SaaS tools are spreading rapidly. According to Spendflo’s State of SaaS Buying 2023 report, large organizations now manage more than 350 applications across departments. While this cloud-first approach improves collaboration and productivity, it also introduces risks such as data breaches, weak access controls, and compliance challenges. The good news? With strong protocols and a proactive risk management approach, SaaS platforms can be both safe and reliable.This blog provides a step-by-step SaaS cloud security checklist to help you safeguard applications, data, and workflows.

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What Is SaaS Cloud Security?

SaaS cloud security protects cloud-hosted applications by securing infrastructure, platforms, and data centers. It ensures data integrity, access control, and compliance while preventing cyber threats. Both providers and users share responsibility for maintaining strong security measures and configurations.

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Why is SaaS security important? 

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SaaS applications power daily business operations, but their accessibility over the internet makes them attractive targets for cyber threats. Here are the key reasons why SaaS security must be a top priority:

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1. Protection of Sensitive Data

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Customer records, financial data, intellectual property and internal communications are usually kept in SaaS platforms. A breach here can:

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• Disclose personal information of users or sensitive company documents.
• Result in identity theft, financial fraud, or intellectual property theft.
• Harm customer trust and business relationship in the long term.
  
  

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2. Rising Threat Landscape

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SaaS platforms are susceptible to evolving cyberattacks, including:

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• Phishing and credential theft targeting employees.
• API vulnerabilities that expose connected services.
• Zero-day exploits that attackers use before patches are released.
• Malware injection via third-party integrations.

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3. Interconnected Risks Across Apps

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Modern companies use dozens (sometimes hundreds) of SaaS apps that constantly exchange data and workflows.This creates:

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• Chain vulnerabilities: Once one application is compromised, attackers can move laterally into others.
• Shadow IT exposure: When employees use unapproved applications, they expose themselves to attacks.
• Complex monitoring requirements: The more applications, the more it is difficult to keep in sight.

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4. Compliance and Regulatory Requirements

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Strict data security and privacy regulations are set in most industries, including:

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• GDPR for EU data protection.
• HIPAA for healthcare data.
• PCI DSS of payment processing.
•  Lack of compliance does not only imply fines but legal and reputation loss.
  
  

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5. Business Continuity and Reputation

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A SaaS outage or security incident can disrupt operations and cause significant brand damage. Organizations risk:

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• Slow-down in the operations of locked systems or loss of data.
• Monetary blow of regulatory fines and breach recovery.
• Brand erosion since the customers have lost confidence in your capabilities to protect their data.

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Recommended read: 10 security risks your business cannot afford to ignore.
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SaaS cloud security checklist: Crucial elements

A comprehensive security checklist for SaaS assessment involves a layered approach encompassing various aspects of technology, processes, and people. Here's a breakdown of the Saas cloud security fundamentals:

1. Data encryption

Data encryption forms an essential layer of security within SaaS applications. It involves the protection of sensitive information both during transmission (in-transit encryption) and when stored (at-rest encryption). 

In-transit encryption uses secure protocols like TLS/SSL to safeguard data as it travels between users and SaaS servers, preventing interception by unauthorized parties. At-rest encryption ensures that data stored in databases or on storage devices remains encrypted, even if accessed physically, safeguarding it from unauthorized viewing or modification. 

2. Identity and access management (IAM)

IAM is crucial in governing user access to SaaS platforms. Access control policies, often based on role-based access control (RBAC), ensure that users have appropriate permissions based on their roles within the organization, limiting access to sensitive resources.

Deploy robust authentication mechanisms, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), to bolster the security of user accounts by requiring multiple verification methods beyond passwords. 

Efficient IAM practices also involve streamlined user provisioning and de-provisioning processes, ensuring prompt access for new users and revocation for departing ones. This minimizes the risk of unauthorized access. 

3. Compliance and governance

Compliance and governance in SaaS cloud security encompass a set of protocols and practices essential for adhering to industry regulations and internal policies. Regular audits ensure alignment with various standards such as GDPR, HIPAA, or industry-specific regulations. 

Establish a robust policy framework to create comprehensive security policies, procedures, and guidelines. This framework serves as a guiding principle for ensuring data protection, defining user access levels, and outlining incident response procedures. 

Focus on regular training and awareness programs are important to educate employees about security best practices, fostering a culture of compliance and accountability within the organization.

4. Vulnerability management

Vulnerability management helps you proactively identify, assess, and mitigate potential security vulnerabilities within SaaS systems. Conduct routine vulnerability assessments and penetration tests to identify weaknesses before malicious actors exploit them. 

These assessments reduce the likelihood of successful cyberattacks and data breaches, enhancing the overall resilience of their SaaS infrastructure.

