By Dwayne McDaniel, Sr. Security Developer Advocate, GitGuardian

When we think of "identity," it's natural to picture a person. Yet, in today's digitally-driven organizations, the term extends far beyond employees and customers. Increasingly, identities also include non-human entities: services, applications, APIs, and other machine-based actors operating within networks. As enterprises scale, so does the number of these non-human identities, making them a critical factor in the identity and access management (IAM) equation. In 2025 and beyond, managing these machine identities will no longer be a backend task-it will be an operational priority, supported by executive oversight, dedicated budgets, and a growing ecosystem of specialized tools.

A Changing IAM Landscape: From Afterthought to Operational Priority

Identity and access management (IAM) has historically revolved around human identities. With organizations heavily focused on protecting user accounts and passwords, many approaches to IAM remain rooted in traditional, people-centric paradigms, such as Privileged Access Management (PAM). However, a new reality is setting in as the sheer volume of non-human entities grows. Machine identities, often using static API keys or certificates for access, pose an enormous risk if mishandled. Researchers at CyberArk say we are currently outnumbered; there are 45 machine identities for every 1 human identity in the enterprise. That ratio is only going to increase as we continue to add new services to our applications and environments.

Machine Identity: A Critical, Overlooked Attack Vector

As companies rush to digitize and automate, machine identities multiply rapidly. Each new application or service instance requires its own identity, and many of these entities have long-lived, static credentials that are rarely rotated. When these credentials are leaked or mismanaged, they open a vast attack surface, offering entry points into critical systems. Attackers are aware of these opportunities and actively exploit exposed keys and tokens, which offer straightforward access without requiring complex exploits.

According to GitGuardian's State of Secrets Sprawl 2024 report, over 12.7 million secrets were detected in public repositories in just a single year​. For enterprises, the ramifications are clear: failing to address the sprawling machine identity landscape is an open invitation to attackers.

The New Budget Priorities: Investing in Machine Identity Management

Recognizing the urgency, organizations are rethinking their IT and security budgets. New funding allocations will prioritize solving the secrets management problem and developing processes for secure, scalable machine identity management. For larger organizations with hundreds or thousands of legacy codebases, shifting to a machine identity-focused IAM model is not trivial. However, the shift has already begun within leading enterprises, with smaller organizations likely to follow as tools and technologies mature.

We expect to see a surge of investment in technologies that offer end-to-end solutions for machine identity management. Solutions in this space will need to address observability across the identity lifecycle, from creation to revocation. Additionally, companies will increasingly seek tooling for continuous secrets detection and rotation, reducing reliance on static API keys or hardcoded secrets that present security risks​​​.

From Large Enterprises to SMBs: Different Paths, Same Goal

The road to secure machine identity management will look different for large enterprises versus smaller businesses. Large organizations with complex, legacy systems will need to undertake significant IAM overhauls, gradually phasing out hardcoded credentials and replacing them with certificate-based approaches. Such changes require cross-functional collaboration between security, DevOps, and IT teams, alongside strong executive sponsorship.

On the other hand, startups and SMBs are in an advantageous position to adopt advanced IAM practices from the outset. With simpler, more flexible infrastructure, these organizations can leverage modern IAM frameworks, including zero-trust and certificate-based authentication, from day one. By embedding robust machine identity practices early, smaller players can potentially outpace their larger counterparts in IAM maturity while scaling securely with minimal technical debt.

Final Thoughts: Machine Identity is Here to Stay, and IAM Must Adapt

Machine identities are only set to proliferate as organizations continue to embrace automation and cloud-native technologies. For CISOs and other leaders, prioritizing machine identity management is no longer optional-it's a business imperative. In an era where breaches are inevitable, a zero-trust, identity-first approach is critical to enterprise security resilience.

With new IAM solutions and budgets in place, enterprises are poised to transform their approach to non-human identity. By moving from a reactive stance on IAM to an integrated, proactive strategy, organizations can secure not only their digital assets but also the trust of their stakeholders. It's a challenging shift but one that promises a more secure and resilient future for enterprises of all sizes.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dwayne McDaniel, Sr. Security Developer Advocate, GitGuardian

GitGuardian Developer and Security Advocate - Dwayne has been working as a Developer Relations professional since 2016 and has been involved in the wider tech community since 2005. He loves sharing his knowledge.