Webinar Description
Key Takeaways
- Live demonstration of identity-based access as an alternative to static secrets management
- Technical focus on Zero Standing Privileges and Just-in-Time access models
- Designed for security engineers, platform engineers, DevOps practitioners and IT administrators
- Addresses secrets sprawl, standing access risks and operational overhead in cloud environments
- Covers dynamic credential generation and secretless access for applications and workloads
Introduction
Akeyless is hosting a live demonstration focused on eliminating static secrets through identity-based access controls. The virtual session targets security engineers, platform engineers, DevOps teams and IT administrators working in enterprise environments where credentials management has become increasingly complex. As organisations expand their cloud footprints and adopt AI-driven workloads, the traditional approach of embedding passwords, API keys and tokens across applications and pipelines creates significant security and operational challenges that this event aims to address.
About This Event
The webinar, titled “Eliminate 1,000+ Static Secrets with Identity-Based Access,” provides a hands-on technical demonstration of transitioning from conventional secrets management to an identity-first security model. Rather than simply storing and rotating credentials, the session explores how organisations can fundamentally change their approach by implementing dynamic, short-lived credentials and secretless access patterns.
Akeyless hosts the demonstration, drawing on implementations across enterprise customers including Thales, Hugo Boss, Wix, Cimpress, Progress Chef, Constant Contact, Rite-Hite and Evoke. The virtual format allows participants to observe the platform in action while understanding the architectural principles behind identity-based access.
The Problem with Static Credentials
Static credentials present a persistent challenge for security teams. When passwords, API keys and tokens are embedded directly into applications, configuration files and CI/CD pipelines, they create what practitioners commonly refer to as secrets sprawl. This proliferation makes it difficult to maintain visibility into where credentials exist, who has access to them and when they were last rotated.
The operational burden compounds over time. Each static secret requires lifecycle management, including secure storage, periodic rotation and eventual decommissioning. When credentials are shared across multiple systems or teams, rotation becomes particularly complex, often leading to extended validity periods that increase exposure windows. A single compromised credential can provide attackers with persistent access until discovery and remediation occur.
Traditional secrets management platforms address some of these concerns by centralising storage and automating rotation. However, applications still need to retrieve and handle credentials, meaning the fundamental model of standing access remains intact. The credentials may be better protected, but they still exist as long-lived tokens that could be intercepted or misused.
Zero Standing Privileges and Just-in-Time Access
The demonstration centres on two complementary concepts that represent a departure from traditional credential management. Zero Standing Privileges operates on the principle that no user or application should maintain persistent access to sensitive resources. Instead of granting ongoing permissions, access is provisioned only when needed and revoked immediately after use.
Just-in-Time access provides the mechanism for implementing this model. When an application or user requires access to a resource, the system generates credentials dynamically based on verified identity. These credentials exist only for the duration of the specific task, eliminating the window during which they could be compromised or misused.
The practical effect is a significant reduction in attack surface. Without standing credentials to steal, attackers cannot simply harvest secrets from configuration files or memory dumps and use them at leisure. Each access request must pass through identity verification and policy evaluation, creating both a control point and an audit trail.
Identity-First Security Architecture
Moving to identity-based access requires rethinking how applications authenticate to backend services. Rather than presenting a static credential, applications establish their identity through attributes such as their runtime environment, service account, workload identity or certificate. The access management system then evaluates this identity against defined policies to determine what permissions should be granted.
This approach enables secretless access patterns where applications never directly handle credentials for downstream services. Instead, the identity platform brokers the connection, injecting short-lived credentials or establishing authenticated sessions without exposing secrets to the application layer. For security teams, this centralises policy enforcement and provides unified visibility across environments.
The transition does not necessarily require abandoning existing secrets infrastructure immediately. Organisations can implement unified management that handles both legacy static credentials and new ephemeral access patterns, allowing gradual migration as applications are updated to support identity-based authentication.
Relevance for Cloud and DevOps Environments
The challenges addressed in this demonstration are particularly acute in cloud-native and DevOps contexts. Continuous integration and deployment pipelines frequently require credentials to access source repositories, artifact registries, cloud provider APIs and deployment targets. Each pipeline stage may need different permissions, and the ephemeral nature of build environments complicates traditional credential distribution.
AI-driven workloads introduce additional complexity. Machine learning pipelines often span multiple services and data sources, each requiring authentication. As organisations scale their AI initiatives, the number of credentials in circulation can grow rapidly, making centralised visibility and control increasingly important.
Container orchestration platforms and serverless architectures further complicate matters. Workloads may scale dynamically, with instances created and destroyed in response to demand. Static credentials distributed to these ephemeral workloads create both security risks and operational challenges around credential refresh and revocation.
Who Should Attend
The technical demonstration is designed for practitioners directly involved in securing and operating enterprise infrastructure. Security engineers responsible for secrets management and access control will find the content directly applicable to their daily work. Platform engineers building internal developer platforms can evaluate how identity-based access might simplify credential distribution to development teams.
DevOps practitioners managing CI/CD pipelines will benefit from understanding how to reduce credential exposure in automated workflows. Security architects evaluating identity and access management strategies can assess how Zero Standing Privileges fits within broader security architectures. IT administrators overseeing hybrid environments spanning on-premises and cloud infrastructure may find value in the centralised policy management capabilities demonstrated.
The session assumes familiarity with secrets management concepts and cloud security fundamentals. Organisations currently experiencing secrets sprawl, struggling with credential rotation at scale, or seeking to reduce standing access across their environments represent the primary audience for this material.