and nearly half of organizations experienced breaches linked to compromised machine identities last year. In 2024 alone, over 39 million secrets were leaked on GitHub, with high-profile incidents at companies like Microsoft and T-Mobile underscoring the urgency for proactive machine identity security.
Legacy identities are static and manual, relying on stored secrets and broad access. Modern identities are dynamic, ephemeral, and policy-driven, leveraging just-in-time (JIT) credentials and automated lifecycles. Moving from legacy to modern reduces risk and aligns with zero trust principles.
In traditional workforce identity management, responsibilities are fairly linear: Human resources manages people and lifecycle events, Security oversees policies and controls, and IAM teams handle access and governance. This structure works well for human identities, but machine identities shatter this mold.
With machine identities, accountability becomes fragmented. DevOps, IAM, Security, and Platform teams all play a role, yet ownership is often unclear. A common pattern we see:
The result? Unmanaged, over-privileged identities lingering across your environment. Overprovisioning compounds this problem, as teams grant broad access for convenience and rarely revisit permissions. This accountability gap poses a serious risk, and demands a more collaborative, cross-functional approach to identity governance.
Traditional identity tools often fall short when it comes to uncovering the attack paths created by machine identities. For example, a user owning a service principal can add secrets, bypass MFA, and escalate privileges to Global Admin. These ownership relationships are frequently missed during certification campaigns, leaving dangerous blind spots for attackers to exploit.
Tools like Bloodhound can help uncover these hidden paths—surfacing risks that traditional reviews often overlook and giving security teams the visibility they need to take action.
Discovery alone isn’t enough; it’s just the beginning. To truly secure machine identities, organizations need automated classification, AI-powered detection, and seamless integration with governance workflows. Solutions like SailPoint’s Machine Identity Security go beyond visibility, helping group machine accounts by business applications, assign clear ownership, and feed into certification workflows.
Core features include:
Machine identities are multiplying, and so are the risks. The path forward requires more than technical fixes; it demands a strategic transformation. That means eliminating static credentials, embracing ephemeral identities, and embedding Zero Trust principles into every layer of your infrastructure. Continuous governance and AI-driven risk detection aren’t just best practices - they’re quickly becoming the standard.
This isn’t just a technical challenge. It’s an organizational imperative. Now is the time to align cross-functional teams, modernize identity workflows, and embed security into your development lifecycle from the start.
Discover how IDProof+ prevents identity fraud with biometric checks, global document verification, and Zero Trust access. Protect your workforce and sensitive data today.
In part 2 of our Transitioning Beyond MIM Revisited series, we explore Microsoft's rapidly evolving capabilities and their impact on organizations navigating the shift from MIM.
Discover how organizations can securely adopt AI tools like Microsoft Copilot by addressing identity security challenges. Learn about common risks, best practices, and a structured assessment approach to ensure responsible AI integration and compliance.
Discover how deepfake fraud and fake employees are reshaping remote work risks—and why identity assurance is critical. IDProof+, integrated with Microsoft Entra Verified ID, helps organizations prevent interview fraud, secure remote hiring, and protect against insider threats.
Discover how IDProof+'s advanced AI, biometric authentication, and deepfake detection protect organizations from fraud, streamline remote hiring, and ensure GDPR compliance.
MIM is now in extended support, but what's the right migration path for your organization? This blog series will examine the options and key considerations to help MIM users to determine their path to the cloud.
This three-part webinar series brings together leading voices to discuss transforming identity security through intelligent automation.
Unlock operational insight with IdentityLens—MajorKey Technologies’ advanced reporting and analytics platform for managed services—empowering organizations with real-time identity data, automated compliance, and actionable dashboards for smarter, safer IT operations.
MajorKey’s HorizonID is a transformative solution that bridges the gap between legacy identity systems and modern cloud-based strategies.
Discover how MajorKey’s Managed Operations (MOps) empowers organizations to achieve secure, scalable, and outcome-driven identity management with expert guidance, automation, and 24/7 support. Learn how MOps streamlines operational efficiency, reduces risk, and drives measurable progress for modern identity programs.
NomadID by MajorKey Technologies is an Identity, Credentialing, and Access Management (ICAM) solution designed for Department of Defense (DOD) and federal agencies operating in Disconnected, Denied, Intermittent, Low-Bandwidth (DDIL) environments. It ensures uninterrupted authentication and single sign-on (SSO) capabilities even during network outages or hostile conditions, combining identity management, security monitoring, and governance locally at the edge to uphold security standards and maintain seamless access in challenging or disconnected scenarios.
Whether you're securing privileged access, enabling self-service recovery, or modernizing identity, MajorKey’s IDProof+ provides a proven defense against fraud and identity-based threats.
Non-human identities (NHIs) such as service accounts, bots, and API keys operate autonomously across IT environments but often lack proper provisioning, lifecycle management, and oversight, making them a critical security risk. Effective NHI management requires inventory and ownership clarity, strict access controls based on least privilege, automated lifecycle management, continuous monitoring, and executive alignment to reduce breach risks and ensure compliance.
Identity and Access Management (IAM) can be sold to business leaders effectively by focusing on business outcomes rather than technical jargon. Emphasizing benefits such as increased employee productivity through streamlined access, faster onboarding with automated provisioning, enhanced audit compliance with automated role management, improved customer loyalty via seamless and secure login experiences, and uninterrupted business operations by ensuring timely access to tools helps connect IAM to revenue growth, customer satisfaction, and operational efficiency.
A critical zero-day vulnerability in Microsoft SharePoint Server on-premises, tracked as CVE-2025-53770 and nicknamed "ToolShell," is actively exploited, allowing unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code remotely, potentially compromising entire servers and networks. Microsoft has released emergency patches and mitigation guidance, urging all users to apply updates immediately, enable advanced detection tools like Microsoft Defender, rotate ASP.NET machine keys, and strengthen access governance with Privileged Access Management (PAM) to protect against this severe threat.
Covering the latest thought leadership, events, and news about identity security
.svg)
.svg){kind=icon}
