SaaS Identity Lifecycle Management (ILM) is the process of governing user and non-human identities (such as OAuth tokens, API keys, and service accounts) throughout their lifecycle in SaaS environments. This includes provisioning, modifying, and deprovisioning identities while ensuring security policies are enforced. Effective ILM helps organizations mitigate risks associated with inactive accounts, excessive permissions, and shadow IT, reducing the attack surface of SaaS applications.
The Importance of SaaS Identity Management
In today’s cloud-first environment, organizations rely on numerous SaaS applications for productivity, collaboration, and operations. However, without proper identity lifecycle management, companies face significant identity security and compliance risks, including unauthorized access, data breaches, and shadow IT. By automating and enforcing identity security policies, organizations can enhance security, streamline operations, and ensure compliance.
Stages of SaaS Identity Management
The SaaS identity lifecycle encompasses several key stages:
- Provisioning (Onboarding) – Assigning SaaS accounts and non-human identities (NHIs) appropriate access and permissions upon onboarding
- Access Management – Adjusting permissions and monitoring user access as roles change or business needs evolve
- Continuous Monitoring – Identifying inactive accounts, privilege escalations, and risky access patterns
- Deprovisioning (Offboarding) – Revoking access promptly when a user leaves the organization, or when integrations become unneeded, to prevent security gaps
Key Challenges in SaaS Identity Management
Without proper ILM, organizations face multiple security challenges:
Decentralized Identity Management
Different SaaS applications often have separate identity controls, making visibility and enforcement difficult
Shadow IT and Unmanaged Accounts
Users may create SaaS accounts outside IT’s visibility, leading to security blind spots
Lack of Visibility into Federated and Local Accounts
Many organizations struggle to track identities that exist outside central IdP governance (e.g., local accounts in SaaS applications not connected to Okta), leading to security gaps
Orphaned and Inactive Accounts
Failure to revoke access after role changes or departures increases security risks.
SaaS-to-SaaS Integrations
OAuth-based connections between SaaS applications can persist beyond a user’s tenure, posing security threats
Excessive Permissions & Privilege Creep
Over time, users accumulate more access than necessary, increasing the blast radius of potential breaches.
Inactive OAuth Tokens & API Keys
Non-human identities such as OAuth integrations and service accounts often persist beyond their intended use, creating hidden security vulnerabilities
Inactive and Unused External Data Shares
External file shares created by a user often remain active far beyond their intended need (or after the employee leaves the organization), increasing data exposure risks
Compliance and Audit Challenges
Ensuring compliance with frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, and HIPAA requires robust identity controls.
Real-World Consequences of Poor SaaS Identity Management
Microsoft Midnight Blizzard Breach
Attackers exploited misconfigurations connected to both human and non-human identities to access sensitive emails and source code. They launched a password spray attack against a human account lacking MFA. Once successful, they infiltrated a non-production Microsoft 365 test tenant. The attackers then leveraged an unmanaged, legacy OAuth token with full access permissions to move into the production environment. To maintain control, they created malicious OAuth applications and linked them to fake user accounts, then used legitimate IP proxies to mask activity.
The Midnight Blizzard breach also exemplifies the dangers of overlooking seemingly “low-risk” elements like neglected resources. These can include dormant accounts, legacy tokens, and inactive data shares. Security teams often prioritize active resources for protection, assuming attackers target them first, but neglected resources offer a potentially easier path for attackers. This emphasizes the importance of regularly reviewing and removing unnecessary resources like dormant accounts and inactive data shares to minimize potential attack surfaces.
SaaS Identity Management Best Practices
To mitigate these risks, organizations should implement:
- Automated Provisioning & Deprovisioning: Integrate ILM with HR and IT systems to ensure access is granted and revoked automatically
- Comprehensive Identity Discovery: Identify all user and non-human identities, including those not managed by the IdP
- Strict Access Controls & Role-Based Access Management (RBAC): Limit permissions based on least privilege principles.
- OAuth & API Key Governance: Regularly audit and revoke stale integrations.
- Continuous Monitoring & Security Enforcement: Use security tools to detect misconfigurations and enforce identity hygiene
How Valence Helps with SaaS Identity Management
Valence Security provides organizations with complete visibility into SaaS identities, access, and integrations, enabling proactive management of the SaaS identity lifecycle. Key capabilities include:
- SaaS Identity Discovery – Identifies all user accounts, including shadow IT and unmanaged accounts
- User Access Reviews – Detects inactive accounts, excessive permissions, and unauthorized SaaS-to-SaaS integrations
- Policy-Based Access Remediation – Automates deprovisioning and risk remediation based on security policies
- Integration with Identity Providers (IdPs) – Enhances Okta and other IdP management by identifying accounts bypassing centralized control.
- Continuous Monitoring and Alerts – Provides real-time alerts on misconfigurations, risky access, and security gaps.
FAQs: Common Questions About SaaS Identity Management
What is the lifecycle of SaaS identities?
The SaaS identity lifecycle includes onboarding (provisioning), access management, continuous monitoring, and offboarding (deprovisioning). Effective management ensures that user access aligns with business needs while reducing security risks.
What does failed or incomplete offboarding mean in SaaS?
Incomplete offboarding occurs when user accounts remain active after an employee leaves, leading to security vulnerabilities. This can result in unauthorized access, data breaches, and compliance violations.
What are examples of SaaS identity lifecycle management?
Examples include automatically revoking SaaS access upon employee termination, regularly reviewing and adjusting user permissions, and identifying and removing orphaned accounts in SaaS platforms like GitHub, Google Workspace, and Salesforce.
What are the primary challenges in managing SaaS identity lifecycles?
Key challenges include managing decentralized identities across multiple SaaS applications, detecting shadow IT accounts, revoking inactive or excessive access, and enforcing consistent security policies across platforms.
How does SaaS identity management differ from traditional IAM?
Traditional IAM focuses on enterprise-wide identity management, while SaaS ILM specifically addresses identity security challenges within SaaS applications, including shadow IT, SaaS-to-SaaS integrations, and decentralized identity governance.
By implementing a strong SaaS identity lifecycle management strategy, organizations can minimize security risks, improve compliance, and ensure efficient access control across their SaaS environments.
