ClearVector Report Finds 91% of Production Identities Are Non-Human, Exposing Critical Identity Intelligence Gap

New Identity Intelligence Report reveals why traditional identity security models leave organizations blind to risky activity after authentication

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- ClearVector, the identity-driven security company, today released The ClearVector Identity Intelligence Report 2026, revealing that 91% of identities operating in production environments are non-human, underscoring a growing gap between how organizations manage identity and how modern attacks unfold. Based on analysis of production environments across cloud infrastructure, the report concludes that while organizations have invested heavily in authentication and access controls, they lack visibility into what identities actually do after access is granted.

"The way organizations think about identity security hasn't kept pace with how production environments operate today," said John Laliberte, Founder & CEO of ClearVector. "Authentication tells you who or what has access, but it doesn't tell you whether the activity that follows is legitimate. As AI, automation, and machine identities continue to grow, organizations need identity intelligence that continuously models identity activity and quickly detects when something changes."

The report introduces what ClearVector calls the identity intelligence gap: the disconnect between verifying identity and understanding the intent behind identity activity. While traditional security tools effectively manage authentication, configuration, and access, they lack the contextual understanding needed to determine whether a trusted identity is acting on behalf of an authorized human or has been compromised. As attackers increasingly rely on stolen credentials and trusted workflows, access alone is no longer a sufficient indicator of trust.

Among the report's key findings:

• 91% of identities in production environments are non-human, highlighting the growing importance of machine identity governance as automation, cloud services, and AI continue to expand.
• Most non-human activity occurs outside traditional business hours, making periodic or time-based monitoring insufficient for detecting malicious activity.
• Identity-driven attacks increasingly exploit legitimate credentials, allowing the adversary to blend into normal operations while bypassing many traditional security controls.
• Existing security technologies answer different questions by validating access, posture, or known attacker techniques, but none determine whether a specific identity's activity or intent is appropriate in context.

The report argues that organizations must move beyond access-centric security toward identity intelligence by continuously modeling each identity's unique pattern of life. By establishing models of activity for human, non-human, third-party, and AI-driven identities, security teams can identify misuse in real time, reduce detection times, and better defend increasingly automated production environments.

The inaugural report is based on ClearVector's analysis of production activity across Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) environments and establishes a foundation for understanding how identities operate in modern cloud infrastructure. Future editions will expand analysis to additional production platforms, including Microsoft Azure, GitHub, Okta, and AI-driven identity activity.

Download The ClearVector Identity Intelligence Report 2026 here.

About ClearVector

ClearVector is the identity-driven cloud security company. Using Predictive Behavioral Defense, the ClearVector platform builds a unique pattern of life for every human, non-human, third-party, and AI-driven identity in production environments. By combining real-time identity discovery, behavioral analysis, security-relevant business data, and productized cloud expertise, ClearVector helps organizations prepare for, measure, and prevent the impact of cyberattacks and breaches. Learn more at www.clearvector.com

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SOURCE ClearVector