Unlocking SaaS Security: How Identity can help
SaaS developers and builders, SaaS users, enterprise security teams, and Identity Providers may all play seemingly disconnected roles in a SaaS environment. But everyone can support a unified SaaS Security strategy by focusing on Identity.
Read on to learn a simple three-pronged approach for kicking off your own SaaS security strategy.
What is SaaS security?
Software as a service (SaaS) security is the practice of protecting cloud and SaaS applications by securing accounts, data, and access. Whether you use multiple SaaS products at work or build them for enterprise customers, keeping these apps and tools secure is essential. While SaaS security can be a broad term, it generally refers to products used in a workplace context.
Why is SaaS security important?
Best-of-breed SaaS products enable businesses to ignite employee productivity. However, the SaaS landscape is sprawling, interconnected, and growing quickly. This poses challenges for security and IT teams tasked with managing employee access and usage across these disparate platforms.
Why is Identity security central to SaaS security?
Many common attack vectors target SaaS applications in the wild using Identity-based attacks. Enterprises can protect their data and users from SaaS-related attacks with a foundational Identity security strategy. Additionally, builders of these SaaS products can give their customers a security boost by implementing modern Identity solutions and standards.
SaaS challenges for enterprises
The proliferation of SaaS tools and cloud environments is challenging to manage. The decentralized landscape is an attractive target for malicious actors. Such challenges generally fall into two buckets: the user lifecycle and cyber threats.
User lifecycle risks to consider
- SaaS tools can be accessed from anywhere, increasing the attack surface far beyond the company's internal network and traditional devices.
- SaaS tools can be frequently added or removed, requiring manual effort to manage or decommission vendors. Likewise, user accounts need prompt onboarding and offboarding.
- User and service accounts are varied and spread across multiple applications, so access to certain tools must be routinely reviewed and reported on to ensure regulatory compliance.
Cyberthreats to consider
- Over-privileged accounts present undue risk.
- Credentials may be long-lived and over-provisioned or shared.
- Data shared with vendor tools may not be properly secured
- Phishing attacks now target SaaS tools, so user security education as well as phishing-resistant login techniques are critical
Identity-based solutions for SaaS security
Although businesses cannot control the inner workings of SaaS applications, they can enforce consistent processes and policies across their environment using automation and partners such as an Identity provider (IdP). Businesses can also choose solutions that implement the most modern and secure protocols. The IdP can serve as the frontline enforcer of such policies, so the business can develop the security policies that will best protect its information, resources, and customers.
Implementing a new SaaS security policy can be daunting. We recommend keeping it simple with a three-pronged approach. Get all of these essentials right, and you’ll be well on your way to a more secure SaaS environment.
- Standardize and secure authentication and provisioning
- Consistently enforce SSO and MFA across all SaaS applications
- Include device trust in sign-on policies and adopt phishing-resistant login methods like Okta FastPass
- Automate provisioning with clear policies for onboarding, offboarding, and user profile management.
- Automate identity management with customized workflows
- Enforce least privilege and strengthen access policies
- Regularly rotate credentials and use temporary credentials
- Require step-up authentication for unusual access and utilize continuous access evaluation
- Set alerts for when critical threats or exploits are detected
- Limit and review admin or unmanaged accounts
- Implement the principle of least privilege access
- Understand how applications interact with each other
- Limit sharing data with other tools to what is necessary
- Setup enforceable policies to manage how workforce accounts share data with SaaS services
- Incorporate network security policies into existing access policies
Building a SaaS product?
Builders of B2B SaaS products can jumpstart their customers' SaaS security posture by incorporating modern Identity solutions from the start. This includes adhering to modern standards and following industry best practices.
