"Software as a Service" (SaaS) security refers to the measures implemented by cloud-based SaaS apps to protect user data. This may involve procedures implemented by businesses for protecting sensitive corporate data stored online and private client records in cloud servers. Security for SaaS providers lies with their clients and themselves as service providers; responsibility must be shared.
Effective SaaS management demands security measures that meet goals, such as cutting unused licenses by half, eliminating shadow IT, and increasing visibility to decrease security risks. This article forms part of our SSPM series.
Why is SaaS Security important?
Let us examine the importance of SaaS app security before continuing. Data privacy issues have become more prominent as businesses integrate SaaS into their operations.
At its core, discussing SaaS models requires reviewing corporate data, including customer, HR, financial, and other essential business details that could threaten its stability or well-being if left in the wrong hands. Thus, businesses must work diligently to secure this sensitive data and prevent leaks of sensitive corporate info that might compromise its integrity and threaten the well-being of their organizations.
SaaS Security Concerns
Data breaches resulting from vulnerabilities related to SaaS cost businesses millions annually and continue to multiply rapidly, with ever more security vulnerabilities impacting cloud services being present at an ever greater frequency.
Cloud computing flaws present one of the greatest security risks to SaaS services. Companies using such platforms to store their data rely on third-party providers for protection, permitting access online at all times and online file backup and restoration capabilities.
Here are the key challenges associated with SaaS application security:
- Misconfigurations Deficient security settings can leave computer resources vulnerable to attack. According to the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP), misconfiguration is the single greatest source of vulnerability in cloud environments; thus, if all tools used for SaaS apps are configured appropriately and updated on time, you can easily secure these apps and protect Software as a Service applications from attacks.
- Cross-Site Scripting XSS attacks involve injecting malicious code into web pages viewed by end users to compromise applications and security systems. They affect most applications and represent one of the top two security flaws. You can automatically block this attack with recent versions of Ruby on Rails or React JS.
- Electronic audit logs can provide essential visibility into potential suspicious or illegal activity. Yet, many organizations don't utilize or review these logs frequently enough. To detect and prevent breaches in time, you should deploy appropriate monitoring across your applications while reviewing logs on an ongoing basis.
- Internal Threats Malicious insiders and careless employees could accidentally release dates, endangering SaaS apps and their respective companies. Any data stored online is vulnerable to security breaches when weak passwords and shared credentials are used while sharing it externally or exposing it from all systems, which can present problems of its own.
- Compliance To remain compliant in every industry requires specific security and auditing measures, with noncompliance having serious legal and financial repercussions. For organizations dealing with sensitive data, regulations such as GDPR, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and SOX all apply and include regulations like regular audits of SaaS applications as well as security testing programs implemented to secure cloud storage areas; other rules stipulate frequent auditing sessions conducted to test safeguard data stored there as well. Therefore, SaaS applications must create appropriate logs that create adequate audit trails so sensitive data stays safe. To protect sensitive data properly, it is also imperative that SaaS applications create appropriate logs that maintain adequate audit trails as soon as they arrive from SaaS applications into SaaS apps where sensitive data resides.
- Identity Theft Using online payment methods for SaaS products often exposes individuals to theft risks. Encryption in transit and at rest, firewalls, and Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) can protect user identities and payment card data.
7 SaaS Security Best Practices
The following security best practices for SaaS apps.
Utilize Items with Strong Authentication
Cloud service providers offer various authentication mechanisms. Some (OpenID Connect and Open Authorization, among others) enable integration with an identity provider managed by customers. At the same time, certain products allow multi-factor authentication (MFA). Unfortunately, not every supplier provides these features.
Your first step should be understanding all the services your cloud provider has available and selecting an authentication technique suited to the requirements of your organization. Active Directory Single Sign-On (AD SSO) may provide one way of making sure all SaaS application usage and account and password policies correspond.
Encrypt Your Data
Encrypt data in transit or at rest in the cloud to protect it while moving across platforms or stored. According to government regulations, encryption is often needed when handling sensitive material like financial, healthcare and personally identifiable data.
Monitor Data Sharing
Check user access and usage of SaaS resources before moving forward with deployment. If external users can access shared files through web links, use collaboration controls to set their granular permissions. Confidential files could be accidentally or intentionally shared via email, team spaces, and cloud file storage services like Dropbox if users can access them accidentally via these methods.
