Why AI-supported identity management is important

A study commissioned by the digital association Bitkom makes it clear: 83% of the German companies surveyed believe that AI exacerbates the threat situation for the economy and, according to 70%, it facilitates cyber attacks. As most security breaches are the result of some form of account compromise, the lack of an overview of identities plays right into the hands of cyber criminals. IT and security teams must therefore take concrete measures to manage and protect all identities. This makes it possible to reduce the opportunities for attacks within companies and along software supply chains.

Explosion of machine identities

According to a report by SailPoint, the number of machine identities is expected to grow faster than any other type of identity over the next three to five years. According to a survey by SailPoint, nearly seven in ten organizations (69 percent) now manage more machine identities, such as software bots and robotic process automation (RPA), than real person identities. As the volume and variety of identities and the speed at which they are created continues to increase, companies need to fundamentally rethink and ensure adequate protection.

However, as the SailPoint survey shows, 72 percent of the identity management, security and compliance experts surveyed find managing machine identities more challenging than dealing with human identities. They cite inadequate internal processes and insufficient identity management tools as the main causes.
Manual administration is laborious: 66 percent of the experts surveyed report that machine identities require far more manual work than identities of real people. This puts additional strain on already overburdened IT and security teams.

In the absence of robust governance, the door is wide open to data loss or compromised access. In 57 percent of companies, a machine identity was reported to have been granted inappropriate access to sensitive data. Insufficient monitoring therefore exposes companies to risk.

Gateway to the entire software supply chain

The risk of a security breach via the software supply chain increases, as machine identities can also serve as a gateway for accessing external resources and services. These include cloud and SaaS (Software as a Service) solutions as well as partners, suppliers and other third parties. 16 percent of respondents to the SailPoint survey cannot say with certainty whether a machine identity has already had inappropriate access to sensitive data. This indicates either a lack of knowledge about potential risks or a failure to learn from past incidents.

Companies should therefore continuously develop their security strategies to counter new and emerging threats. Machine identities are becoming an increasingly popular attack vector. The longer companies fail to address how to manage them effectively, the greater the risk. They need to protect all access points and give machine identities the same attention as human employees. This rethink is critical to ensure a robust defense against attacks.

Regain control

Klaus Hild is Manager in the Solution Engineering Enterprise DACH division at SailPoint. © SailPoint

An identity security strategy that provides visibility across all identities in an organization is the foundation of a robust defense. A better overview and increased efficiency through automation are essential to keep the complex web of human and machine identities under control.

Tools equipped with AI can help to simplify and optimize identity management processes and make them more efficient. They provide real-time information about machine identities, take over previously manual work steps and support the automation of decisions, such as access requests, role modeling and access certifications. This relieves the burden on IT and security teams, allowing them to focus on strategic tasks, reduces the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive data and increases protection against evolving threats.

The ability to see, manage, control and secure all variations of identities is also an essential part of meeting compliance requirements. Failure to comply with strict regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the second Network and Information Security 2 (NIS2) directive can result in significant fines and reputational damage. AI-supported solutions help companies to make important identity management decisions more quickly. In this way, the access of machine identities can be restricted to what they really need to fulfill roles and responsibilities. This reduces the security risk throughout the company.

The future made understandable

Cybercriminals are always using the latest technologies to carry out increasingly sophisticated attacks. As attackers now have more powerful tools at their disposal and can target a number of identities that has exploded in recent years, companies must take the initiative. AI-powered identity security provides effective protection and helps to act agilely and quickly in the event of a threat.

When companies invest in tools that enable live monitoring, reduce manual processes and restrict access to machine identities to what is necessary, IT and security teams are relieved. At the same time, they retain a better overview of all identities in their environment and can manage them optimally. This enables companies to improve security, meet compliance requirements and deal with threats long before a security breach occurs.