Academy
What is a service account?
Glossary · AI agent and machine identity security
Short answer
A service account is a shared identity that software uses to sign in, which AI agents often reuse.
Why it matters
Reuse lets one agent inherit all of an account's access. Service accounts rarely have a named owner and often hold broad permissions.
What it looks like
One service account used by a nightly job, a dashboard and a new AI agent, so the agent holds everything the job needed.
In nerl0
The page on service accounts shows which ones agents can use and what they reach through them. See Service accounts.