What is an Identity in Cybersecurity?

An identity in cybersecurity is a unique set of attributes used to represent an entity for identification and authentication. Although identity is typically associated with user accounts, an entity can also be a machine, application, service or AI agent. Each requires its own identity so systems can recognize and verify it, determine what it's allowed to do, which resources it can access and which actions it can perform. Identity in cybersecurity creates the foundation for two main security functions: authentication and authorization. Without a way to establish identity, neither authentication nor authorization is possible, making identity management a crucial part of a security strategy.

Why identities matter in cybersecurity

Every access request is tied to an identity. Whether a user logs in to a service, an application queries a database or a script executes a process, each identity is used to determine whether a request can be authenticated and what access should be authorized. Because a single compromised identity can grant access to sensitive information and critical systems, identities are highly valuable targets for cybercriminals.

The primary challenge is identity sprawl, which is the proliferation of ungoverned identities across on-premises, hybrid and cloud environments. As organizations adopt more cloud services and third-party integrations, the number of identities grows rapidly, making them increasingly difficult to monitor and govern. AI is also accelerating the growth of identities in organizations, often with IT and security teams lacking visibility into the number of identities or their blast radius.

Orphaned accounts, overprovisioned permissions and unmonitored service accounts expand the attack surface. With identity-based attacks like credential theft and phishing consistently ranked among the most prevalent attack vectors in cybersecurity, credentials must be protected to ensure identities remain secure.

What attributes make up an identity in cybersecurity?

An identity is defined by a unique set of characteristics that allow systems to recognize, verify and distinguish one entity from another. These attributes vary based on the type of entity, but some of the most common include:

Username
Email address
IP address
Certificates
Cryptographic keys
Behavioral signals
Roles and permissions
Group memberships
Metadata
Session information

No single attribute fully defines an identity. When assessed together, these attributes allow security systems to make context-aware decisions by flagging behavioral anomalies, enforcing dynamic access controls and reducing reliance on any one factor that could be spoofed or compromised.

Types of identities in cybersecurity

Identities in cybersecurity extend beyond individual user accounts, as any entity that interacts with a digital environment can carry an identity. These entities fall into four main categories:

Human identities
Non-Human Identities (NHIs)
Machine and application identities
Actions and resources

Human identities

Human identities represent people who authenticate and interact directly with systems, including employees, customers, administrators and privileged users. These identities are typically linked to individual credentials like usernames and passwords and are governed by Identity Providers (IdPs). Since human identities are frequently targeted in cyber attacks, they require strong authentication controls and continuous monitoring.

Non-Human Identities (NHIs)

NHIs are digital identities, including service accounts, applications, workloads, APIs and AI agents. These identities typically rely on credentials such as API keys, secrets, tokens and certificates to authenticate. Unlike human identities, NHIs generally operate continuously in the background, making them easy for security teams to overlook. This is exactly what makes them so dangerous: NHIs tend to be overprivileged and go unmanaged for extended periods of time. Without proper governance, NHIs become entry points for cybercriminals to silently gain unauthorized access, move laterally and escalate privileges.

Machine and application identities

Machine identities are part of the physical and virtual infrastructure that make up digital environments. Servers, endpoints and Internet of Things (IoT) devices must be authenticated before they can communicate across a network. Application identities cover the software layer, including databases, cloud services and SaaS platforms that regularly authenticate to one another to function. This service-to-service communication is a key part of modern cloud infrastructure, and identity is what makes it secure. Without authenticated machine and application identities, organizations have no reliable way to ensure that only trusted systems are exchanging data.

Actions and resources as identity context

Actions and resources do not have identities the same way that users and machines do, but they are associated with identities and access policies. Actions like queries, executions and network connections are always performed in the context of an identity, creating behavioral context and records that are essential for threat detection and compliance. Resources such as files, database entries and shared drives are typically governed by access policies that define which identities can interact with them and what identities can do. Together, actions and resources provide the necessary contextual and behavioral layers that allow systems to assess risk, detect suspicious activity and enforce stricter controls when activity deviates from the norm.

Identity vs authentication vs authorization

Though closely related, identity, authentication and authorization are three separate concepts that work in sequence to govern access in secure systems. Identity refers to who or what an entity is, complete with the set of attributes that define it. Authentication is how that identity is verified, confirming the entity is who it claims to be through a password, certificate or biometric.

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) strengthens this by requiring two or more of these factors. In contrast, authorization is what the verified identity is permitted to do, such as reading a file but not modifying it, or executing a specific action. Together, these three concepts form the backbone of access control, and a failure at any layer can compromise the security of the entire system.

How organizations manage and secure identities

Identity management is a pivotal part of zero-trust security models. Instead of granting broad access based on network location or a single login, zero trust assumes no identity should be trusted by default and requires continuous verification of identities and access requests. Identity-based security makes strong identity management practices essential. Here are several ways organizations can manage and secure identities:

Enforce least-privilege access: Every identity should be granted only the minimum necessary permissions. Least-privileged access should be enforced at every layer and reviewed regularly to remove permissions that are no longer needed and reduce the risk of exploitation.
Use MFA everywhere: MFA requires an entity to verify its identity through two or more factors. It should be applied universally, especially to privileged accounts and users with remote access to critical systems.
Implement Privileged Access Management (PAM): PAM solutions provide centralized control over privileged accounts. They allow organizations to enforce granular access controls, mandate additional verification for critical operations and maintain detailed audit trails.
Automatically rotate credentials and secrets: Credentials that rarely or never change are persistent vulnerabilities. Automated rotation ensures that credentials and secrets across all identities are regularly updated, limiting the window of opportunity for cybercriminals.
Monitor and record session activity: Continuous session monitoring and recording create a real-time log of what identities are doing with their access. Combined with behavioral analytics, session monitoring enables organizations to identify threats that bypass authentication by leveraging legitimate yet compromised credentials.
Secure machine identities and automated workflows: Machines have identities that must be governed to the same standard as human users. Organizations should maintain a full inventory of machine identities and ensure automated workflows operate under regularly audited permissions.
Govern AI agents: AI agents are increasingly querying systems and interacting with infrastructure autonomously, so they must be treated as distinct identities subject to the same governance as other entities. Without proper identity governance for AI agents, organizations risk having highly capable identities go unsupervised, thereby jeopardizing their environments.