Have you ever wondered how secure your company data is in the cloud? If not, it’s time to start asking that question.
As more organizations embrace the flexibility and affordability of SaaS solutions, they may be unwittingly exposing themselves to new security challenges.
Staying on top of emerging SaaS threats is key for protecting your business in the years ahead. Read on as we explore the top 10 risks you need to know about to lock down security in this new era of cloud computing. You’ll learn where the latest dangers are coming from and how to safeguard your organization.
What is the Current SaaS Environment Like?
First, let’s level-set on SaaS.
SaaS stands for “Software as a Service”, which refers to cloud-based software applications delivered over the internet. Rather than installing software locally, you access it remotely through a web browser.
This model offers tons of benefits, like lower upfront costs, scalability, and accessibility. But it also represents a fundamental shift in how technology is delivered, and data is stored compared to traditional on-premises solutions.
Understanding the makeup of SaaS architecture is key to recognizing where potential security gaps can emerge:
The Players
- SaaS providers – The vendors supplying the on-demand software services. They host and manage the infrastructure and application for customers. Salesforce and DocuSign are examples.
- Customers – The businesses utilizing SaaS applications to store data and run operations in the cloud. Transferring IT resources to external providers.
- Sensitive customer data – The information stored and processed within SaaS apps. This includes proprietary information, personal data, financial records, credentials, and more.
- Network – The internet connectivity between customer endpoints (laptops, smartphones etc.) and the SaaS provider. Remote access over the public internet.
The Inherent Risks
With data now stored outside the traditional network perimeter, new vulnerabilities open up:
- Reduced visibility and control over data in the cloud
- Dependence on external providers for security management
- More potential entry points for threats across expanded networks and endpoints
- Authentication and access control challenges in the cloud
- Difficulties tracking SaaS usage, behaviors, and anomalies
- Limited oversight into how SaaS vendors handle security
- Shared SaaS infrastructure allows a single vulnerability to impact many customers
These dynamics can increase the likelihood of data breaches, malware attacks, account takeovers, and other threats in the cloud.
But with the right knowledge, preparation, and safeguards, organizations can stay secure while realizing the game-changing benefits of SaaS.
The Top 10 SaaS Security Risks Facing Organizations
Now that you understand the SaaS terrain, let’s dig into the top risks on the horizon through 2024 so you can prepare your defenses.
1. Sophisticated Emerging Threats
As cloud computing evolves, so do the tactics of cybercriminals and hackers. Emerging threats are a consequence of rapid innovation in the world of SaaS, leading to attack vectors that many organizations are still unprepared to defend against.
With new features and increasing complexity, SaaS environments often introduce potential vulnerabilities that attackers are eager to exploit:
- Side-channel attacks – Leveraging shared resources in cloud environments to infer sensitive information from other virtual machines on the same server
- Supply chain attacks – Exploiting vulnerabilities in third-party partners integrated into the SaaS provider’s infrastructure
- Ransomware-as-a-Service – Ransomware kits rented out to hackers on the dark web for easy deployment
The danger is that these novel threats often go unnoticed or misunderstood until significant damage is done. Many businesses lack the cybersecurity skills and experience to keep up with rapidly evolving cloud threats.
2. Surge in SaaS Data Breaches
While data breaches are nothing new, the rapid growth of SaaS adoption is escalating breach incidents in the cloud. Breaches within SaaS environments can be attributed to:
- Weak security practices or oversights by the SaaS provider
- Customer misconfigurations in SaaS application settings
- Increasingly sophisticated hacking techniques targeting cloud environments
- Growth in employee credentials and passwords leaked on the dark web
These breaches frequently occur when:
- Hackers penetrate vulnerabilities in the SaaS provider’s infrastructure
- Customer identity data is inadvertently exposed due to misconfigured SaaS application settings
- Compromised employee credentials grant access to SaaS accounts
The damage includes loss of sensitive customer data like financial information, personal data, credentials, trade secrets, and other proprietary information.
