NHI Security Metrics: 15 KPIs Your Board Needs in 2025

Non-Human Identities (NHIs) are at the core of modern enterprise operations, facilitating automation and access across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. As reliance on NHIs grows, so does the need to measure and manage their security.

Boards are now asking for clear, quantifiable metrics to assess how well organizations are managing NHI risks. These security metrics not only demonstrate governance but also highlight risk reduction and compliance achievements.

This article outlines 15 essential NHI security KPIs that will help you communicate your security posture effectively to your board in 2025.

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Why Boards Pay Attention to Non-Human Identity KPIs

The volume of NHIs in most organizations outnumber the number of human identities, particularly among non-human identities with privileged by roughly 80:1, complicating inventory management. This dramatic growth, driven by automation and cloud adoption, introduces significant risks if NHIs are not actively managed.

Boards are increasingly focused on metrics that quantify risk reduction, compliance alignment, and operational impact. Mismanaged NHIs, such as unused service accounts or exposed API keys, can lead to regulatory penalties, reputational damage, and financial losses.

Providing the board with actionable security KPIs ensures they can evaluate the organization's ability to protect critical systems while maintaining compliance with key regulations.

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15 NHI Security Measures That Show Business Impact

The following KPIs provide a comprehensive view of how well your organization manages and secures NHIs.

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1. Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) NHI Threats

This KPI measures how quickly your organization identifies unauthorized or anomalous activity tied to NHIs, such as service account misuse or rogue API calls.

Advanced monitoring systems and anomaly detection tools are key to reducing detection times and preventing potential breaches.

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2. Mean Time to Remediate (MTTR) NHI Vulnerabilities

This metric tracks how efficiently your team resolves vulnerabilities, such as over-privileged roles or exposed credentials. 

Faster remediation minimizes the window during which attackers can exploit these vulnerabilities, reducing overall risk.

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3. Privileged NHI Inventory Accuracy

Maintaining an accurate inventory of privileged NHIs ensures a clear understanding of potential high-risk entry points.

A complete inventory allows organizations to identify and address gaps in privilege management, narrowing the attack surface.

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4. Secrets Rotation Frequency

Frequent rotation of NHI credentials, such as API keys or certificates, is vital for reducing the risk of credential compromise, especially given that 23.77 million new secrets were leaked on GitHub in 2024, representing a 25% year-over-year increase.

This KPI measures how well your organization adheres to credential rotation policies, ensuring compliance and proactive risk management.

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5. Stale and Orphaned NHI Reduction Rate

Stale and Orphaned NHIs, often created by legacy systems or decommissioned applications, are a common source of unmanaged risk.

Tracking the reduction of orphaned NHIs demonstrates improved governance and a proactive approach to minimizing shadow IT.

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6. Policy Violation Rate

This metric assesses the percentage of NHIs flagged for security policy violations, such as excessive permissions or expired credentials.

A lower violation rate reflects consistent enforcement of security policies and effective governance practices.

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7. Attack Surface Score for NHI Credentials

This score evaluates the scope of exposed NHI credentials across your environment, such as publicly accessible API keys or misconfigured certificates.

Reducing this score indicates progress in hardening the external security posture of your organization.

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8. Ownership Attestation Completion

Clear ownership of every NHI is essential for accountability and lifecycle management.

This KPI tracks the percentage of NHIs with defined owners, signaling strong governance and reduced risk of mismanagement.

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9. NHI Abuse Incident Count

Monitoring the number of confirmed security incidents involving NHIs provides insight into the effectiveness of your security strategy.

A declining incident count highlights improved detection, prevention, and remediation capabilities.

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10. Least-Privilege Adoption

This metric measures how many NHIs adhere to least-privilege principles, ensuring they only have the minimum access required to perform their functions.

Strong adoption of least-privilege policies limits the potential damage of compromised NHIs.

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11. Secret Vault Integration Coverage

Integrating NHIs with centralized secret management solutions demonstrates an advanced approach to securing credentials.

This KPI measures the percentage of NHIs using secret vaults, such as AWS Secrets Manager or HashiCorp Vault, to protect sensitive information.

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12. Compliance Alignment (PCI, HIPAA, SOC 2)

Boards require visibility into how NHI controls align with regulatory frameworks.

Tracking compliance metrics ensures audit readiness and demonstrates adherence to industry standards.

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13. Data Access Anomaly Alerts

This KPI monitors abnormal access patterns, such as unusual data usage by keyed service accounts, providing early indicators of potential threats.

Frequent alerts highlight areas for immediate investigation and reinforce the importance of continuous monitoring.

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14. Third-Party NHI Exposure

Many organizations rely on third-party vendors or partners who leverage NHIs to access critical systems.

This metric evaluates the scope of third-party NHI access, helping to identify and mitigate supply chain risks.

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15. Resource-to-Identity Ratio

This KPI compares the number of resources, such as databases or virtual machines, to the NHIs with access.

A high ratio may indicate resource sprawl or overprovisioning, while a lower ratio reflects tighter access controls and better governance.

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To give your board a concise yet comprehensive picture, group KPIs into six themes: Detection & Response, Governance & Inventory, Credential Hygiene, Risk & Policy Enforcement, Incident metrics, and Compliance & Third‑Party Risk.

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Ways to Communicate KPIs to Executive Stakeholders

To ensure board members understand the critical importance of NHI security metrics, it is essential to present data in a clear and concise format.

Best Practices for Reporting KPIs:

• Use dashboards with consistent visuals, such as color-coded risk tiers, to highlight overall posture.
• Pair each KPI with its corresponding business impact, such as reduced breach costs or compliance improvements.
• Provide trending data over time to illustrate progress or highlight areas requiring attention.

Regular and structured reporting builds trust with stakeholders and reinforces the value of ongoing security initiatives.

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Oasis Security Approach to NHI Metrics

At Oasis Security, we recognize the challenges organizations face in managing and securing NHIs. Our NHI Security Cloud is specifically designed to simplify this complex task and deliver actionable insights.

We provide automated discovery for all NHIs across hybrid and multi-cloud environments, ensuring no identity is overlooked. Our platform continuously assesses risk posture, identifying excessive privileges, stale credentials, and orphaned NHIs to help organizations reduce their attack surface.

With built-in dashboards and risk scoring, we make it easy to communicate security metrics at the board level. Whether it's tracking compliance alignment, secrets rotation, or least-privilege adoption, we enable organizations to meet their KPIs while streamlining governance processes.

Request a demo today and explore how Oasis Security can empower your organization to secure its Non-Human Identities with confidence. Discover Oasis Security.