SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) continuously monitors security risks in Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications. It scans these applications for misconfigurations, excessive permissions, compliance risks, and similar issues. When found, SSPM tools allow teams to easily manage and resolve these issues. 

Some SSPM tools also let security leaders compare their application configurations against industry frameworks. They may provide in-depth visibility and enable fully automated remediation of application-specific threats. This dramatically reduces the time and risk of error associated with SaaS application vulnerabilities. 

SSPM solves a specific problem that security leaders often face 

At first glance, SSPM appears similar in scope to many other tools and processes. While it shares much in common with things like Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) and Vulnerability Management, SSPM is a distinct process designed to solve a specific problem. 

What makes SSPM unique is its focus on the configuration risks of individual SaaS applications. Instead of taking a holistic view of the entire organization’s IT tech stack and environment, it looks at security risks unique to the third-party cloud-based tools that the organization uses. 

For example, many enterprise organizations use tools like Slack, Salesforce, and ZenDesk. Each of these applications comes with its own unique security risks, changing the overall security risk profile of the organization that uses them. 

Each of the example tools also come with security settings that can be configured to prevent fraud and abuse. Most security technologies can’t access those specific settings, so it’s up to security practitioners to do that work manually. 

The problem is that both legitimate users and unauthorized threat actors may change those settings over time. This can impact the organization’s security posture in unpredictable ways without triggering alarms and investigations in the process. SSPM removes that blind spot by giving security teams visibility and control over application-specific security configurations and compliance. 

How do SSPM tools work? 

SSPM tools connect to your organization’s SaaS applications and continuously monitor their activities for misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, and non-compliance: 

• Misconfigurations occur when administrators and privileged users accidentally change the application’s settings in ways that leave data exposed to potential cyberattack. Identifying these misconfigurations requires insight into the latest threat intelligence and attack trends, making them difficult to detect manually. 
• Vulnerabilities are security flaws that are accidentally built into the application itself. These are usually addressed with security updates and patches, which is a common form of vulnerability management. SSPM complements vulnerability management by protecting against potential threats that security patches may not address. 
• Compliance issues can be difficult to address in a complex enterprise environment. SSPM identifies problems that could result in compliance violations, helping security leaders proactively address those issues and demonstrate compliance effectively. 

Without SSPM, securing complex SaaS tech stacks is a slow and error-prone process 

Imagine an enterprise organization with hundreds of different SaaS apps integrated into its tech stack. Each of these third-party applications plays its own role in compliance and has its own security settings. Attackers are constantly looking for opportunities to gain entry to the network through third-party apps. 

Without SSPM, the enterprise security team must gain a deep understanding of how each app works. It must then configure each app to align with the company’s security and compliance needs. That process must be repeated for each of the several hundred apps in use at the organization, across all  business departments. 

But this is not a one-time process. Any employee with the appropriate permissions can change those settings. It may be an honest mistake—or it may be a malicious insider preparing to launch an attack. There is no way to tell without detecting the configuration change and conducting an investigation. 

That means the organization must commit in-house security resources solely to the task of monitoring third-party SaaS applications for configuration changes on a regular basis. This is exactly the kind of high-volume, low-impact task perfectly suited to intelligent automation.  

3 ways SSPM closes security gaps that other tools can’t address 

Human error and misconfigurations are behind 31% of cloud security breaches. In most enterprise environments, Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASBs) are supposed to address and mitigate these risks for cloud-enabled SaaS applications. However, this approach leaves security gaps that SSPM closes in three important ways: 

1. SSPM grants programmatic access to application settings

CASBs are not designed for granular control of application settings and configurations. Instead, they typically adopt a “data first” approach. They employ data loss prevention (DLP) technology to keep threat actors from gaining access to sensitive information, login credentials, and the like.  

This is important, but it doesn’t take the dozens of different security settings every SaaS app has. SSPM gives security teams the ability to automate configurations for things like password requirements, file access permissions, and more—all from within the application itself. 

2. SSPM keeps application settings secure over time 

Enterprise SaaS deployments are rarely operated by a single employee. It’s often a team, with several stakeholders who may have competing visions of how the application should work in a business context. There’s no guarantee that every stakeholder will coordinate effectively on security guidelines and prevent configuration drift.  

Over time, the preferred configuration for that tool will likely change. Those small changes may eventually lead to security gaps, compliance violations, and vulnerabilities. SSPM helps security teams identify these changes and take action in response. 

3. Securing SaaS requires a different approach than traditional software 

The SaaS model has earned its popularity because it provides clear advantages over traditional software. SaaS products offer global availability out-of-the-box along with automatic updates and on-demand infrastructure. However, these applications don’t live on-premises, and can’t be secured according to the same rules. 

For example, in a traditional software environment, sharing a dashboard with “everyone” usually means “everyone in the organization”. In a commercially available SaaS tool, it might actually mean, “everyone on the internet.” 

Similarly, SaaS apps dynamically update themselves according to their vendors’ schedules. That means you occasionally get access to new features and functionalities, but also that the security risk profile of each app will change in an unpredictable way. 

Take control over your SaaS tech stack 

Protecting your organization from malware threats, malicious insiders, and data breaches means gaining deep visibility into every corner of your tech stack. Third-party SaaS applications should not be exempt from this rule simply because they are sometimes difficult to manage.  

Partner with Lumifi and proactively secure your IT environment against a wide range of cyber threats. Leverage best-of-breed technology backed by human expertise to proactively identify and mitigate misconfigurations before threat actors can exploit them.