A Non-Human Identities Runbook

The alert came at 2:07 a.m. A routine API job had failed because its service account token expired. No one on the team knew where that account lived, who owned it, or which system created it. An incident channel spun up. Hours passed. The failure spread. All because there was no runbook for managing non-human identities.

Non-human identities—service accounts, machine users, CI/CD tokens, API keys—are now critical infrastructure. They hold production access, ship code, move data, and trigger deployments. Yet outside of engineering teams, many organizations lack clear processes to create, store, rotate, and retire these accounts. Security and uptime depend on fixing that.

A Non-Human Identities Runbook gives non-engineering teams precise steps to follow when creating and handling these accounts. Instead of relying on tribal knowledge, you get a shared playbook that reduces risk, speeds response, and ensures compliance with internal and external policies.

Core elements to include in a Non-Human Identities Runbook:

• Account creation process: Required approvals, naming conventions, and scope limits.
• Credential storage rules: Where keys and passwords are kept, encryption standards, and access control.
• Rotation schedule: Frequency for refreshing credentials; who triggers and verifies the rotation.
• Ownership and escalation: Clear mapping of accounts to accountable owners and steps for unplanned events.
• Deprovisioning steps: Securely shutting down unused credentials and confirming dependent systems are updated.
• Audit and logging requirements: How to track changes and access events for compliance.

For non-engineering teams, most steps can be simplified without losing rigor. Replace code-focused language with explicit system and tool references. Provide screenshots or system IDs. Use checklists with timestamps. Make sure no step can be misread or skipped.

To make these runbooks living documents, review them quarterly. Each review should validate account inventories, confirm rotation events, and test incident procedures. Treat stale documentation as a security gap.

Well-structured Non-Human Identities Runbooks close one of the biggest blind spots in operational security. They unify engineering and non-engineering practice, ensuring anyone can handle an identity-related issue under pressure.

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