What is SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM)?
- September 21, 2023
What is SaaS security posture?
Security posture denotes the readiness of a system to counteract attacks. The security posture of SaaS, conversely, applies the same principle to SaaS applications, which are remotely hosted in the cloud as opposed to being locally housed within an internal network.
This sets apart SaaS security from conventional network security. Due to the remote hosting of SaaS applications, they largely fall outside the realm of an organization’s direct control. Moreover, these applications are accessible via the Internet and from nearly any device, amplifying the risk of unauthorized data access or inadvertent data exposure to the broader online sphere.
To avert such outcomes, tools for SaaS security posture management (SSPM) prove invaluable. They autonomously identify security vulnerabilities, thus mitigating the perils associated with manual configuration errors.
To achieve this level of security and compliance, partnering with a trusted Managed IT Service Chicago is essential. Advanced IT is here to help you navigate the complexities of SSPM.
SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) Meaning
SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) offers automated ongoing surveillance of cloud-centric Software-As-A-Service (SaaS) applications such as Slack, Salesforce, and Microsoft 365. Its objective is to reduce precarious setups, forestall configuration deviation, and assist security and IT teams in upholding compliance.
As enterprises expedite the migration of workloads and sensitive data into SaaS applications, the potential for inadvertent exposure, excessively lenient access rights leading to data leaks, non-compliance, and the presence of threats like malware persist as substantial challenges. SSPM allows organizations to see, govern, and manage compliance effectively, safeguarding their critical workloads and countering these obstacles. Through SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM), you attain an understanding of the risks associated with your SaaS ecosystem and the necessary tools to promptly identify misconfigurations, enforce compliance, and defend against insider threats and malware.
SaaS applications house vast volumes of corporate, personal, and various categories of sensitive data. Vendors often lack the expertise or resources to formulate all the essential security guidelines for their users. Consistently developing and implementing these diverse security policies across applications and users is challenging. SSPM streamlines this procedure by continuously surveilling the configuration of SaaS applications compared to pre-established policy profiles aligned with industry standards like CIS or NIST. Any misconfigurations are promptly flagged, and users can automatically rectify issues before they become exploitable.
Why Choose SaaS Security Posture Management?
Numerous vital corporate systems are in the process of migrating to SaaS. A Gartner study indicates that global expenditure on SaaS surpasses infrastructure as a service (IaaS) by as much as 48% and platform as a service (PaaS) by an impressive 106%. Many enterprises depend on a familiar array of popular and strategic SaaS applications to execute fundamental business operations.
SaaS Security Posture Management can effectively tackle the following issues within an organization by continuously evaluating security risks and handling security for SaaS applications:
Complex configurations – contemporary SaaS applications boast numerous setups governing sensitive actions, such as enabling file sharing within Google’s G Suite, accessing customer data within Salesforce, or recording video calls via Zoom. Relying on default configurations is an impractical solution.
Multiple applications – diverse SaaS applications, particularly those from different providers, feature their own array of configurations and interpret shared controls like IAM and data sharing uniquely. IT and security teams must comprehend the offerings of each application and understand how configuration settings impact security readiness.
Multiple interfaces – configurations typically reside within multi-tiered menus within each application’s dashboard. Security and IT operations teams need to be well-versed in the security functionalities of each application and locate them within the configuration interface. In certain instances, straightforward tasks like adding or removing permissions for multiple users can be ineffectual and time-intensive.
Configuration drift – merely establishing a secure configuration once is inadequate. To guarantee the absence of misconfigurations, administrators should routinely assess each application and pinpoint any deviations from the secure setup.
How does SSPM operate?
SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) conducts regular assessments of an organization’s SaaS applications across the following domains:
Configurations: SSPM searches for security setup errors that may expose data to the Internet.
User permission settings: SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) examines the actions permitted to users within the organization’s SaaS apps. During this process, certain SSPM tools identify inactive and redundant user accounts. Trimming user accounts assists in reducing potential attack points.
Compliance: SSPM pinpoints security vulnerabilities that could potentially lead to non-compliance with data security and privacy regulations.
SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) dispatches automated notifications to security teams upon uncovering risks in these domains. Some SSPM tools are also capable of automatically addressing many of these risks.
What are the SaaS Security Best Practices
Detect unauthorized services and compromised accounts
Implement identity and access management (IAM)
Encrypt cloud data
Enforce data loss prevention (DLP)
Monitor collaborative data sharing
Audit service provider security
Conclusion
Prioritizing SSPM implementation should be a foremost consideration for organizations aiming to uphold robust security and compliance while elevating data security. The ultimate goal is to alleviate all potential risks associated with SaaS applications, ranging from configuration errors to permissions that grant unauthorized users access to restricted areas.
Contact us today to learn how Advanced IT can bolster your security posture and protect your valuable data.
FAQs
SSPM solutions can furnish supplementary insight into the security stance of specific SaaS applications, thereby aiding in compliance endeavors, whereas the SASE framework can assist organizations in upholding compliance with pertinent regulations and standards.
Yes, SSPM (Secure SaaS Application Management) is typically considered as a component of SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) architecture. SASE encompasses various security services, including SSPM, to provide comprehensive security for organizations, especially when dealing with cloud-based applications and remote access.