Traditionally, IAM solutions have focused on managing identities, not securing them. However, increasingly complex IT environments coupled with a growing array of threats have made identity security a top priority.
In a recent survey, 78 percent of organizations said they plan to increase their spending on identity and access management (IAM) in 2025. These organizations recognize the strategic importance of identity security in preventing ransomware and other threats. They are looking to adopt a more intelligent approach to securing identities, credentials and secrets.
As a result, 94 percent are planning to adopt AI-powered IAM technologies. AI can help organizations manage growing numbers of human and nonhuman identities, with smart automation that helps reduce IT overhead. AI-powered IAM also provides real-time threat detection, dynamic access control and proactive risk management to enhance an organization’s overall security posture.
Why IAM Is Increasingly Difficult
Studies show that 80 percent of cyberattacks involve compromised user identities, including 70 percent of ransomware attacks. Robust IAM tools and practices can help prevent some or all of these attacks, but many organizations struggle to manage diverse user identities in today’s complex IT environments.
In a hybrid or multi-cloud environment, IT teams must manage identities and access privileges across multiple platforms that may not integrate with centralized IAM platforms. This makes it more difficult to onboard and offboard users and ensure that access changes are timely and secure. Weak passwords and excess privileges compound the threat to identity security.
Regulatory compliance is another challenge. Few IT teams have complete visibility into all identities and access privileges, particularly in cloud environments. They are also unable to enforce consistent security policies across various systems and applications.
The Machine Identity Threat
IAM is further complicated by growing numbers of machine identities. Also known as nonhuman identities (NHIs), these include any credential that’s not associated with a living person. The typical IT environment has dozens if not hundreds of NHIs associated with application and service accounts, IoT devices and other entities that need access to systems and data. By some estimates, NHIs outnumber human identities almost 50 to one.
The number of NHIs is increasing exponentially due to AI agents, which gather and analyze data in order to perform a range of tasks. Unlike generative AI tools, AI agents act independently and thus need credentials to access data and interact with systems. Nontechnical users can easily create new AI agents without the IT team’s knowledge or approval. Often, they’re given broad privileges, creating significant risks if they’re compromised.
Third-party NHIs must also be managed and secured. These include credentials that enable an organization’s systems to connect to external systems and applications.
How AI Improves IAM
Given the scope and scale of the IAM challenge, organizations need to automate as many functions as possible. However, 59 percent of IT teams onboard and offboard users manually, often relying on informal communication channels to grant and remove access. Any delays or errors put the organization at risk.
AI-powered IAM tools can automate the identity management process, assigning roles and permissions dynamically based on least privilege access principles. AI also automates role-mining processes, analyzing each entity’s access patterns and adjusting permissions accordingly.
By continuously monitoring access patterns, AI-powered IAM tools can detect subtle deviations from normal user activity that could point to potential security risks. AI can also adjust authentication requirements based on risk levels, requiring stronger authentication for high-risk access attempts.
How Verteks Can Help
Verteks understands the challenges and risks associated with IAM, and has expertise in the latest IAM tools. Our team can assess your environment and recommend tools and strategies for more effective identity and access management. Contact our experts for a confidential consultation.
