Delinea enhances cloud identity platform to secure AI at scale

Delinea has announced new enhancements to its cloud-native identity security platform to help organisations secure and manage AI and machine identities.

The updates respond to a noted shift in enterprise infrastructure, where research from Delinea Labs has found that machine identities now outnumber human identities on enterprise networks by a ratio of 46 to 1. Delinea's latest capabilities are designed to provide automated guardrails that discover, manage, and protect both machine and AI identities, which are now a prevalent target for cyber threats and compliance challenges.

The newly announced features include Vault AI, which automates credential access and password management for AI systems, and Secure AI, which enforces least privilege access to AI infrastructures, thereby managing entitlements and reducing the risk associated with undesired access or malfunction. Features still to come include Discover AI, scheduled for preview in the second quarter of 2025, which will assist IT administrators in identifying unauthorised AI use and the spread of machine identities across multi-cloud and hybrid environments. AI-Driven Authorisation, planned for preview in the latter half of 2025, is aimed at delivering just-in-time access for both human and machine identities with a particular focus on agentic AI, using real-time decision-making to assign and revoke privileges as needed. Another planned feature, Identity AI, will provide a native large-language model for privileged accounts and is intended to help regulated organisations meet compliance requirements while making use of advanced AI within their own environments.

According to Delinea, the intent is to simplify and reinforce the management and authentication processes for all types of identities within enterprise environments. This is achieved using holistic, AI-driven security controls that are integrated into the cloud-native platform, supporting a zero-trust posture and enabling improved operational efficiency.

Todd Thiemann, Principal Analyst at the Enterprise Strategy Group, commented on the significance of the new direction. He said, "Enterprises are entering an important phase where securing AI isn't just a technical challenge – it's a strategic imperative that enables the core business. Delinea's new machine identity and AI capabilities address the underappreciated risks created by the accelerating growth of non-human identities. Delinea is delivering a smart approach to AI that can discover and secure AI infrastructure as well as apply AI to improve its own technologies."

With the prevalence of AI adoption in the business sector, Delinea is responding to the complexities this brings, particularly in relation to identity sprawl and compliance requirements. By providing specific solutions for AI and machine identity governance, the company states that organisations will be better positioned to secure their infrastructure at scale while maintaining productivity.

Vault AI aims to help organisations align with industry best practices by automating aspects of credential management such as password rotation for AI systems. Secure AI serves to implement and manage access controls on sensitive AI infrastructure by strictly limiting access according to assigned privileges. These controls are designed to reduce potential attack surfaces or the impact of system failures.

Upcoming tools such as Discover AI are expected to provide IT teams with visibility into the use of unauthorised or shadow AI tools and help ascertain the extent of machine identity sprawl within their infrastructure. AI-Driven Authorisation seeks to integrate just-in-time access management, ensuring that privileges are granted based on current needs and automatically revoked when no longer required. Identity AI, once available, is anticipated to support organisations seeking to implement AI securely while adhering to stringent regulations regarding data use and privacy, particularly in sensitive industries.

Phil Calvin, Chief Product Officer at Delinea, reinforced the business implications of AI identity growth for enterprise security. He said, "AI has become an integral driver of business transformation, and it's fueling a population boom of machine identities that are reshaping the foundation of enterprise security. The power and flexibility of Agentic AI adds immense complexity to already challenging machine-to-machine authorisation. The Delinea Platform simplifies the management and authorisation of both human and machine identities, making it easier for organisations to leverage AI responsibly and safely so they can keep innovating and driving business outcomes. Other identity security platforms aren't built for AI like ours."

Delinea's new and forthcoming feature set is intended to help organisations meet the dual challenge of securing their use of AI technologies and employing AI itself to strengthen overall identity security within their infrastructures.