5. Data loss prevention (DLP)

Data loss prevention focuses on identifying, monitoring, and mitigating the risks associated with unauthorized data access or transmission. Effective DLP involves classifying sensitive data to determine appropriate protection levels. 

Organizations can prevent data loss incidents by establishing policies and mechanisms to prevent breaches, including encryption, monitoring tools, and user access controls.

6. Backup and disaster recovery

Backing up data and a comprehensive disaster recovery plan are integral to SaaS security. Regularly backing up data ensures that information can be quickly restored in the event of system failure, cyberattacks, or data corruption. This minimizes disruptions and data loss. 

A well-defined disaster recovery plan outlines the steps and procedures to recover data and restore operations swiftly. Test this plan regularly to guarantee its effectiveness and readiness in emergencies. 

7. Network & infrastructure security

Network and infrastructure security begins with implementing robust firewall systems and intrusion detection/prevention mechanisms. Develop network segmentation strategies to create partitions, limiting access between different parts of the network and mitigating the potential impact of a breach. 

Additionally, enforce strong access controls, such as role-based permissions and authentication protocols, to bolster the defense against unauthorized access attempts. 

8. Virtual machines management

Managing virtual machines (VMs) within SaaS environments can help you maintain a secure system. Properly configure management to ensure VMs are set up securely and aligned with best security practices. Also, isolate and segment VMs to restrict lateral movement in case of a security breach to contain potential threats and prevent them from spreading across the system. 

Regular updates, patches, and security configurations applied to VMs significantly lessen the chances of vulnerabilities being exploited and contribute to a more secure SaaS environment.

Steps to a SaaS security assessment 

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1. Determine the Type of Audit Needed

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Any security evaluation starts with scope. In its absence, the process is likely to be left unfinished or disconnected with business requirements.

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• Establish the goal: Determine whether you want to perform a general security assessment or a compliance-oriented audit (such as GDPR or HIPAA), or a technical one such as vulnerability scans or penetration tests.
• Industry standards of the map: Various industries have various requirements possible: financial teams might be required to have PCI DSS, and healthcare organizations must conform to HIPAA.
• Set boundaries: Are all the SaaS applications or mission critical ones to be included in the audit? This ensures it is not a waste of time and also there is a measurement of results.
  
  

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2. Evaluate User Security Practices

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Employees are often the first line of defense but also the weakest link.

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SaaS security may be reinforced or destroyed by the user practices.

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• Access control: Implement the least privilege principle of accounts - users receive only the necessary access.
• Authentication policies: Establishing multi-factor authentication (MFA): Have MFA turned on across applications. Access using weak passwords or expired ones is one of the leading causes of SaaS breaches.
• User lifecycle: Track account creation and deactivation, in particular, employee onboarding and offboarding. One of the key weaknesses in security is inactive accounts.
• Awareness training: Check that the employees are aware of phishing risks, data handling procedures, and security policies of the company.
  
  

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3. Review Data Security Policies

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Your organization’s data handling practices determine whether sensitive information remains secure.

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• Data classification:Label and remove data based on sensitivity (e.g., public, confidential, restricted). This makes sure that there are adequate controls.
• Encryption: Check to ensure that there are good encryption measures (both during and after communication) as well as during storage. The most common oversights include weak encryption or unencrypted backups.
• Retention policies: Check the length of data retention, storage location and deletion processes should comply with the regulatory measures.
• Alignment of compliance: Check that the processes address the global and regional standards (GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, or PCI DSS).
  
  

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4. Check Provider Compliance

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Even if your internal practices are strong, gaps at the provider level can expose your organization.

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• Certifications and audits: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, or similar certifications are to be observed. These prove that the provider is up to the industry standards.
• Incident response: Determine how the provider identifies, reports and acts on security incidents. Are they 24/7 monitored?
• Disaster recovery: Have knowledge of their recovery time goals (RTOs) and their recovery point goals (RPOs). This provides outage business coverage.
• Transparency: It requires the request of audit reports, security white papers, and compliance attestations. Refusal to share documentation by the providers is a warning.
  
  

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5. Assess Security Resource Investment

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SaaS security is not a one-time project; it requires ongoing investment in people, tools, and processes.

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• Technology stack: Evaluate the appropriate tools used in your organization firewalls, intrusion detection / prevention systems, endpoint protection and monitoring systems.
• Committed staff: Find out whether security roles have been well-defined, and whether the staff possesses the appropriate skills. This is an area that is not sufficiently invested in by many companies.
• Training budget: Ongoing employee and IT team training would minimize the level of human error and enhance response times.
• Risk alignment: Compare your actual spend to the actual risks that were determined in the assessment. Underfunding creates loopholes, and overfunding in areas with low risks is a waste of resources.

