In this guide, we’ll explore the best practices for securing SaaS applications, from understanding key threats and the vendor landscape to building a culture of data protection.
By delving into the nuances of SaaS security, you’ll be better equipped to navigate the complex landscape of cloud-based threats and maintain robust defenses against potential vulnerabilities.
What is SaaS security?
SaaS security involves protecting Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications from cyber threats.
Although the responsibility for securing the application itself lies with the SaaS provider, users must play a crucial role under the cloud’s shared responsibility model. They are responsible for properly configuring and securing their data and accounts within the application to ensure comprehensive protection.
Key SaaS security threats
Cloud applications represent a major vulnerability in today’s digital landscape, opening doors for cybercriminals worldwide to infiltrate and access sensitive data.
The risk extends beyond deliberate attacks; employees might also inadvertently expose or leak critical information online. Such incidents not only threaten data security but also result in serious compliance breaches under regulations like HIPAA, GDPR, and CCPA.
Below, we’ll look at the most common security threats within the SaaS landscape.
Enterprise-wide access: A double-edged sword
The cloud offers the significant advantage of enabling employees to access corporate resources from virtually anywhere, using any device, provided they have the correct login credentials. However, some organizations extend this flexibility to the point where employees are granted unrestricted access to all company data. This broad level of access poses two primary risks.
Firstly, employees might inadvertently destroy or leak critical information. Secondly, if a cybercriminal gains access to an employee’s cloud account, they could potentially exfiltrate all available data.
Moreover, enterprise-wide access also presents risks when employees leave the organization. If accounts belonging to former employees are not promptly deactivated, there remains a potential vulnerability where these accounts could be exploited to access sensitive corporate information. Proactively managing and deactivating accounts of departing employees is essential to safeguard against unauthorized data access.
Access management issues
Even with access controls in place, managing permissions across various SaaS applications remains a daunting challenge. Each application has its own set of configuration settings, creating a complex web of access controls that IT teams must navigate. For organizations utilizing multiple apps, this task becomes even more overwhelming.
IT departments are tasked with the dual responsibility of securing cloud data while setting appropriate access permissions and maintaining employee productivity. In a constantly evolving environment, balancing these demands can strain resources and heighten the risk of misconfigurations, potentially exposing sensitive data or disrupting operations.
Seamless collaboration gone wrong
Collaboration tools like Slack, Google Workspace, and Microsoft Teams have transformed how employees share information, fostering greater productivity. However, their ease of use comes with significant security concerns.
The simplicity of sharing documents and links through these platforms means that sensitive information can be inadvertently exposed to unauthorized individuals, putting compliance and data security at risk.
Additionally, the widespread and often unchecked distribution of data increases the vulnerability of compromised accounts. If hackers gain access to an employee’s cloud account, the risk of discovering sensitive information is heightened.
Cloud misconfigurations
A critical risk that extends beyond the accidental sharing of links and files is the potential for employees to inadvertently configure cloud settings, making company data publicly accessible. This type of error, known as cloud misconfiguration, exposes sensitive information to the open internet, leaving it vulnerable to anyone who might seek it out.
Cloud misconfigurations are alarmingly common and have been identified as the leading cause of data breaches in cloud environments for the past five years.
Lack of access controls
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is widely recognized as a robust security measure, requiring users to verify their identity through at least two methods—such as a password and a code sent to their mobile device—before gaining access to an application. The effectiveness of MFA in enhancing cloud security is underscored by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which reports that MFA can reduce the risk of security breaches by up to 99%.
Despite its proven benefits, many organizations still do not implement MFA, leaving their systems exposed to potential account takeover attacks. However, it is important to recognize that MFA alone is not foolproof. Recent breaches at companies like Twilio and Uber demonstrate that, while MFA significantly strengthens security, determined hackers can still find ways to circumvent these protections.
AI-based attacks
The integration of AI technology into SaaS platforms is reshaping the cybersecurity landscape in profound ways. While AI offers the potential to enhance operations, improve customer experiences, and provide a competitive edge, the path to adopting AI comes with its own set of challenges and risks.
One notable issue is shadow AI, a phenomenon akin to shadow IT, where employees use generative AI tools without proper authorization. This unauthorized use not only creates opacity in data processing but also heightens the risk of data exposure.
AI-based attacks represent another growing concern. An overwhelming 86% of Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) view AI-driven attacks as imminent threats. Malicious actors are increasingly leveraging generative AI to refine phishing techniques and execute more sophisticated cyber tactics.
Data leakage is also a significant concern. Generative AI tools that analyze user queries may inadvertently expose sensitive data, raising serious privacy and security concerns, especially regarding personally identifiable information (PII) and proprietary source code.
Securing SaaS: the vendor landscape
With so many threats out there, how can organizations boost their SaaS security posture and ensure data security?
There are a few types of tools available on the market, each promising to fortify SaaS apps. Here, we’ll take a look at each in detail.
Managing data effectively within SaaS environments is crucial for maintaining strong cloud security. However, relying exclusively on the native security controls provided by platforms such as Slack and GitHub can create a misleading sense of security.
These built-in security features are often basic and don’t offer comprehensive protection. They tend to generate numerous false positives and frequently struggle to identify sensitive information in unstructured formats. While they do contribute to data security, they lack the detailed visibility and control needed to manage SaaS cybersecurity effectively.
Moreover, the security tools integrated into each platform operate in isolation, requiring organizations to deploy and manage multiple disparate solutions across different SaaS applications. This fragmented approach complicates security management and increases the risk of errors.
Even experienced security professionals face challenges when working with multiple security consoles, particularly as major SaaS providers regularly update their administrative interfaces and configurations. This constant evolution further complicates the task of maintaining effective security across a diverse array of applications.
