Can Effective Non-Human Identities and Secrets Management Bolster Your Cloud-Native Security Practices?

The revolution in technology has seen a significant shift in business operations, with many organizations adopting cloud-native applications. These applications offer various benefits, including scalability, versatility, and cost-efficiency. However, they also open a Pandora’s box of security threats. In the sea of these emerging challenges, Non-Human Identities (NHIs) and Secrets Management stand out as critical elements of robust Cloud-Native Security Practices.

Why Are NHIs and Their Secrets Critical to Cloud-Native Security?

NHIs represent machine identities used in cybersecurity. They are conceived by combining a “Secret” (an encrypted password, token, or key) and the permissions allocated to that Secret by a receiving server. In an increasingly digital landscape, the role of these machine identities and their secrets cannot be overstated. This makes the management of NHIs a top priority for organizations, particularly those in industries like financial services, healthcare, and travel.

Managing NHIs and their secrets involves securing the identities and their access credentials and scrutinizing their activities within the system. Producing a secure environment involves adopting a holistic approach. This notion stands in stark contrast to more finite solutions like secret scanners, which only offer partial protection.

Given the amplified dynamic of cloud-native computing, a well-rounded approach is required. A comprehensive NHI management platform provides insights into data ownership, permissions, usage patterns, and potential vulnerabilities. By doing so, it allows for context-aware security.

Benefits of Effective NHI Management

A successful NHI and Secrets management system provides numerous advantages:

• Reduced Risk: By proactively pinpointing and mitigating security concerns, NHI management aids in lessening the chances of security breaches and data leaks.
• Improved Compliance: It assists organizations in meeting regulatory requirements through policy enforcement and audit trails.
• Increased Efficiency: By automating the management of NHIs and secrets, security teams can focus on strategic decisions.
• Enhanced Visibility and Control: Offers a centralized view for access governance and management.
• Cost Savings: Decreases operational costs by automating secrets rotation and NHI decommissioning.

Navigating the Future of Cloud Security

As industries increasingly turn to the cloud for business operations, security measures must also evolve to meet the growing demands. Staying Ahead in Security means anticipating threats and planning appropriate defenses. Therefore, part of the process involves continuously advancing our understanding of NHIs and their secrets.

Monitoring and managing NHIs is not a one-off task but an ongoing process that requires robust systems and sophisticated tools. By being proactive and vigilantly managing these identities, businesses can significantly decrease the risk of security breaches and data leaks.

The future of cloud-native security practices heavily relies on how adeptly we manage the NHIs and understand their importance. With consistent effort and a strategic approach, organizations can protect their data, stay ahead in the ever-changing cybersecurity landscape, and ensure sustainable growth.

Useful information can be found on our previous posts about prioritization of NHI remediation and how CISOs should prepare for 2025. The key lies in proactive cybersecurity measures, that is, to stay ahead by implementing necessary steps today for a more secure tomorrow.

The Increasing Importance of Listening to NHIs

As technology has advanced, so too has the need for more thorough and advanced cybersecurity practices. One rapidly evolving area is the management of Non-Human Identities (NHIs), which undeniably interweaves secret data. Understanding and efficiently managing NHIs and their secrets are not just choices but an imperative for organizations operating in the digital space and leaned towards cloud-native applications.

NHIs have been sharing their secrets with us for some time, communicating an urgent requirement for attention, understanding and improved security practices. They give us hints about potential security weaknesses through unique identifiers that are not unlike a travel passport. By monitoring, managing, and securely storing these identifiers and the permissions granted to them, we can bridge the troublesome chasm between the security and R&D teams, making for better-protected organizations.

‘Translation’: A Key to Understanding NHIs

Just like learning a foreign language, understanding NHIs and their associated secrets can be complex, daunting, and time-consuming. However, not understanding the ‘language’ spoken by these machine identities can lead to miscommunication, misunderstandings and puts organizations’ sensitive data at considerable risk. Furthermore, the growing complexity and dynamic nature of cloud systems can further complicate this ‘conversation’ between humans and NHIs.

For effective cybersecurity, we need to ‘translate’ this language, comprehend the information NHIs are expressing, and act accordingly. To this end, end-to-end protection cannot merely be a passive exercise; it must be proactive, preemptive, and continuous. In other words, cybersecurity professionals should always stay alert and stay ahead in identifying potential threats and vulnerabilities intrinsic in NHIs and their secrets.

Context is Key

While the language itself is important, so too is the context in which the NHIs are used. Understanding the ‘context’ necessarily means recognizing the permissions granted to NHIs by destination servers, their usage patterns, the ownership insights and the potential vulnerabilities. This context-aware understanding can help organizations gain a more comprehensive and nuanced interpretation of NHIs, thus enabling more efficient and effective cybersecurity management.

NHIs and Secrets Management: Not a One-Size-Fits-All Solution

The nature and purpose of NHIs and their secrets vary widely among different organizations and industries. Therefore, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for managing them. A cookie-cutter approach hiding behind a facade of efficiency is dangerous. Instead, each industry – whether it’s financial services, healthcare, or travel – must tailor its approach to NHIs and secrets management to cater to their unique requirements and circumstances.

For example, healthcare organizations often deal with highly sensitive information, such as personal health records. In this instance, the stakes are high, and the management of NHIs and their secrets takes on additional urgency.

Making the Future of Cloud Security Safer and More Secure

By choosing to invest in and prioritize robust NHI and Secrets management, organizations are choosing a path of robust cloud-native security practices that can help them stay ahead in their respective industries. Prioritizing this aspect of cybersecurity means acknowledging the importance of ‘translating’ NHIs and their secrets and ensuring they speak a language that resonates with security, operational and development teams.

It is no longer a question of if NHIs and their secrets are important to cloud-native security. Instead, it’s about how quickly organizations can implement efficient practices to manage these key elements of security. The right methodologies, combined with an understanding of the context and an industry-specific approach can indeed bolster your organization’s cloud-native security practices.

As a continuous process, the constant evolution of cloud-native security practices will depend significantly on effective, efficient and insightful NHIs and secrets management. Up-to-date information about NHIs and secrets can provide businesses with a competitive edge and contribute to a proactive cybersecurity posture, promoting sustainable growth in an increasingly digital world.

Getting this translated language ‘right’ requires a lot of effort, constant vigilance, and an unprecedented level of commitment to learning, understanding, and adapting to the evolving landscape of NHIs and their secrets. As the world continues to embrace digitalization, the call to ‘listen’ to the language of NHIs is getting louder. The question is, are we ready to listen and act?

The post Staying Ahead: Key Cloud-Native Security Practices appeared first on Entro.

*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Entro authored by Amy Cohn. Read the original post at: https://entro.security/staying-ahead-key-cloud-native-security-practices/