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SaaS Cloud Security Architecture

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A strong SaaS security architecture provides the foundation for protecting cloud-hosted applications and ensuring compliance. It combines technical safeguards, configuration controls, and standardized processes to minimize risks across users, data, and integrations. Key components include:

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SaaS Security Architecture Frameworks

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Some frameworks like NIST Cybersecurity Framework and CSA Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM) provide organizations with a systematic approach to risk evaluation, responsibility, and best practice implementation. These frameworks establish rules of access control, encryption, incident response, and compliance monitoring- assisting the enterprises to remain consistent and audit ready.

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Tenant Separation and Isolation Mechanisms

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Since SaaS platforms often host multiple customers (tenants) on the same infrastructure, tenant isolation is critical. Mechanisms such as dedicated virtual environments, containers, and restricted access controls ensure one customer’s data cannot be accessed by another. Such mechanisms as special virtual environments, containers, and restricted access control are used to make sure that the data of one customer is not accessed by another one. Hard separation minimizes the chances of information leakage or cross-tenant.

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API Security Best Practices

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APIs form the foundation of SaaS integrations, however, they are also one of the established attack vectors. Key measures include:

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• Implementing powerful authenticated and authorized API calls.
• Stopping abuse by rate limiting.
• Authenticating all API traffic (TLS).
• Conducting regular APIs vulnerability auditing.
•  Organizations can minimize data exposure risks from integrations and third-party connections by securing and monitoring their APIs.

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Integration Security Protocols

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SaaS stacks in the modern world are based on dozens of tools that are interconnected. Every single integration is capable of increasing the attack surface. To have strong integration security, it must:

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• Trust connector that uses tokenized authentication.
• Monitoring of system to system data transfers.
• Curtailing the range of authorizations to avoid excess exposure.
•  This makes sure that workflow is not affected by security.

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Configuration Management Strategies

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One of the most widespread causes of SaaS data breaches is misconfigurations. Good configuration management incorporates:

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• Setting default least-privilege access.
• Periodically surveying assignment and permission to roles.
• Implementing security baselines on apps and integrations.
• After automated detection, use of automated fixes on risky configurations.
•  A proactive strategy assists organizations to seal the holes before the attackers can use them.

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SaaS Security Implementation

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Implementing SaaS security requires a systematic approach that covers technology, processes, and people. Below is a step-by-step framework organizations can follow:

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Step-by-Step Implementation Guides

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Begin with a gradual implementation to ensure that security is manageable and measurable:

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1. Inventory SaaS applications - Build the list of all apps that are in use including shadow IT.
2. Label data – Determine the sensitive information that is being kept where.
3. Prioritize risks - Invest in high-value applications and high- risk applications.
4. Implement security baselines - Unify access controls, MFA, and encryption in apps.
5. Test and verify - Penetration testing or audits should be used to validate protection functionality.

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Security Configuration Checklists

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The effective configuration checklist will provide uniformity of all SaaS tools:

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• Enforce MFA for all accounts.
• Use the least-privileged access control on users and roles.
• Immediately offboard unused accounts.
• It should be enabled to record audits and activities.
• Change passwords and API keys regularly.
•  These settings across vendors can be standardized with the aid of automated tools, e.g., the compliance monitoring offered by Spendflo.
  
  

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Monitoring and Detection Strategies

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There is no security without constant monitoring:

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• Live monitoring: Monitor logins, files, and API.
• Anomaly detection: Predict anomalies with AI-driven alerts.
• Shadow IT discovery: Before unsanctioned tools are risks, discover them.
•  The centralized dashboards provide a view to the security teams of every SaaS application.
  
  

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Incident Response Procedures

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No system is immune to breaches. Having a documented plan reduces downtime and damage:

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• Identify: Detect the incident using monitoring tools.
• Contain: Limit the impact by disabling compromised accounts or integrations.
• Eradicate: Patch vulnerabilities or revoke malicious access.
• Recover: Restore data from backups and validate system integrity.
• Review: Conduct a post-incident analysis to improve future defenses.
  
  

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Employee Training and Awareness Programs

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Human error is still one of the leading causes of SaaS breaches. Training programs should cover:

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• Recognizing phishing and social engineering attempts.
• Following secure password and MFA practices.
• Reporting suspicious activity promptly.
• Understanding data handling and compliance rules.
  Building a culture of shared responsibility ensures employees act as an extension of your security team.
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SaaS Security Tools and Technologies

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Securing SaaS applications requires a range of tools to cover access control, monitoring, data protection, and threat prevention.The key types of SaaS security technologies are listed below with examples of popular platforms in each of the main types:

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1. Cloud Access Security Broker (CASBs).

