Identity has become the new security perimeter – and it’s under more pressure than ever. Modern environments are now made up of not just people, but thousands of service accounts, machine identities and increasingly autonomous AI agents, all operating at speed.
In April, SentinelOne and Silverfort announced a strategic alliance aimed at tackling this exact challenge: securing human and non‑human identities at runtime, across endpoints, cloud workloads and AI-powered environments. Here’s why that matters, especially for New Zealand organisations
Identity attacks are faster than humans can react
Recent incidents highlighted in the announcement show just how quickly identity-based attacks can unfold, in some cases within seconds of a compromised credential being abused. These are attacks no manual process or human-led response can realistically keep up with. For security teams, this reinforces a hard truth. Identity protection must operate at machine speed.
From static controls to runtime protection
Traditional identity security relies on access rules defined in advance – policies that struggle to adapt in dynamic, automated environments. Runtime identity protection changes this approach by continuously evaluating behaviour and access requests as they happen. The SentinelOne–Silverfort alliance brings together endpoint protection and runtime identity enforcement, helping organisations detect and contain identity-driven threats immediately, before they escalate into widespread compromise.
Why this matters for NZ organisations
Local organisations are rapidly adopting cloud services, automation and AI-enabled tools – often without full visibility of the identities operating behind the scenes. This creates blind spots attackers love. Runtime identity security helps:
- Reduce lateral movement after initial compromise
- Contain credential misuse instantly
- Protect both human and machine identities without disrupting productivity
This aligns closely with what we see across the NZ market. Identity is frequently the first foothold in major security incidents.
How we can help
At Advantage, Protect (our service offering world-class security solutions) is about practical, layered security – combining strong identity controls, endpoint protection and real-world operational oversight. We work with leading platforms like SentinelOne and Silverfort to help organisations modernise identity security in a way that’s realistic, scalable and fit for an AI-enabled future. If you’d like to understand where your identity risks sit, or how runtime protection could reduce exposure, we’re happy to talk.