Proxy-based security
Proxy-based security solutions were once revolutionary, serving as intermediaries between users and cloud-based resources to provide much-needed visibility and control in the burgeoning SaaS landscape. However, their limitations have become increasingly apparent over time.
One major issue is user friction. Implementing proxy solutions often requires intrusive agent installations on endpoint devices, which can slow down productivity and prompt employees to find ways around these security measures.
Compatibility problems further complicate matters. Some widely used applications, such as Microsoft Office 365, experience performance issues when used with proxy-based security, creating potential security gaps and operational disruptions.
Additionally, the complexity of deploying and managing proxy-based solutions presents a significant challenge. The technical configurations required are intricate and demand ongoing maintenance, which can divert valuable resources away from other critical security initiatives.
In summary, while proxy-based solutions were a groundbreaking advancement in cloud security, their drawbacks necessitate a re-evaluation of their role and effectiveness in today’s dynamic SaaS environment.
SaaS security posture management
In response to the challenges associated with proxy-based security solutions, SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) tools have emerged as a crucial innovation. These tools are designed to mitigate risks in the SaaS applications that employees use daily. By integrating directly with various SaaS app interfaces, SSPM tools aim to minimize the likelihood of misconfigurations and ensure compliance with regulatory mandates.
A well-designed SSPM tool can alert security teams to misconfigurations or, ideally, auto-remediate them to help maintain compliance. However, SSPM tools are not without their shortcomings.
Firstly, visibility issues present a significant challenge. While SSPM tools are effective at detecting misconfigurations within specific applications, they often lack comprehensive visibility across the entire cloud environment. Their focus on individual app admin portals means they operate more tactically than strategically, struggling to unify overall app management.
Secondly, the coverage of compliance provided by SSPM tools can be limited. Although these tools use compliance policies to identify and correct configuration issues, they may not fully address all areas of concern, such as the protection of intellectual property. This can leave critical security gaps.
Another hurdle is the dynamic nature of SaaS environments. The ease with which applications can be customized and the frequent updates rolled out by vendors make it challenging for SSPM tools to keep up. This leads to ‘configuration drift,’ where administrators are perpetually engaged in a cycle of chasing and correcting misconfigurations across a variety of applications.
Moreover, even when misconfigurations are resolved, SSPM tools do not extend their influence over how employees handle sensitive data within applications. Issues such as mishandling of data, improper uploading or downloading, and sharing of sensitive information remain outside the scope of SSPM tools. As a result, organizations continue to be vulnerable to insider threats and credential compromises with these solutions.
SASE
Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) represents not a new security technology but a convergence of existing solutions, including Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASBs), Firewalls as a Service, Secure Web Gateways, and the Zero Trust Model. According to Gartner, when these elements are integrated, they form SASE—a unified, cloud-delivered security framework designed to protect data at the edge while enhancing performance and user experience.
While the concept of SASE is compelling, its implementation remains elusive for many organizations. The effectiveness of SASE depends heavily on a network of cloud gateways, known as Points of Presence (POPs). To deliver comprehensive coverage and high-speed performance, SASE solutions require a scalable and extensive network of POPs.
For smaller enterprises, establishing such a system can be prohibitively expensive and complex. The financial and managerial demands of scaling and maintaining a robust SASE infrastructure pose significant challenges, making it difficult for many organizations to realize the full potential of this advanced security model.
Cloud DLP
Cloud data loss prevention (DLP) has evolved from being a singular tool to a sophisticated integration of multiple capabilities. Modern cloud DLP solutions leverage data classification, natural language processing (NLP), machine learning, and encryption to discover, monitor, and protect sensitive data in real-time across cloud applications.
The primary goal of cloud DLP is to ensure that only authorized, verified users can access sensitive information within SaaS apps and that this information is used in a compliant and secure manner. Unlike older models, API-based DLP tools offer a seamless integration with the APIs of platforms such as Slack and Teams. This integration eliminates the need for intrusive agents or complex coding, allowing the tools to operate directly within your cloud applications.
With API-based DLP, users experience no delays typically associated with proxy-based solutions and may not even be aware of the tool’s presence until a security policy violation triggers an alert or action block. These tools are agentless, working across all types of user devices—from personal devices and mobile phones to laptops—ensuring continuous monitoring and control over data access, regardless of the location or time. This provides 24/7 visibility into data interactions.
Moreover, the deployment of API-based DLP tools, such as Polymer DLP, is straightforward and ‘no-code,’ allowing for rapid installation within minutes. By incorporating advanced technologies like NLP and artificial intelligence (AI), these tools autonomously enforce security policies and protect data, significantly reducing the risk of exposure without requiring manual intervention.
Best practices for securing SaaS applications
It’s undeniable that cloud DLP is your best bet at securing SaaS applications. But it’s not a cure-all. You’ll also need to follow these steps:
Utilize MFA
Implementing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is a straightforward yet highly effective strategy for reducing the risk of credential compromise in SaaS applications. Enabling MFA across your SaaS platforms is strongly recommended to enhance security. Where possible, integrating single sign-on solutions can further improve security while maintaining a seamless user experience.
Adopt active learning
Traditional data security and compliance training methods, such as annual workshops, often fall short in achieving meaningful results. Active learning presents a more dynamic and effective approach.
By embedding automated feedback mechanisms—such as real-time nudges and end-of-day reports in popular applications like Slack and Teams—employees receive immediate insights into potential security and compliance issues.
This method not only engages employees more effectively but also makes them directly accountable for their actions, promoting a culture of trust and privacy throughout the organization. Ultimately, data security is a shared responsibility, and fostering active participation from every member of the organization is crucial for maintaining robust protection.
Ready to enhance your SaaS security posture? Request a free demo from the Polymer DLP team today.
