In today’s digital landscape, SaaS has emerged as the cornerstone of contemporary business operations. According to research published earlier this year, the average employee utilizes 28 distinct SaaS applications, and in mid-size organizations, an average of seven new applications are introduced each month. However, alongside the necessary growth in SaaS usage, integrating various SaaS applications into the company’s workspace presents notable security challenges.
Challenges that include the persistent threat of data breaches and unauthorized access to sensitive information stored within SaaS applications, the risk of unauthorized user access to critical business applications and lateral movement by malicious players taking advantage of the interconnectivity of SaaS applications – just to name a few.
SaaS security posture management (SSPM) solutions are specifically designed to assist organizations in solving the threats of SaaS usage by tracking, managing, and enhancing their security. That said, modern small and mid-sized companies and their CISOs are grappling with the increasing threat of SaaS security, often constrained by limited manpower and tight budgets. This is exactly what Wing security’s new “Essential SSPM” solution aims to solve with accessible SaaS security.
Wing’s new product provides three fundamental SaaS security capabilities in a unique freemium model: SaaS shadow IT discovery, automated vendor risk assessments, and a streamlined user access review, available for numerous critical business applications. Additionally, Wing offers the functionality to generate compliance-ready access reports, which customers can conveniently forward to their auditors. It is worth noting that both vendor risk assessments and access reviews play a pivotal role in achieving ISO 27001 and SOC 2 security certifications.
The 3 steps for ensuring safer SaaS usage: Discover, asses and control
1) Discovery: Due to the simple and decentralized nature of SaaS applications, employees often adopt them without the explicit knowledge or approval of the IT department, leading to a fragmented IT environment and potential security vulnerabilities. By discovering the full extent of their employees’ SaaS usage, organizations can gain comprehensive visibility into the extent of their shadow IT problem, enabling them to assess the magnitude of their potential attack surface. Ongoing SaaS discovery not only enhances data security but also allows for the implementation of appropriate governance measures, ensuring that all SaaS applications align with the organization’s overall IT strategy and security protocols.
2) Assessment: With limited time and often manpower, security teams must have an automated way of determining where to focus their efforts. Therefore, assessing and prioritizing the risks that different SaaS applications may potentially introduce is paramount. There are several key questions to consider when conducting that assessment, including:
– Has this application been compromised in the past?
– What are the security and privacy compliances adhered to by the SaaS vendor?
– What is the size and location of the SaaS vendor?
– Does the SaaS vendor have a marketplace presence? Did they receive validation from other sources?
This form of analysis is not only essential for upholding SaaS security but is also a vital aspect of the mandatory vendor risk assessment procedures that companies need to undertake. Given that SaaS functions as a third-party vendor and a critical piece of an organization’s supply chain, managing their risk has become integral to overall risk management. Organizations cannot ignore the risks posed by their third-party relationships, irrespective of their size.
3) Control: Once all SaaS usage has been discovered and its security levels have been determined, it is time to take action and to actively control the ways in which employees use SaaS and introduce it to the organization. While Wing’s enterprise solution offers a wide variety of control options, their “Essential” product focuses on controlling the often excessive permissions granted to users. The free version offers users the ability to select one of their core business applications, and conduct a full review of all users roles and permissions, and to approve them within the system.
It’s never been more clear that the time to ensure secure SaaS usage is now. SSPM is proving time and time again that it is an effective method for companies needing to regain control over the SaaS layer and combatting Shadow IT. With this added protection and coverage, organizations can rest assured that they are not exposed to unnecessary risk. Thanks to Wing’s new model that allows businesses to start for free with essential security and later decide whether they wish to upgrade to more robust SaaS protection, it is an encouraging sign for the SaaS security industry as whole. Click to learn more.