Many organizations lack in-house expertise needed to properly configure SaaS application settings and secure integrations between cloud apps. Meanwhile, continuous vendor security assessments are often overlooked. These gaps leave the door open to data breaches.
3. Escalation of Account Hijacking
Hijacked SaaS accounts enable cybercriminals to gain unauthorized access to sensitive systems and data for theft or destruction. This threat often arises through:
- Targeted phishing attacks deceiving users into handing over login credentials
- Poor password hygiene like reusing passwords across accounts
- Weak authentication practices such as failing to enable multi-factor authentication
Once hackers access an account, they can stealthily move laterally between integrated SaaS applications. This allows them to escalate privileges and extract more sensitive data from connected systems.
Many businesses remain vulnerable due to inadequate cybersecurity threat training for employees, weak password policies, and reliance on single-layered authentication methods like passwords alone.
4. Insider Threats
While external attacks grab headlines, insider threats pose a substantial danger to SaaS environments, with 60% of data breaches caused by insider threats. This includes employees, contractors, or partners that leverage authorized access privileges to intentionally steal data or sabotage systems.
Malicious insider attacks are severe given they originate from within the organization or SaaS provider itself, often going undetected longer than external breaches. Risk factors include:
- Inadequate vetting and access controls on internal personnel
- Too few controls and auditing around privileged user activities
- Lack of visibility into abnormal user behaviors indicating potential insider threat
The damage inflicted by malicious insider threats can be extensive given their access to proprietary data and mission-critical SaaS systems.
5. Supply Chain Attacks
The supply chain represents a growing cybersecurity blind spot for SaaS providers and their customers. SaaS supply chains contain many third-party elements:
- Software vendors
- Cloud infrastructure providers
- Managed service providers
- Development partners
- Acquired companies
Threat actors are increasingly targeting less secure elements of the supply chain as an entry point to then compromise the broader SaaS environment. For instance, a vulnerability in a third-party data storage vendor integrated into a SaaS platform can become a doorway for attackers to exploit.
Customers put full trust in SaaS providers but have little visibility or control over the security practices of their expansive supply chains. This creates ripe conditions for supply chain cyber attacks to cause downstream damage.
6. Non-Compliant SaaS Apps
Non-compliant SaaS apps that violate regulatory standards create legal risk and cyber exposure. This issue arises when SaaS providers fail to adhere fully to relevant compliance frameworks like:
- GDPR for European user data privacy
- HIPAA for protecting healthcare information
- PCI-DSS for safeguarding payment card data
- SOC 2 for managing data security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy.
Using SaaS apps that cut corners on compliance can lead to extensive data breaches, expensive non-compliance penalties, and reputational damage.
Yet many organizations fail to scrutinize SaaS providers on their compliance programs and certifications. This results in reliance on SaaS apps that introduce compliance violations and security risks.
7. Insecure APIs
APIs enable seamless integration between different software applications. However, vulnerabilities in SaaS APIs can be exploited to inflict significant damage. Risks include:
- Granting unauthorized access to sensitive data and functionality
- Launching denial of service attacks that disrupt SaaS availability
- Manipulating or compromising connected applications
- Enabling deeper penetration into linked cloud environments
These API vulnerabilities frequently arise from:
- Lax security practices in the API development lifecycle
- Inadequate authentication requirements for API access
- Overly broad API permissions and privileges
- Lack of input validation allowing malformed requests
Exposing unsecured APIs gives attackers an open door into networked SaaS environments. Organizations often struggle to properly assess API vulnerabilities or implement adequate controls around API access.
8. Shadow IT Sprawl
Shadow IT refers to SaaS applications used by employees without explicit IT approval or oversight. This risk emerges when personnel adopt SaaS apps independently without going through IT channels.
With shadow IT, organizations lose visibility and control over SaaS usage, creating major blind spots. Risks include:
- Adoption of unvetted, potentially insecure apps outside of IT protocols
- Introduction of apps that don’t meet security standards
- Increased costs from redundant or unused licenses
- Difficulties tracking where sensitive data resides
Shadow IT results directly from a lack of visibility, policies, and enforcement around SaaS application usage across the enterprise. These unsanctioned apps can easily introduce data breaches given they bypass security controls.
