Solving Non human Identity Ownership with Oasis. Part 2: Ownership attestation

Guy Feinberg

Guy Feinberg

Product Marketing

Published on

November 6, 2024

In last week’s blog, we took a close look at our new ownership discovery capabilities. Today, we want to complete the picture by digging deeper in the second part of the product release: ownership attestation and attestation campaigns. While discovery is the first step, attestation is critical to maintain accuracy, accountability, and compliance over time. In this blog, we'll explore how Oasis attestation capabilities build on the Oasis Ownership Discovery Engine to strengthen identity governance and fortify your overall security posture.

What is Non Human Identity Attestation?

Non-Human Identity attestation is the systematic review and verification of human ownership and usage of non-human identities (NHI). This ongoing verification is vital to ensure that these NHIs remain secure, compliant, and properly managed throughout their lifecycle.

Why is NHI ownership attestation challenging?

Many organizations often struggle with attestation due to: 

Lack of Assigned Owners: The first, and probably the biggest, barrier is simply knowing who is responsible for each NHI. Without a clear owner, there’s no one to verify or manage an identity’s permissions. This lack of accountability often leaves IT and security teams scrambling to identify the right contact for each attestation. The result? Delays, gaps in security, and identities with unchecked permissions. 

Cyclical, Inflexible Attestation Cycles: Most attestation processes follow a rigid, campaign-based model, where permissions are reviewed at set intervals—usually once or twice a year. While this periodic approach is meant to keep identities in check, it often amplifies the problem. For each cycle, IT and security teams must locate and reconfirm ownership of hundreds or thousands of identities, only to repeat the same process next time. This inflexible cycle drains resources and leads to administrative fatigue.

Manual, Time-Consuming Efforts: traditional attestation processes are still highly manual, involving spreadsheets, emails, and endless follow-ups. With minimal automation and no centralized ownership structure, IT and security teams are left to handle each attestation by hand. This approach is not only resource-intensive but also prone to human error, making it challenging to maintain accuracy and compliance.

How Oasis simplifies ownership attestation

As we discussed in Part 1, automated Ownership Discovery is the essential first step in reducing the burden of identifying the correct owner for each non-human identity.  By automating this process, Oasis makes it easy to centralize NHI ownership information. If the data is not readily available Oasis AI applies a variety of techniques to suggest the most probable owner. This eliminates the need for IT and security teams to chase down contacts and cut out time-consuming manual efforts.

With automated ownership in place, Oasis enables designated owners to regularly attest to their NHIs, verifying both ownership and usage. Owners are notified via email or Slack, ensuring timely and efficient attestation of NHI usage and ownership. This automation keeps NHIs secure, relevant, and compliant throughout their lifecycle, while providing a streamlined way to report to auditors.

By reducing communication cycles, Oasis helps security teams quickly gather critical feedback from owners, enabling faster identification and remediation of risky access. This not only strengthens the security posture of the organization but also ensures that business processes remain uninterrupted while compliance requirements are met with minimal effort.

Oasis’s attestation workflow allows owners to review each identity with just a few clicks, using intuitive status options:

  • Approved: Confirms that the identity is still needed and authorized for use.
  • Not Needed: Indicates that the identity is no longer required and can be deactivated or removed.
  • Not the Owner: Flags that the assigned owner is incorrect, signaling the need for reassignment.
Non Human Identity Ownership

attestation campaigns aligned  to business  and compliance cycles  

With Oasis, organizations can go beyond simple ownership verification by creating targeted attestation campaigns that align with specific compliance requirements, project needs, or business cycles. Campaigns allow IT and security teams to run scoped initiatives that prompt designated owners to review their assigned NHIs on a scheduled or ad-hoc basis.

Attestation campaigns in Oasis are designed for flexibility and control. You can tailor campaigns to cover specific departments, identity types, or high-risk NHIs that require closer oversight. Oasis sends automated notifications to assigned owners, guiding them through the review process. This structured approach not only simplifies ownership review but also ensures that attestation is done consistently across the organization.

Non Human Identity Attestation

Oasis attestation unlocks massive benefits  

  1. Maintain Accurate Access Control: Regular attestation ensures that each identity’s roles and permissions are appropriate and align with operational needs and organizational policies​.
  2. Enhanced Security and Compliance: Automated attestation helps prevent unauthorized access and supports adherence to regulatory standards by keeping permissions accurate and reducing the risk of security breaches​.
  3. Automated Governance Processes: Automated attestation reduces manual oversight, minimizes human error, and ensures a consistent review process, making identity governance more efficient​.
  4. Support for Audit and Reporting Requirements: With built-in tracking and reporting, Oasis’s NHI Attestation provides a comprehensive audit trail that demonstrates compliance during security audits. This ensures that organizations are always ready for regulatory reviews​.
  5. Improved Operational Efficiency: Automating the attestation workflow frees up resources by reducing the time and effort required for manual identity reviews, allowing teams to focus on more strategic tasks​.

Conclusion

Ready to see how automated attestation can streamline your identity governance and enhance security? Watch our demo to explore how Oasis’ Attestation for Non-Human Identities can simplify your attestation process, improve compliance, and reduce risks—all with just a few clicks.

Don’t miss out—watch the demo now and discover how Oasis can transform your identity management strategy!

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