Machine Identities Are Now Your Largest Insider Threat — A Practical Business Perspective

By Sanjiv Cherian

I have witnessed in the recent years a reliance on technology by businesses as never before. Operations have been streamlined to be faster and efficient through automation, cloud platforms, APIs, and connected systems. However, with these advantages, a novel form of risk has quietly come to the fore, a risk that most organizations under-estimate.

Machine identities is that risk.

When the term insider threat is mentioned to most individuals, they tend to have in mind the employees or contractors. Nevertheless, in the digital world today, machines themselves (applications, bots, automated services) can be equally risky when not handled correctly. These machine identities have surpassed human users in several contemporary organizations and in some cases, by a large margin.

As my experience working in the sphere of technology-based projects and digital ecosystems demonstrates, it is a shift that every sanjiv cherian business leader must listen to. It is not fear, it is awareness and readiness.

What Are Machine Identities, Really?

Let’s keep this simple.

Machine identities are the digital credentials that allow systems to talk to each other securely. They include things like API keys, certificates, service accounts, and tokens. Every time an application connects to a database, a website communicates with a payment gateway, or a cloud service runs an automated task, a machine identity is involved.

Without these identities, modern businesses simply wouldn’t function.

But here’s the challenge: while companies carefully manage employee logins and passwords, machine identities are often created quickly and forgotten just as quickly. Over time, they pile up in the background unmonitored and sometimes overpowered with permissions they don’t actually need.

As a Entrepreneur Sanjiv Cherian , I’ve learned that technology problems are rarely caused by bad tools. More often, they happen because systems grow faster than the processes designed to manage them.

Why Machine Identities Have Become Such a Big Risk

The biggest issue isn’t technology, it’s scale.

Today, businesses can deploy hundreds or even thousands of machine identities automatically. Every new application, integration, or cloud service creates another digital identity. But very few organizations have a clear inventory of all those identities or a plan to manage them consistently.

Here are some of the common problems I’ve seen:

  • Expired certificates that suddenly shut down services

  • API keys that remain active long after a project ends

  • Automated systems with more permissions than they need

  • Hidden or “shadow” systems running without oversight

  • Credentials that are rarely updated or monitored

None of these issues happen intentionally. They usually occur because teams are busy building and scaling systems and security processes struggle to keep up.

The result? Small oversights can turn into big disruptions.

The Business Impact Is Real

This isn’t just a technical concern. It’s a business concern.

I’ve seen organizations experience downtime because a certificate expired unexpectedly. I’ve also seen situations where a single exposed API key allowed unauthorized access to sensitive systems. In both cases, the root cause wasn’t a sophisticated cyberattack, it was a simple lack of visibility.

From a leadership perspective, these incidents can affect:

  • Customer trust

  • Operational continuity

  • Financial performance

  • Brand reputation

That’s why cybersecurity today is no longer just the responsibility of IT teams. It’s part of overall business strategy.

The perspective shared on the sanjiv cherian official LinkedIn profile emphasizes a simple principle, any system that supports business operations should be actively managed and securely protected.

Practical Steps Businesses Can Take Right Now

The good news is that managing machine identities doesn’t require complicated solutions. It starts with a few practical habits and consistent processes.

Here are the steps I recommend to organizations of any size.

1. Know What You Have

You can’t protect what you can’t see.

Create a clear inventory of all machine identities in your environment applications, services, APIs, and devices. Visibility is the foundation of security.

2. Limit Access Where Possible

Every system should have only the permissions it truly needs. This principle, known as “least privilege,” reduces risk significantly.

3. Update Credentials Regularly

Passwords, certificates, and tokens should never remain static for years. Automating credential rotation is one of the simplest ways to improve security.

4. Monitor Activity Continuously

Unusual behavior is often the first sign of a problem. Monitoring systems in real time helps organizations respond quickly before issues escalate.

5. Review Systems Periodically

Technology environments change constantly. Regular reviews ensure that outdated or unused identities don’t remain active in the background.

These steps may sound basic, but in my experience, consistency matters more than complexity.

Looking Ahead: The Future Is More Automated

The identities of machines will keep growing as businesses keep implementing artificial intelligence, cloud computing and connected devices. Automation will lead to efficiency, innovation, and growth- however it will also necessitate more vigorous supervision.

The successful organizations in the future do not necessarily have to be those with the most high-tech. Their management practices will be most disciplined.

In my view as a technology-oriented entrepreneur, it is all a matter of balance. We must be innovative and at the same time we must have control of the systems that we operate on.

Final Thoughts

The risks of machine identities are emerging as one of the least considered in the contemporary business setting. They operate silently in the background, driving up the necessary services and automation. However, when not managed, they may also cause vulnerabilities that will interfere with operations.

The answer is not to reduce the pace of innovation, but more to enhance visibility, accountability, and security practices.

The message is straightforward to leaders struggling with the issue of digital transformation: approach machine identities as seriously as human users. By doing so, technology is an asset and not a threat.

And in the world of today, when everything is interconnected, that difference is more than ever.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The 3 Silent Cyber Risks Most Boards Still Underestimate

By Sanjiv Cherian - Microminder Cyber Security ,  The prevalent perception among boards today is that they possess a decent idea of cyber risk. Dashboards are discussed and investments are accepted, and security leaders update regularly. At face value, it seems that cybersecurity has already found its niche in the boardroom. However, in the real sense, a gaping hole exists. The visibly risky nature of ransomware headlines, regulatory compliance, and high-profile breaches often take up time with boards. In the meantime, the most threatening threats are silently brewing just under the surface, within the business operations, partnerships and business decision making structures. These are what I term silent cyber risks and tend to be the most damaging. Why Silent Risks Matter More Than Ever Silent risks are not obvious. They rarely trigger immediate alarms, and they are difficult to quantify using traditional metrics. Yet, they create systemic vulnerabilities that accumulate over tim...
Read more

The Importance of Cybersecurity in Business Growth

  By Sanjiv Cherian In the modern landscape, business growth and technology are no longer two separate lanes, they are the same road. As an entrepreneur, I’ve watched the digital landscape evolve from a supportive tool into the very backbone of how we create value. However, with this massive expansion of opportunity comes an equally massive expansion of risk. I’ve always viewed protection and progress as two sides of the same coin. If you look into the mission statement found in About Sanjiv Cherian , you’ll see a recurring theme: resilience. To me, cybersecurity isn’t a barrier to speed; it’s the foundation that allows a business to scale without the constant fear of a catastrophic setback. In my view, it’s actually the opposite of a delay, think of it like the brakes on a high-performance race car: they aren't there to make you go slow; they are there so you have the confidence to go fast. Today, cybersecurity for business growth is a fundamental enabler that allows organizati...
Read more