Posted by Miryam Brand
July 8, 2025
Snowflake is phasing out password-only authentication by November 2025, marking a major shift in how users and services authenticate to one of the most widely used data platforms in the enterprise. This change is part of a broader industry trend toward Zero Trust and secure-by-design architecture, but it also raises an urgent challenge for enterprises with complex environments and legacy pipelines.
In this post, we’ll break down what Snowflake’s new authentication policy means, who it affects, and how Akeyless can help you prepare: quickly, securely, and without rewriting all your integrations.
What’s Changing?
Following a string of high-profile breaches in 2024, Snowflake is strengthening its authentication posture. Here’s what you need to know:
By November 2025:
- Password-only logins will be blocked for all users—human and service—across production and enterprise accounts.
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA) will be mandatory for any human user who signs in with a password.
- Service accounts (ETL, programmatic access, CI/CD, etc.) will no longer be allowed to use passwords, even with MFA.
- The transitional LEGACY_SERVICE user type will be deprecated and unavailable for new use.
Authentication methods that will remain valid:
- SSO via SAML or OAuth
- Key-pair authentication
- Password + MFA (human users only)
Exceptions (for now):
- Reader accounts
- Open Catalog accounts
- Trial accounts
Why This Matters
For many organizations, this change will break existing workflows, especially automated pipelines, scripts, and third-party integrations that rely on hardcoded passwords for service accounts.
If you’re still relying on password-based access for programmatic users, you’ll need to migrate to more secure alternatives like OAuth or key-pair authentication. That migration isn’t always straightforward, especially across multiple teams, environments, and legacy applications.
That’s where Akeyless comes in.
How Akeyless Simplifies and Secures the Transition
Akeyless is a SaaS-based secrets management platform built for the modern enterprise. We help organizations eliminate hardcoded credentials and adopt secure, passwordless authentication for both human and machine identities.
Here’s how Akeyless can help with the Snowflake migration:
Replace Passwords with Key-Based Authentication
We enable secure service-to-Snowflake connections using short-lived certificates or key-pair authentication, aligned with Snowflake’s supported methods. No hardcoded secrets, no long-lived credentials.
Automate Credential Injection at Runtime
With Akeyless, secrets are never stored in code or config files. Instead, credentials are injected at runtime using identity-based access controls, making them inaccessible to attackers and compliant with Zero Trust principles.
Centralize Access and Policy Control
Manage all Snowflake access credentials centrally, across teams and environments, while enforcing consistent authentication and authorization policies.
Ensure Compliance and Auditability
Akeyless offers detailed logging, real-time monitoring, and integration with SIEM and compliance tools, ensuring your migration is not only secure, but also fully auditable.
Don’t Wait for November 2025
Snowflake’s phased rollout is designed to give organizations time to adapt, but for most, the real work starts now.
With Akeyless, you don’t need to refactor your applications or manually rotate credentials. You get a scalable, automated solution that supports Snowflake’s new policies today, while improving your overall security posture for tomorrow.
Ready to see how Akeyless can help you secure your Snowflake access?
Request a Demo or Talk to an Expert
