If the token is stolen while it is still valid, someone else may use it as if they had already passed authentication.
That outsider never really needed to know your complex password.
Tokens work behind the scenes in email, the cloud, document systems, SaaS services, AI tools and more. Stealing a token can therefore open access to sensitive client information without the password itself ever being exposed.
What changed?
On 15.9.2026, NIST (the US National Institute of Standards and Technology) published the final version of IR 8587, which addresses the protection of tokens and access credentials in modern systems, including the cloud, APIs and AI tools that act on behalf of users.
The questions to ask:
- Which doors does it open? Which systems, and how much data, does the token give access to?
- For how long? How long does it stay valid, and when is it revoked?
- How do you stop it? If theft is suspected or an employee leaves, can access be revoked immediately across all systems?
- How would you know? Can unusual use be detected, and can you check which data was accessed?
And what about AI?
If AI tools or automations act on behalf of a user, check which systems they may enter and what they may do there. From a risk perspective, they can hold an "entry pass" too.
So what is recommended?
Run a focused Token Security Review of your email, cloud, SSO and AI systems, and add a token-theft scenario to your security incident exercise (who handles it, how the credential is revoked, how active sessions are cut off, and how the scope of damage and exposure is assessed).
One-minute check
Pick one system in the office where you do not type a password for every action.
Ask your IT person: if its "entry pass" were stolen, how would we revoke it, and how long would that take?
Sources
For a deeper technical read, see NIST IR 8587, Final, 15.9.2026.
csrc.nist.gov/pubs/ir/8587/final(opens an external website)
This content is for professional information only and is not legal advice or a substitute for it.