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CASBs serve as the intermediaries between users and SaaS applications, and they implement such security policies as encryption, data protection, and compliance monitoring.

 Examples: Netskope, Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps, Palo Alto Prisma Cloud, McAfee MVISION Cloud.

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2. Security Information and Event Management (SIEM).

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SIEM networks gather and process log information on SaaS and other applications in order to identify threats, activity monitoring and produce compliance reports.

 Examples: Splunk, IBM QRadar, Sumo Logic, LogRhythm.

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3. Access and Identity Management Solutions.

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IAM solutions regulate access of users, establish authentication, and provide single sign-on (SSO) among SaaS applications.

 Examples Okta, Ping Identity, Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD), Auth0.

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4. Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Tools.

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DLP solutions make sure that sensitive information does not go out of the organization as they oversee, identify and inhibit the sharing of sensitive information.

 Symantec DLP, Forcepoint DLP, Digital Guardian, Trellix DLP.

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5. Vulnerability Management Systems.

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These platforms detect, prioritize, and fix the security vulnerabilities of SaaS environments and integrations.

 Qualys, Tenable.io, Rapid7 InsightVM, CrowdStrike Falcon Spotlight.

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6. Zero Trust Security Solutions.

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Zero Trust platforms implement the policy of never trust, always verify by verifying user identity and device health each and every time a user tries to access it.

Examples: Zscaler, Palo Alto Networks Zero Trust, Cisco Duo, Illumio.

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7. SaaS Spend and Security Management Platforms

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On top of the conventional security boundaries, organizations must have an understanding of SaaS apps under their use, data flow among vendors, and vendor adherence to standards of security. Here is where Spendflo will come in.

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Spendflo helps businesses:

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• Identify shadow IT and centralize all the SaaS applications.
• Automate vendor compliance reviews and risk assessment.
• Standardize SaaS agreements with the implementation of secure procurement processes.
• Offer real time usage analytics in order to detect anomalies and optimize licenses.

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Ensure SaaS cloud security with Spendflo

Tackle SaaS security challenges with the leading SaaS buying and optimization platform Spendflo. Leverage the highly collaborative platform for streamlined vendor security reviews—onboard new SaaS tools by quickly identifying and flagging any potential security concerns. 

Spendlo Inbox offers a “Security Hub” where you can automate vendor risk management and review past Vendor reviews that you have initiated, ensuring security and compliance.

Spendflo's Vendor Trust brings together all collaborators, from vendor account executives to stakeholders across various departments, including IT, legal, infosec, and finance. It empowers you to:

• Seamlessly request and review essential security documents from vendors 
• Establish clear timelines for each stakeholder, accelerating the security review cycles
• Monitor upcoming renewals and get alerted on any changes in the security position of your vendors

With comprehensive vendor security, businesses can rely on Spendflo’s actionable recommendations to escalate concerns to internal stakeholders for faster resolutions and to navigate SaaS spending.

Curious to find out how much you can save in your SaaS spend? 

‍Get a free savings analysis with us today!

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Frequently Asked Questions

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1: Beyond technical controls, what are the biggest cultural and procedural challenges in securing SaaS?

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Several companies do not take into consideration human and process-based factors of SaaS security. Refusal to communicate between IT and business teams, absence of unified onboarding/offboarding processes, and the use of unapproved applications by employees (shadow IT) are some of the most common issues. The creation of a security-first culture, such as the provision of the procurement processes and a mandatory check of compliance minimizes these risks. Spendflo can help by centralizing the process of managing vendors and automation of security reviews.

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2: What are the most common security misconfigurations in SaaS applications, and how can they be prevented?

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Common misconfigurations are too broad user permissions, absence of multi-factor authentication, unencrypted data transfer, and neglected default settings. These loopholes usually occur when SaaS tools are bought and set up in isolated areas. Organizations should stop them by keeping a central inventory of all SaaS applications, conducting periodic audits, and automatic warning of risky settings. This is aided by Spendflo which identifies shadow IT and makes all vendor contracts comply with standards.

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3: How does the "shared responsibility model" apply to SaaS, and where does my company's responsibility begin and end?

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SaaS providers only have access to securing the application infrastructure but user access, data governance, and internal policy compliance lies with the customer. That is, the platform is managed by vendors, and how it is utilized is managed by your team. Strict policy with regard to managing the vendor risk and frequent monitoring are vital. Spendflo helps simplify this by bringing a vendor security approach to the surface and allowing you to see how your team is using every SaaS product.