How to Choose the Best SaaS Security Platform

The proliferation of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications has revolutionized the way organizations operate, offering unparalleled scalability, accessibility, and efficiency. However, with these advantages come significant security challenges. From misconfigurations and overprivileged accounts to risky SaaS-to-SaaS integrations, today’s SaaS environments require robust security measures tailored to address their unique risks.

In this guide, we’ll explore what to look for in a SaaS security platform to help protect your organization against SaaS-specific threats and ensure seamless operations.

Understanding SaaS Security Risks

Recent high-profile SaaS breaches, such as Microsoft's Midnight Blizzard attack and the widespread and massive Snowflake customer breaches, highlight the urgency of addressing these risks. Understanding the risks inherent in SaaS environments is foundational to selecting the right security platform. These risks include:

Before diving into the features of an ideal SaaS security platform, it's essential to understand the primary risks organizations face in SaaS environments:

1. Misconfigurations: SaaS applications often have complex and unique configuration settings. Misconfigured application settings can expose sensitive data or enable unauthorized access. In large organizations, with thousands of SaaS users and dozens of applications or more, managing these configurations is increasingly difficult.
2. Overprivileged Accounts: Excessive permissions granted to users increase the risk of accidental or malicious data breaches. When you add to the risks of failed offboarding of SaaS accounts, these risks multiply. 
3. Inactive Non-Human Identities: SaaS-to-SaaS integrations using non-human identities such as service accounts, OAuth tokens and APIs are risky as multi-factor authentication (MFA) cannot be applied to them, they often are granted high privileges, and they typically remain active even after they are no longer needed, creating hidden security risks.
4. External Data Shares: Unmonitored and inactive data shares can lead to unauthorized access and data leaks. Open link shares, those made available to "Anyone with the link”, can be significantly dangerous. 
5. Shadow IAM Accounts: Accounts that bypass single sign-on (SSO) systems remain unmanaged and pose significant security risks.
6. SaaS Threat Detection: Suspicious user actitives—of both human and non-human identities—can be indicative of account takeover and/or data breach attempt in progress. Advanced threat detection and remediation capabilities, such as ITDR (Identity Threat Detection and Response), are crucial to identify and mitigate risks in real-time.

Key Features to Look for in a SaaS Security Platform

When evaluating SaaS security platforms, it’s important to focus on features that address common SaaS-specific risks, such as misconfigurations, overprivileged accounts, and shadow IAM. Here are the critical capabilities to prioritize:

To address these challenges, organizations need a SaaS security platform equipped with advanced functionalities. Here are the critical features to consider:

1. SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM)

SSPM capabilities continuously monitor and manage the security posture of SaaS applications by detecting misconfigurations, tracking changes, and providing recommendations for remediation. Look for platforms that support:

• Configuration monitoring and drift detection
• Compliance alignment with industry standards
• Automation to streamline remediation efforts

2. Comprehensive Visibility

The platform should provide a holistic view of all business-critical applications and the following elements:

• SaaS-to-SaaS integrations
• User activity and permissions
• Non-human identities, such as API keys and OAuth tokens
• Data protection settings

3. Risk Remediation

Proactive risk remediation capabilities, such as automatic revocation of unused permissions and termination of inactive integrations or external data shares, are vital for reducing your attack surface.

4. Advanced Threat Detection

Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) capabilities are critical for identifying unauthorized access attempts and anomalies in real time.

5. Ease of Deployment

Choose a solution that integrates seamlessly into your existing security stack and offers rapid deployment without requiring extensive configuration or maintenance.

6. Scalability

The platform should support all your SaaS applications, regardless of size or complexity, ensuring consistent security across the organization.

Comparing CASB vs. SSPM for SaaS Security

When evaluating SaaS security tools, understanding the differences between Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASBs) and SSPMs is critical:

• CASBs: Focus primarily on access control, data loss prevention (DLP), and threat protection. However, they fall short in monitoring SaaS configurations and addressing SaaS-to-SaaS risks.
• SSPMs: Offer advanced security capabilities, including configuration monitoring, non-human identity management, and compliance enforcement, making them essential for modern SaaS environments.

Organizations increasingly recognize the value of SSPMs, with adoption rates nearing parity with CASBs. For businesses relying on complex SaaS ecosystems, SSPMs provide the comprehensive protection needed to mitigate evolving risks.

Selecting the Right SaaS Security Platform

To choose the best SaaS security platform for your organization, consider the following steps:

1. Identify Your Security Gaps: Conduct a thorough risk assessment of your SaaS environment to pinpoint security risks.
2. Evaluate Features: Ensure the platform includes SSPM capabilities, real-time threat detection, and automated risk remediation.
3. Check Compatibility: Verify that the solution integrates with your existing tools, such as SIEMs, IDPs, and endpoint security platforms.
4. Assess Scalability: Choose a platform that can grow with your organization and support an expanding SaaS application portfolio.
5. Prioritize Usability: Opt for a platform with an intuitive interface and actionable insights to empower your security team.

How Valence Security Can Help

Valence Security is at the forefront of SaaS security, offering a comprehensive platform designed to address today’s most pressing SaaS security challenges. Our solution provides:

• SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM): Continuous monitoring and management of SaaS configurations, permissions, and integrations.
• Automated Risk Remediation: Fix misconfigurations, revoke unused permissions, and terminate inactive data shares. Valence’s flexible SaaS risk remediation capabilities empower security teams to efficiently address security risks and misconfigurations with a combination of guided remediation, automated workflows and business user collaboration. 
• Advanced Threat Detection: Valence's SaaS security platform provides robust identity threat detection and response (ITDR) capabilities to address the unique challenges of securing SaaS environments. By offering comprehensive visibility into user activities, uncovering hidden and suspicious events, and enabling SaaS threat investigation, Valence empowers security teams to protect SaaS sensitive data and respond to threats rapidly.

Explore our SaaS Security platform here.

For detailed guidance on evaluating SaaS security solutions, download our SSPM checklist. Ready to see Valence in action? Request a demo today.