Glossary

Service accounts are specialized, non-human identities used by applications, services, and automated scripts to authenticate and interact with systems and resources. Unlike user accounts tied to an individual, service accounts operate without direct human intervention, enabling seamless communication between software components, databases, cloud services, and APIs.

A service account typically has its own credentials, such as API keys, certificates, or tokens, to prove its identity when accessing resources. Because these accounts often have elevated privileges, they can pose security risks if not managed properly. Unauthorized access to a compromised service account could allow attackers to move laterally across systems, exfiltrate sensitive data, or disrupt critical services.

Best practices for securing service accounts include enforcing least privilege access, rotating credentials regularly, and using role-based access control (RBAC) to limit permissions. Where possible, organizations should integrate service accounts with secrets management tools to keep credentials secure and out of source code. Additionally, monitoring and auditing service account activity can help detect anomalies that might indicate misuse or compromise.

In cloud environments, service accounts play a crucial role in managing workloads and permissions. For example, cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud offer native service account implementations that enable secure access to cloud resources without embedding long-lived credentials in applications.