A typical sales rep at an organization could use close to ten SaaS applications just to send an email to a prospect— retrieving customer data from a CRM integration and using an AI email assistant tool and scheduling tool. Throughout a single day, an employee interacts with dozens of different applications, and across the company, hundreds of workflows are executed using a myriad of tools. While these SaaS applications enhance productivity and are integral to modern work processes, the growth rate of SaaS apps raises important cybersecurity question, how can a business protect their data and their core operations, when so many third-party SaaS applications are being used?
The transition from traditional software models to Software as a Service (SaaS) has revolutionized business agility and scalability. Over 90% of organizations use cloud computing, including SaaS services, to achieve cost reduction, faster time-to-market, and other critical business objectives. However, this shift has also introduced complex cybersecurity challenges. As SaaS applications have become integral to modern business operations, securing these platforms against a broadening array of cyber threats has become crucial. The very characteristics that make SaaS platforms advantageous—such as rapid deployment, anytime-anywhere access, and subscription-based models—also introduce complex security vulnerabilities.
As enterprises increasingly rely on these platforms for critical operations, the stakes for securing them have escalated. Cybersecurity in the SaaS environment is not just about protecting a static set of data but safeguarding the flow of information across networks that span beyond traditional boundaries of perimeter-based networks. In this article we’ll breakdown SaaS application security, and provide an overview for how organizations can navigate building an effective toolkit to manage SaaS app security.
Starting with the basics, SaaS (Software as a Service) app security refers to the practices, strategies, and technologies designed to protect applications (and the sensitive data they store) that are hosted remotely on cloud services. It addresses both the responsibilities shared between service providers and users, and the common threats such as data breaches and unauthorized access. SaaS applications are accessible over the internet, often through web browsers, making them particularly vulnerable to a variety of security threats. SaaS security focuses on safeguarding the data integrity, availability, and confidentiality of the applications and the data they process. Let’s take a look at some of the key reasons why SaaS app security is important:
IT and Security teams face a huge challenge of keeping track of what applications their users are downloading. Users are constantly signing up for new SaaS apps, making it uniquely challenging for organizations to keep track of who is using what and for what purpose. Unlike traditional software procurement processes, there is often little to no oversight or third-party involvement in these decisions, leaving organizations vulnerable to potential security risks. Adding to this risk, vendors (meaning the applications themselves) are often adjusting and changing the data and permissions associated with their apps, further leading to a lack of control and ability to manage.
The nature of this inherent chaos means continuous monitoring of SaaS applications becomes essential in maintaining visibility into what apps are being granted accesses, so that intervention can happen quickly when necessary. This monitoring spans user and administrator activities, third-party API access, and network transactions to promptly identify and respond to potential security incidents. Continuous monitoring of app activity allows a business to identify and react to high risk behaviors, including high-sensitive API access’s being granted by employees.
Selecting the right SaaS monitoring tools is critical for enhancing your organization's cybersecurity posture. The tools you choose should not only fit your current needs but also be scalable to accommodate future growth and adaptable to evolving threats. Key considerations include:
It’s important to remember a key principle: a security strategy or tool can only be as effective as the uptake and adoption of users within the business. While selecting and structuring your SaaS security strategy based on the above criteria is important, communicating with employees to ensure they understand the significance from a security perspective of sharing access with SaaS apps is equally important.
Most significantly, its important to establish clear rules about which data can live in which apps. Take the example of PHI for HIPAA covered entities. Organizations sign BAAs in order to be able to share HIPAA data in with a provider and it cannot be shared without a BAA in place. Take a healthcare organization with a secure patient portal. If you don’t have a BAA with say, Slack, there needs to be clear rules for users that PHI cannot live in Slack, and what the acceptable alternatives are.
SaaS application security and monitoring should be an established pillar of any robust cybersecurity strategy. In an era where data is a critical asset, SaaS app security is not just a technical compliance requirement but a strategic imperative to ensure uninterrupted operations and minimize the risk of breach or attack. By choosing appropriate tools, implementing robust monitoring strategies, and continuously evaluating their security posture, businesses can protect their critical data and operations against the increasingly sophisticated landscape of cyber threats.
Interested in learning more on this topic? Check out our other articles here. To stay up to date on Company news, follow us on LinkedIn.
