The ghost in the machine: Securing non-human identities

BeyondTrust sales director Nick Black.

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Identity is a primary attack surface and is considered one of the biggest blind spots in cyber security.

This is according to global cyber security and identity company BeyondTrust, which has confirmed its participation in ITWeb Security Summit JHB 2026.

BeyondTrust sales director Nick Black and the company’s senior solutions engineer Brendon Meyer will provide insight into the dynamics of securing non-human identities (NHIs).

NHIs are the ghost in the machine, the security firm asserts, adding that visibility, privileged access, governance and risk mitigation are becoming the latest attack vectors dominating breaches.

“In this presentation, we will discuss the rise of non-human identities, flaws in design and management of policies, and the spectre elevating risk − AI. Attendees will learn how solutions, policies and best practices can mitigate risks,” says Black.

The company adds that attackers are no longer breaking in − they’re logging in, often through unmanaged or overprivileged identities.

“This is highly-relevant for organisations across Africa, where digital transformation, cloud adoption and automation are accelerating, bringing with them an explosion of identities that need to be secured,” says Meyer.

Issues like AI-driven attacks, fragile supply chains and the global skills gap point to the same underlying challenge: increasing complexity and reduced visibility.

The company says AI-driven attacks are making threats faster, more scalable and harder to detect, fragile supply chains are expanding the attack surface through third-parties and vendors, and the skills gap makes it difficult for organisations to keep up with both.

The common thread across all of this is identity, claims BeyondTrust.

Brendon Meyer, senior solutions engineer, BeyondTrust.

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“Every user, application and machine interacting across your environment represents a potential path to privilege. If organisations can gain better visibility and control over identities, both human and non-human, they can significantly reduce risk even in the face of these challenges. Cyber resilience today is less about adding more tools, and more about simplifying control around who (or what) has access to what, and why,” says Black.

BeyondTrust plans to engage with CISOs and IT leaders to discuss challenges that organisations experience with adopting a privilege-centric identity-first approach to security.

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The company underlines three core messages it wants to communicate to delegates at the summit:

• Identity is the primary security perimeter – attackers are exploiting paths to privilege, not just vulnerabilities.

• Non-human identities are a growing blind spot – and need to be brought under the same level of control as human users.

• Security doesn’t have to be disruptive – organisations can take a practical, step-by-step approach to improving identity security without impacting operations.

“Ultimately, it’s about moving towards a more privilege-centric identity security model, where access is continuously controlled, monitored and protected,” says Meyer.

For more information and to register, visit ITWeb Security Summit JHB 2026.