Presented by JumpCloud
A practical framework for securing every identity in the modern workforce, human or not.
Organizations typically have a well-established process for managing human identities. New hires are onboarded, assigned roles and entitlements, and have a manager accountable for their access. When they leave, their credentials are revoked, ensuring they no longer have access. This systematic approach ensures that all workforce identities with system access are known, managed, and accountable from the beginning of their tenure to the end.
AI agents are increasingly integrated into these systems, performing tasks such as accessing Salesforce, creating Jira tickets, provisioning infrastructure, processing financial transactions, and communicating on behalf of teams. Despite their functional role similar to human employees, many organizations do not formally onboard AI agents, assign them an owner, or have an offboarding process for when their tasks are completed.
According to JumpCloud’s Q3 2026 research, non-human identities outnumber human users in 83% of organizations, yet only 21% have governance controls in place for these identities. The following framework aims to address this gap.
Stage 1: Discover every agent operating in your environment
Effective governance begins with a complete inventory, which many organizations currently lack. AI agents are often rapidly deployed by various teams, leaving IT with governance responsibility without full visibility. This results in “Shadow AI,” where agents operate without formal documentation or ownership, creating potential risks. Continuous discovery, rather than a one-time audit, is crucial. Organizations should catalog all agents across cloud platforms, managed devices, SaaS integrations, and on-premise systems, detailing their access, roles, and triggers. This comprehensive inventory is essential for all subsequent framework stages.
Stage 2: Register every agent as a formal identity with a named owner
Agents must be recognized as formal identities within the organization’s directory, with attributes similar to human employees: a defined purpose, action scope, and a human owner accountable for their actions. This step is critical for effective governance. Registered agents can have entitlements, follow access policies, and undergo access reviews. Conversely, agents only existing as service account workarounds or API keys are unmanageable. Registration also helps resolve “Zombie Agents” by ensuring agents lose access when their ownership lapses, preventing unnecessary permissions from accumulating.
Stage 3: Manage agent access with least privilege and zero standing credentials
Agents require access to perform their roles, governed by the principle of least privilege: access should be precisely scoped to their purpose, time-limited where possible, and revocable on behavioral changes. Static credentials pose a security risk. Secure access management involves issuing just-in-time credentials for privileged tasks, requiring human approval for sensitive system access, and maintaining swift shutdown capabilities. For sensitive applications, credential shielding is necessary to prevent exposure of underlying credentials, with all privileged sessions recorded for audits.
Stage 4: Govern agent behavior continuously, not just at deployment
Initial control measures are established in the first three stages, but continuous governance ensures their relevance. Organizations must regularly verify agents’ actions against their permissions and adjust when discrepancies arise. All agent activities should be logged, and access reviews conducted regularly to confirm entitlements remain suitable. Deviations from defined scopes should be detected early, and access termination should be procedural, not reactive. Maintaining an audit trail for each agent’s actions, access, authorizations, and outcomes is essential to meaningful governance.
The foundation underneath all four stages
Executing this framework is challenging in a fragmented IT environment. Disconnected identity, access, device management, and security controls create gaps in agent governance, resulting in inconsistent policies. JumpCloud’s research indicates organizations with unified IT environments are five times more likely to deploy agents in critical workflows. A coherent control layer for humans, devices, and agents is essential for scalable governance with AI integration.
Securing every identity, whether human or not, is crucial for safely scaling AI. Organizations that establish this foundation now will not only mitigate risks but also expand AI into more processes, increase speed, and operate with assurance that all identities are managed and accountable.
JumpCloud’s Q3 2026 IT Trends Research report (n=800 IT leaders, US + UK) is available here. The Agentic IAM lifecycle framework referenced in this article was developed by JumpCloud and is available here.
Greg Keller is CTO and Co-founder at JumpCloud.
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