Managing access control is more essential than ever as businesses become increasingly reliant on digital platforms and cloud services to operate. But securing these systems can be challenging, especially for companies using hundreds–or even thousands–of applications. Today, many organizations are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) for cybersecurity, with 90% of organizations already using AI to strengthen their defenses.
The combination of AI with access control and identity management marks the next evolution in security. By combining AI and Generative AI (GenAI), organizations can revolutionize how they manage permissions, reduce vulnerabilities, and improve their overall identity security posture.
What is AI in access control?
Access control ensures the right people can access the right resources at the right time. It follows the principle of least privilege, the concept that users should only get enough access to do their jobs—and nothing more. Restricting access keeps data, systems, and intellectual property safe.
While this concept isn’t new, it is more important than ever. The proliferation of cloud services and interconnected infrastructure make managing permissions more complex. Now, AI and machine learning (ML) are transforming how organizations manage access control by helping them simplify and improve these processes.
How artificial intelligence works in access control
Businesses across industries are beginning to use AI access control software that combines machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) for smarter, faster decisions that protect data and improve the user experience. AI access control software can help your organization:
- Monitor access across systems–including applications, service accounts, and non-human identities (NHIs)–to detect potential vulnerabilities or unauthorized access in real time. By analyzing data from various control systems, AI can help you spot unusual patterns and high-risk accounts.
- Automate remediation and reduce the burden on administrators by automatically applying fixes or restricting access when potential issues arise. ML helps AI improve continuously by learning from past behavior and real-time interactions.
- Recommend specific roles and permissions by analyzing a user’s role, data sensitivity, and the impact on infrastructure security. This helps ensure users only have the precise access they need, which can minimize excessive permissions and improve security.
- Investigate access patterns to assess risk, identify dormant accounts, and improve biometric authentication or facial recognition systems. With NLP, users can ask AI to respond to queries, such as “Who can access specific files?” or “Which accounts are high-risk?” for immediate insights.
By using AI to analyze complex control systems and apply advanced risk management techniques, organizations can better protect themselves–and their sensitive information–from threats.
Why AI is important in access control
Many companies already use AI access control software to secure, scale, and optimize complex environments.
Improved security posture
Businesses can significantly reduce risk exposure by using AI to identify and prioritize identities with high privileges or potential issues and monitor and flag unauthorized access or risky permissions–without requiring you to navigate complex systems like Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Snowflake.
Scalable access control
Today, the average enterprise uses over 1,000 apps, each requiring unique permissions and access management. Using AI, businesses can adapt and simplify access control processes as they scale to better support security and compliance functions–and reduce human error.
Optimized costs
Organizations can also use AI to help reduce costs. By automating user access reviews, quickly identifying risky access, and eliminating unnecessary permissions, businesses using AI can avoid expensive manual audits and security incidents.
Proactive security
Businesses can also use AI to implement the principle of least privilege more effectively. By giving companies control over permissions for all identities–whether on-premise or in biometric authentication systems–AI can help them detect misconfigurations and over-permissioned accounts so they can close security gaps before they turn into risks.
Reduced manual work
By using AI to automate repetitive tasks, organizations can remove excess access and simplify decision-making for business managers in plain language–reducing the workload for administrators and allowing security teams to focus on critical tasks while still minimizing vulnerabilities.
Limitations of AI in access control
Like any technology, using AI within your access control efforts won’t be perfect. One key challenge is the reliance on accurate data. Incomplete or outdated information can lead to incorrect permissions or missed detection of unauthorized access. Regular audits and updates to your infrastructure and permission data can help ensure your AI works effectively.
To be effective, you must deploy AI on a foundation of comprehensive and accurate data. AI solutions won’t help you reduce excess privilege unless they have access to complete and granular information about the permissions identities have.
Any AI also requires regular fine-tuning to align with your organization’s risk assessment and security policies. Without ongoing adjustments, the system may miss key factors or fail to enforce the principle of least privilege effectively.
AI systems can also have their own vulnerabilities. While AI can detect risks in real time, it must be continually updated to address evolving cyber threats. A solid cybersecurity framework can help minimize these risks and keep your systems secure.
How to use AI for effective access control
AI access control is revolutionizing identity management, security, and compliance by simplifying access privilege analysis. It helps organizations answer key questions like who has access, how they got it, and whether permissions should be revoked.
