Workload identity (SPIFFE)

A workload identity is a cryptographically proven identity for software rather than people; SPIFFE is an open standard for it, with short-lived identity documents for services, containers and agents.

Services, containers and agents need their own identity to identify themselves to other systems. Instead of fixed passwords or shared keys, SPIFFE gives every workload an identifier in the form of a URI and a short-lived identity document, the SVID, as an X.509 certificate or JWT. The reference implementation SPIRE issues these documents automatically and renews them continuously. SPIFFE is a project of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation.

For AI agents, a workload identity is the technical foundation: it proves which agent is making a request. It does not answer what this agent may do; that requires a mandate.

Example

An accounting agent runs in a container and receives an identity such as spiffe://company.ch/agents/accounting through SPIRE, renewed every hour. It uses it to identify itself to the payment system over mutual TLS; the gateway checks the payment itself against its mandate.

How it differs

A workload identity proves which software is asking, an agent passport proves an agent's identity and operator to third parties, and a mandate proves authority. The workload identity is usually internal, the agent passport intended for the outside world.

In practice

• Give every agent its own workload identity instead of shared access.
• Use short-lived identity documents that are renewed automatically.
• Bind mandates to the key of the agent's workload identity.