Category
Workload Identity
SPIFFE, SPIRE, SVIDs, X.509, and mTLS: verifiable, short-lived identity for workloads and AI agents.
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Terms in this category 9
mTLS for AI AgentsMutual Transport Layer Security (mTLS) for AI agents is a security protocol where both the agent and the connecting service verify each other with X.509 digital certificates.
Secret (Credential)A secret, or credential, is a digital authentication material such as an API key, token, SSH key, database password or certificate that a machine, service or AI agent uses to prove its identity to another system. Secrets are the equivalent of passwords for non-human entities. They control access to infrastructure, data, and downstream services, and can be high-value targets for attackers.
Short-Lived TLS CertificatesShort-lived Transport Layer Security (TLS) certificates are credentials with validity periods that range from a few hours up to 90 days. With limited lifespans and automatic renewal, short-lived credentials reduce potential attack exposure and overreliance on external revocation mechanisms. They’re a valuable security solution for agentic AI and other non-human identities.
SPIFFESecure Production Identity Framework for Everyone (SPIFFE) is an open-source standard for establishing cryptographic identities for software workloads, microservices and containers.
SPIRE ServerA SPIRE Server is the control plane for SPIFFE environments. It acts as the central certificate authority and trust anchor for assigning cryptographic identities (known as SPIFFE Verifiable Identity Documents or SVIDs) to workloads, AI agents and containers.
SVIDsA SPIFFE Verifiable Identity Document (SVID) is a credential that establishes identity for a workload, service or container to a resource or another service. The credential is cryptographically signed and encodes a unique SPIFFE ID issued in either X.509 or JWT format.
Workload IdentityWorkload identity is a unique, cryptographically verifiable identity assigned to a non-human software workload such as a microservice, application, container, serverless function or scripts.
X.509 CertificateAn X.509 certificate is a standardized digital file which cryptographically binds a public key to an identity such as a person, device, server, workload or AI agent.
X.509 SVIDsAn X.509 SVID is an X.509 certificate that gives service or AI agents a cryptographically verifiable credential. The SVID is short-lived, typically just 5-15 minutes, and encodes a SPIFFE ID in its Subject Alternative Name (SAN) extension. The credential can be used to authenticate over mutual TLS without relying on static secrets.
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Securing AI agents and workloads?
SecureW2 issues short-lived, certificate-based identities to non-human and agent identities so every connection is authenticated. See how it maps to your stack.