1. Detection and interpretation of unusual behavior in real time
By continuously monitoring user activity across systems, applications, and devices, organizations can use AI to spot unusual behaviors that could signal a security threat. Using machine learning, organizations can teach AI typical behavior patterns for each user and role and have it flag any deviations from those patterns. For example, if an employee suddenly attempts to access sensitive data outside of regular hours or from an unrecognized device, a business using AI could immediately recognize and alert on this abnormal activity.
Organizations can also use AI to connect data from multiple sources to uncover broader patterns that may otherwise go unnoticed. For instance, using AI, an organization can detect if a user repeatedly attempts unauthorized actions across different applications or if a department suddenly makes a high volume of access requests to privileged accounts. These insights allow security teams to catch potential threats, like privilege escalation or unauthorized access, before they escalate.
Organizations can also set AI to trigger automatic responses to high-risk behaviors. When AI detects unusual access patterns–such as attempts to reach restricted data–it can require additional verification, temporarily limit access, or alert administrators for review.
2. Predictive analytics
Companies can also use AI to identify and address potential risks before they become issues. By analyzing historical access patterns and user behaviors, AI can help you anticipate when permissions may need adjustment, helping prevent unauthorized access or privilege creep.
Organizations can also improve the access approval process by using AI to recommend appropriate roles based on user needs and previous access trends. For example, if a user’s role changes to one involving more sensitive data, AI can proactively suggest the right permissions.
Predictive analytics also helps teams recognize dormant access by flagging accounts with unused permissions for deactivation. This allows organizations to easily implement and maintain the principle of least privilege so users only retain the access they need.
3. Generative AI
Using Generative AI can enable users to interact with complex access control systems through natural language. Instead of navigating multiple interfaces or relying on specialized technical knowledge, users can simply ask questions or make access requests using conversational language.
For example, a user might ask, “Who has access to Snowflake tables?” or “Which users have high-risk permissions in AWS?” Using Generative AI to process these queries and pull data from various systems, organizations can get clear, actionable responses in real time.
For security teams, generative AI can improve productivity by automating repetitive queries and supporting access request decisions. As a result, operations teams can focus on complex tasks using AI to handle routine requests and queries for faster responses.
4. Unified security systems
By centralizing access management, identity governance, and user monitoring into a single platform, organizations can see all access points–whether on-premise, cloud-based, or hybrid–through a unified dashboard. This streamlined view ensures access policies are enforced precisely across all systems. By integrating data from previously siloed sources, like IoT devices, surveillance cameras, access logs, and badge swipes, organizations can use AI to create a cohesive security ecosystem that simplifies monitoring and improves responsiveness to potential threats.
With AI-driven insights, organizations can manage permissions, eliminate redundant access, and identify potential security gaps across applications and user accounts. That way, managers get direct visibility into their team’s permissions to quickly grant, adjust, or revoke access as needed.
5. Data-driven recommendations
Organizations can also use AI to analyze access patterns and recommend precise roles, permissions, and entitlements for users, eliminating the need for operations teams to guess which permissions align best with a user’s responsibilities. Instead, using AI, you can assess historical data on user behavior, role usage, and access needs across the organization, identifying patterns that can help AI make role recommendations tailored to individual job functions.
With continuous analysis, AI can help you pinpoint over-permissioned accounts, dormant access, and misaligned roles, so managers can grant the minimum necessary permissions. When a user requests access, it can cross-reference the request with similar roles and permissions in the system, suggesting the most relevant access based on actual data.
Automating these data-driven recommendations can help organizations achieve consistent provisioning that better aligns with their access management policies. Managers and operations teams can rely on these insights to make informed decisions without extensive manual research, which can improve productivity, minimize access-related risks, and maintain a more organized environment across all systems and applications.
6. Manual task automation
By using AI to automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks, organizations can help their teams manage large volumes of requests with minimal manual intervention. For example, you can use AI to automate role assignments, grant and revoke access, and process approvals–tasks that are traditionally resource-intensive and error-prone. By evaluating each access request in real-time against pre-established policies, you can use AI to automatically determine the correct level of access and route the request through the appropriate approval workflow.
With AI handling tasks like access provisioning, managers get instant visibility into team permissions and proactive alerts to prevent privilege creep. For instance, when an employee submits an access request, their employer can use AI to assess their current permissions and identify the most suitable role based on least-privilege requirements. If access is no longer needed, AI can automatically revoke permissions to streamline offboarding and prevent lingering access. Automating these functions allows IT and security teams to focus on higher-level tasks while employees get the access they need without delays.