Vet the Provider
Before purchasing their products, carefully research and assess SaaS providers. Please make sure that you know their security model as well as any additional protection measures they offer.
McAfee research indicates that most consumers trust service providers to manage security effectively; however, only 18% of SaaS providers support multi-factor authentication (MFA), and 10% encrypt data while it rests. Ensure it suits your organization's data encryption, segregation, and cyber protection needs and complies with privacy/security legislation laws.
Keep a Usage Inventory
Use SaaS apps regularly, keeping an eye out for any suspicious or odd usage patterns. SaaS makes apps accessible quickly; therefore, monitoring usage must be carried out using both automated tools and manual methods of data collection techniques. Across your company, please note which services were offered and who used them.
Use a CASB
Sometimes, SaaS providers fail to deliver on the security standards you demand. An external Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) solution may help add this necessary layer. CASB tools complement provider security models when choosing between API or proxy configuration options.
Maintain Visibility
Keep a close watch over every SaaS usage and review data collected through security tools, like CASBs or security logs provided by service providers. As with enterprise applications, IT and security teams must understand that SaaS solutions require extra protection and monitor users closely while simultaneously developing and implementing risk mitigation plans to guarantee safe SaaS application use.
Map your Data
Mapping, classifying, and monitoring all data to provide top-level protection. SaaS developers must understand your data well to take appropriate actions to preserve it, whether in use, transit, or rest mode. Gaining an in-depth knowledge of it helps identify any threats or weaknesses threatening its security.
The following actions may be available to you as part of mapping your data.
- Create security frameworks. They should outline all rules and guidelines employed when handling application security.
- Establish your security goals. Which security objectives would you like to meet? Which methods will be employed in measuring them?
- Recognize assets. What do you need to protect? Be sure to include systems, services, and data as potential risks.
- Risk Evaluation. Conduct a risk evaluation to detect vulnerabilities and threats within an organization and rank them according to likelihood and severity. This can also provide valuable insight.
- By installing security controls, you can protect your data and decrease known risks.
- Maintain security. Undergoing regular review and making any necessary adjustments to ensure maximum protection.
- Education of Users. Users need to grasp the significance and controls implemented for data protection.
- Respond to incidents. Develop an incident response plan. Engaging in regular practice will prepare you to handle incidents when they arise.
Identity Access Management Controls (IAM)
Identity and access management solutions ensure users only gain entry to resources they require through specific procedures and user access guidelines. Programs must monitor who, what, and when things are being accessed.
Preventing unauthorized access ensures compliance with privacy regulations, protects users against hackers, and helps reduce data leakage.
Implementing IAM controls starts by setting up user authentication protocols. By doing so, you can ensure every user is authenticated before permitting access to an app; biometrics or two-factor authentication are some effective techniques you could consider using for user verification.
- Build user profiles and set user access controls according to each individual's needs so they only gain entry to areas essential to their jobs.
- Establish role-based access control by assigning users roles and restricting resources based on those roles.
- As users tend to behave in unique or unlawful ways, monitoring them closely is the key to spotting any unusual or unlawful activities that might take place.
- Additionally, monitoring user activity and generating audit trails is easy - any illegal acts will be easy to spot and address accordingly.
- Make passwords strong and require expiration to encourage frequent password changes among your users.
- Maintain and regularly upgrade the security settings.
Data Encryption
Although many vendors provide encryption solutions, cautious customers typically add extra layers. Local hardware facilities, Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASBs), Transport Data Encryption (TDE), and Transport Layer Security (TLS) may all be utilized to safeguard data both during transit as well as at rest (for storage purposes).
SaaS apps typically employ TLS (Transport Layer Security) to secure data. At the same time, it travels over the Internet, using public key cryptography to form an encrypted link between client and server (such as SaaS providers) using TLS security protocol and creating an encrypted tunnel between these entities using cryptographic keys exchanged between clients and servers forming secure relationships and creating encrypted networks over which data flows securely. To protect SaaS software properly, various data encryption techniques may prove invaluable. Let's review some of the more widely known ones now.
Conclusion
Armed with best practices for their SaaS applications and security checklists is becoming essential to working on SaaS development teams. Failure to implement them properly could seriously impact user security and organizational operations, potentially jeopardizing both.
As part of our goal to foster secure SaaS environments for you to utilize their fullest potential while offering excellent user service, our aim here was to share practices that would assist in creating such environments.
