Top SaaS Security Risks to Avoid & Solutions to Overcome Them in 2023

Gearing up to take 2023 by the horns? Are you currently strategizing to take on this mammoth task of setting business goals for your SaaS product? As you plan out your roadmap to success for your SaaS product, you’re bound to face some security risks. Being aware of them can help you better prepare to render them useless. Here are some SaaS security risks you may face in the coming year & we’ll talk about how you can easily tackle them with our help.

Listicles of SaaS Security Threats & Solutions

It is natural to assume that the major risk when it comes to SaaS Security is data access risk. However, there’s more than just that one aspect to consider. The importance of SaaS security is equally essential for both SaaS providers and their customers. Undergoing a cyberattack or data breach is a common risk for SaaS systems. According to Exploding Topics, the SaaS industry has seen a whopping 500% increase in size over the past seven years and has managed to garner a worth of $170 billion by 2022. It is one of the fastest-growing segments of the IT industry.

However, with its steady growth, the level of security threat to the company’s data is also unparalleled. Here are some of the security threats and risks you may face in 2023:

1. Ransomware

When your SaaS applications are the target of a security breach, threats can use the most basic or the most sophisticated methods to attack business-critical data. Some of the ways that you may get attacked via ransomware are: 

• Cybercriminals bait using OAuth application phishing emails.
• Cybercriminals bait through user clicks on various links. 
• Unauthorized user sign-ins into their account. 
• Cybercriminals bait by sending out application requesters to users to allow access to read emails and/or provide different functionalities. 
• By clicking “accept” to either of these emails or links, users provide an OAuth token that hands over control to the cloud-based email/drive, assisting in breach. 
• Once the users log back into their emails/drives – they will find their data and info encrypted – indicating that the ransomware has deployed.

2. Third-Party Risk Management

Merging unauthorized third-party vendors into a company’s internal processes can pose a massive security risk for companies. Companies must test and approve third-party vendors after a thorough assessment period to ascertain how safe the application is for company-wide users. 

Conducting security assessments of these third-party vendors can be useful to help companies collect information on the security aspects of the third-party vendors.

3. Identity Management Issues

Identity management and access control are fragile yet key aspects of security surveillance. If your SaaS company runs on a private network, knowing who accesses and to whom access is available can be key to securing the network from cyberattacks. 

Set policies and services to control access permissions that authenticate usage. Reach out to your cybersecurity providers to avail of verification technology to help minimize any security risks due to identity management issues and crises.

4. Severe Lack of Transparency

SaaS providers tend to withhold information from clients regarding the security status within the company. Although they promise to keep client data safer than other providers by assuring that their systems are reliable alternatives to competitor solutions, that may not be the case. The severe lack of transparency between SaaS businesses and clients is a cause for concern. 

When it comes to security risks, the issue of transparency should be worked on to establish a level of trust parallel to none else. Leaving unanswered questions for clientele can cause distrust and not help meet client needs.

5. Data Breaches

While availing services from a SaaS provider, ensure they are not responsible for all your security needs. This is true, especially since you don’t know the cybersecurity protocols, tools, and technologies to measure these aspects. Finding the right way to control access to your data is essential. By actively assigning importance to controlling the security of your resources and assets, security becomes second nature for your company as you use SaaS technologies to enhance business. 

With constant monitoring, your resources are safer, and just as with any other aspect of your network, finding a trained IT security team to help monitor your SaaS tools, resources, and assets is detrimental to the safety of your business, especially in 2023.

6. Secure Access to the Cloud

SaaS mostly uses the cloud, although you can opt for on-premises services. By procuring remote access for employees, in this age of remote working and hybrid working models, the need to ensure cloud access security is equally important. Malicious factors could track your private network if your cloud access is compromised, deeming the business at severe risk. This is by far the most common SaaS risk companies are perceptible to. 

Further, learn about 6 Common Causes that Lead to SaaS Security Breaches.

Here is the cloud data security checklist that you should measure your security needs against in the year 2023:

– Reduce Your SaaS blast radius

If a cyberattacker has compromised a user on the SaaS network, aim to reduce their blast radius. Everything that an attacker can access using the compromised user accounts needs to be frozen and cut off from the entire environment. Doing so alienates them and stops them in their tracks to minimize damage.

– Enable MFA for employee access

You can eliminate the breach by rolling out and enabling multi-factor authentication across cloud-based apps and services for each individual account. By making MFA mandatory, you can easily regulate users’ opt-in and opt-out.

– Watch out for unusual activity across the cloud environment

Attackers will easily trigger an alert of their presence if they jump through layers to access sensitive data. You can catch threats and risks earlier by keeping a steady watch for any unusual activity across the cloud environment. 

– Enforce Offboarding Processes

The presence of active ghost users at present has increased as the use of more SaaS apps and services is prevalent. As employees offboard, you must revoke permissions across all the cloud services adopted by the company.

– Adopt a Zero-Trust Approach

By far, the best defense against ransomware, in this age and day, is the zero-trust approach. With the zero-trust approach in cloud security, users are unable to access anything more than they need.

– Check SaaS Application Settings

Misconfiguration of your SaaS application settings can expose your critical assets to threats. This fact makes re-checking and ensuring that the application settings are updated timely and that it does not leave data exposed to risks.

– Data First Approach

Sure, plenty can be done to secure endpoints and vectors outside the network. However, by changing your security approach to secure your centralized repositories before focusing on outside dealings, you can ensure that you have a secure data-first approach.

7. Disaster Recovery Efforts

Even with the most efficient and advanced cybersecurity checks in place, you can lose your resources and put them at risk. Outages, natural disasters, and other events could falter your data safety. In such cases, it’s crucial to have a disaster recovery plan in place.

In Conclusion

Due to the steady rise in threats, the level of cyber attacks over the past few years, and the volatile nature of the SaaS market and its growth, hackers will keep trying to devalue the software’s reputation through targeted attacks. 

By being aware of the type of cyberattacks and taking the necessary precautions to avoid a data breach, you can avoid these top SaaS security risks with the actionable solutions mentioned above.