7. Adaptive, contextual access control
To determine the risk level of each access request and make access decisions that align with security policies, organizations can use AI to analyze user behavior, device location, and other factors in real time. For example, if an employee requests access to a sensitive system from an unfamiliar location or device, it can flag the request for additional verification. If the access aligns with standard behaviors–such as login during business hours from a known device–AI may grant it without further checks.
Adaptive access control also allows organizations to apply just-in-time (JIT) access, where users receive access only for the time necessary to complete a task, and permissions automatically expire afterward. This minimizes unnecessary access so organizations can maintain a least-privilege environment while reducing the risk of over-provisioning.
In cases where a user’s behavior changes, you can use AI to adjust permissions dynamically, granting, reducing, or revoking access in response to real-time changes in context.
8. Physical security threats
AI doesn’t stop at cybersecurity. It can also help organizations mitigate physical security risks by monitoring access points and integrating with biometric authentication and facial recognition systems. For instance, using AI-driven video analytics, you can detect and alert security teams about tailgating (unauthorized individuals following others through secured entrances), improving the protection of sensitive areas by ensuring only authorized personnel gain access.
AI in access control FAQs
Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about AI in access control:
What is AI access control software?
Organizations use AI access control software to automate and optimize access management. With AI, companies can analyze permissions across systems and enforce the principle of least privilege. By monitoring access patterns and detecting potential vulnerabilities, AI-powered access control software helps businesses ensure that only the right people can access sensitive data and systems.
What are the different types of access control?
Access control falls into several categories.
- Discretionary Access Control (DAC): Users have control over their own data and can assign access permissions to others.
- Mandatory Access Control (MAC): Access is determined by a central authority based on predefined rules, often used in high-security environments.
- Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Permissions are assigned based on the user’s role within an organization.
- Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC): Permissions are decided based on the attributes of the user, the data, the environment, and the session.
How is AI used in identity and access management?
Using AI can simplify identity and access management (IAM) by automating policy enforcement, detecting unauthorized access, and providing real-time risk assessment. It helps:
- Automate policy enforcement: AI ensures access policies follow least privilege by adjusting roles and revoking unnecessary permissions automatically.
- Detect unauthorized access: AI spots suspicious access attempts, such as unusual login patterns or location-based anomalies, and can trigger additional authentication as needed.
- Provide real-time risk assessment: AI analyzes user behavior and device data to identify high-risk access, restricting permissions until users re-verify their identity.
- Manage non-human identities: AI tracks and restricts service accounts or automated systems so they only have essential access.
- Streamline access reviews and compliance: AI automates access reviews, highlights misconfigurations, and generates reports to support compliance efforts.
Ultimately, these capabilities allow AI to reduce IAM workloads, improve security, and keep permissions aligned with organizational policies.
The future of AI in access control
As artificial intelligence evolves, it has the capacity to transform how organizations manage access control in complex environments. Built on a best-in-class access graph that provides comprehensive, granular data about identities and permissions, Veza’s AI-powered access platform helps organizations strive towards the principle of least privilege, with generative AI-powered capabilities that help security and identity teams prevent, detect, and respond to identity-based threats.
For instance, Access Search enables teams to query permissions using natural language. You can ask, “Show me Okta users who have MFA disabled and can read from AWS S3 buckets,” or run conditional searches like, “Show me Okta users who access AWS S3 buckets via Okta Group memberships.” These queries help quickly identify and fix security risks.
Access Intelligence helps teams discover risky users, resources, and trends with intuitive dashboards. Tailored role recommendations allow organizations to simulate access requests, ensuring permissions align with the principle of least privilege before granting them. Veza’s Access Requests feature provides the advanced functionality needed to quickly and accurately provision access in the enterprise at scale. Instead of operations teams struggling to understand roles, adhere to internal access management policies, and manage the large volume of access requests, you can completely automate your policy-driven access requests. With Veza, you can:
- Ensure the least-privileged role is used to fulfill access requests by utilizing human-readable descriptions of each role’s capabilities and role recommendation service
- Monitor all human and non-human identities, including local accounts, to get the most comprehensive view of permissions to granular resource
- Increase employee productivity by accelerating access grants through a self-service access request portal and automated provisioning
- Help managers understand the permissions their team members have in a human, readable language and how to provision or deprovision access
- Integrate quickly with existing tools and systems, including support for native, SCIM, and OAA integrations
- Trace the impact of a role from the identity provider all the way to the system resource
- Provision access in accordance with the security policy in a consistent and compliant manner
Learn more about how Veza’s AI-powered access control platform can transform access control at your organization.