9. Data Residency Risks
Data residency refers to the physical or geographic location where SaaS providers store customer data. This introduces potential security issues and legal compliance complications:
- Customer data might reside in regions with weak data protection laws
- Storing data globally can violate data sovereignty laws in some nations
- Customers may lack visibility into where exactly their data is stored
- Moving data across borders creates privacy and cybersecurity risks
Mismatches between where customers want their data stored versus actual SaaS storage locations become a source of risk. Navigating data residency complexities across borders is challenging, especially given limited transparency from SaaS vendors.
10. Lack of Holistic SaaS Visibility
Gaining unified visibility into SaaS security, compliance, and operations is hugely difficult with dozens of distinct cloud apps in play. Key challenges include:
- Tracking user activities across different SaaS environments
- Managing configurations consistently across apps
- Monitoring data flows between integrated SaaS applications
- Correlating security events across multiple platforms
This lack of centralized visibility prevents organizations from detecting threats or anomalies. It also hinders enforcing consistent security controls across all SaaS applications.
Fragmented visibility makes it impossible to assess overall SaaS risk posture. And auditing compliance across apps becomes extremely arduous without a unified view.
Strengthening SaaS Security in the Face of Top Threats
Facing the array of SaaS risks outlined above, organizations must take a proactive and layered approach to security. Robust SaaS protection involves actions across three areas:
Solidify Security Foundations
- Develop comprehensive cloud security policies and standards
- Maintain an inventory of approved/unapproved SaaS apps
- Demand transparency from SaaS providers on their security controls
- Conduct threat modeling to identify vulnerabilities
- Implement strong identity and access management
- Appoint security personnel to oversee SaaS protections
- Build effective incident response plans
Adopt Preventative Security Controls
- Secure all endpoints and require multi-factor authentication
- Implement least-privilege access and separation of duties
- Mask sensitive data and employ data loss prevention
- Encrypt data end-to-end and implement backup/recovery
- Harden SaaS applications through input validation, patching, configuration management
- Install web application firewalls and denial of service protections
- Monitor user activities and credential use for anomalies
Leverage Advanced Security Technologies
- Deploy AI and machine learning to detect threats and accelerate response
- Incorporate user and entity behavior analytics to identify risky activities
- Implement identity and access orchestration to manage cloud user access
- Utilize natural language processing to parse SaaS terms for risks
- Architect zero trust and microsegmentation to minimize breaches
- Collect and correlate security event data across cloud apps
For example, in an effort to solidify security foundations, businesses must critically assess the security features of the SaaS tools they deploy, including those used for customer interaction and support.
Ensuring that these tools, such as contact center platforms, adhere to stringent security standards is vital for protecting sensitive customer information and maintaining trust. This approach underscores the importance of a thorough security review process for all SaaS solutions, reinforcing the organization’s overall security posture
Besides, ongoing security training and testing is also vital to ensure personnel understand policies and how to identify risks. Ultimately, securing the human element is central to getting ahead of emerging SaaS threats.
By taking a layered, proactive approach across people, processes and technologies, companies can confidently embrace SaaS platforms without sacrificing security or compliance.
Wrapping Up
The rapid adoption of SaaS brings immense advantages but also significant security risks that organizations must urgently address. As outlined in this article, threats like data breaches, account hijacking, shadow IT, and insider threats are growing more likely to impact businesses.
However, with vigilance, preparation, and a layered security approach, companies can realize the benefits of SaaS while safeguarding their most precious data and systems. Organizations can confidently unlock innovation in the cloud by securing the fundamentals, adopting preventative controls, and leveraging advanced technologies.
What risks resonated most with your organization as you consider your SaaS footprint? What steps will you take to take to protect your company? The time to strengthen defenses is now, before the threats outlined here lead to a costly breach down the road.
Why is FinancesOnline free?
Leave a comment!