Dmytro Lazarchuk is a cofounder and CEO of Relokia with over eight years of experience in digital marketing and data migration services.
In a September 2022 IBM survey of 3,000 businesses and tech executives globally, 25% of respondents shared that security concerns are the main challenge preventing them from reaching their cloud objectives. Many businesses today consider the cloud fraught with risks. The reality is not so harsh, though; the cloud can be a secure haven for your data—provided that you adhere to specific security best practices.
To harvest the immense benefits of using a cloud, businesses must address their SaaS security concerns with a working security strategy. What are these concerns in the first place?
Challenges In SaaS Security
• Shortage of IT security professionals. The market for IT security professionals, especially those working on cloud security, is tight, and companies compete fiercely to hire qualified specialists. On average, the U.S. has enough qualified professionals to fill only 66% of cybersecurity vacancies.
• Cloud migration difficulties. According to a 2023 Flexera survey, 78% of cloud decision-makers cited a lack of resources and expertise as a key cloud adoption challenge. A lack of experience working with cloud solutions can lead to migration missteps that compromise security.
• Data breaches and insider threats. Unfortunately, data breaches remain the biggest cloud computing challenge. According to the 2023 Thales Cloud Security Study, 39% of businesses surveyed experienced data breaches.
• SaaS sprawl. Some companies use more SaaS tools than they actually need. BetterCloud reported that in 2022, organizations used an average of 130 SaaS apps—18% more than in 2021. Running extra SaaS apps means there’s more to learn and manage, which creates more opportunities for error.
• Regulatory compliance. Clouds use relatively new technology. Thus, some standards for SaaS might be underdeveloped, and compliance often differs across countries or industries. Using SaaS tools that lack industry standards or don’t comply with international regulations compromises security.
• Certification and security standards. SaaS vendors are required to meet industry standards like SOC 2 and ISO 27001 to secure customer information. Certifying adherence to such standards is extra work for vendors but essential for mitigating security risks.
• Integration vulnerabilities. Third-party software integrations can be a gateway for cybercriminals. For example, despite presenting a high or medium level of risk, over 89% of third-party apps connected to Google Workspace can access confidential SaaS data. Companies should only choose SaaS solutions with properly protected integrations.
• Account hijacking. The risk of human error will always threaten the security of any technology. Sift reported a 354% year-over-year increase in account takeover events in Q2 2023. One of the reasons for this is human error like weak passwords or sharing credentials.
• Shadow IT. BetterCloud noted that 65% of all SaaS apps are unsanctioned, meaning that employees install them without their IT department’s permission. As a result, the employees and the IT team might not be aware of the security risks and vulnerabilities in those unapproved programs.
All of these challenges inhibit organizations from implementing cloud ecosystems. Fortunately, trends in cybersecurity for SaaS applications can help circumvent the challenges.
Keeping A Pulse On Top SaaS Security Trends
According to McKinsey, cyberattacks will cost companies $10.5 trillion a year by 2025—300% more than they did in 2015. To minimize the risk and cost of cyberattacks, companies must stay aware of current trends in data security. It’s critical that they take an active role in their SaaS security by using a shared responsibility model and cloud-native solutions developed with DevSecOps standards.
• Cybersecurity mesh. Connected devices, servers and third-party integrations pose challenges for security in SaaS applications. A cybersecurity mesh offers a distributed network of tools to protect each individual device in an IT system—creating a separate defense perimeter around every device.
Gartner, Inc. predicts that by 2024, companies implementing a security mesh will see a 90% reduction in the cost of individual security incidents.
• Hybrid and multi-cloud environments. To reduce risk, companies can store sensitive data locally while housing the rest in a set of public clouds. The Thales study revealed that 79% of businesses surveyed incorporated a multi-cloud environment.
• Zero-trust architecture (ZTA). With the rise of hybrid workplaces, employees access company IT systems from a variety of devices and locations. ZTA requires user authentication for all logins, granting minimum viable access. Plus, because ZTA assumes that any connection can constitute a breach, it minimizes blast radius and segment access.
• SASE framework. A security access service edge (SASE) can offer secure connectivity by combining network access and security tools in a single application. SASE provides instant connections to a cloud with built-in data safety tools like zero trust to automatically protect any connection any user makes.
• Shift to the public cloud for backup. Another trend we see is a shift to the public cloud to back up information. This shift is cost-effective and also offers increased security. Big public cloud storage providers have enough resources to implement cutting-edge data security.
• Metadata for data management. Metadata, or information about a dataset, can yield insights that improve data management and security. Whenever a file is modified, metadata is usually generated automatically. Analysis of the metadata in access logs, version histories and encryption statuses produces insights about data protection status.
• Advanced analytics. Real-time analytics, like the advanced analytics of the IBM Security Guardium Insights tool, can help companies notice unusual behaviors in real time and mitigate risks before they occur.
• Custom compliance policies. One-size-fits-all data policies won’t cover the individual security needs of all companies. Thus, more organizations are creating custom compliance policies—thereby deciding for themselves what data to monitor and how to capture it.
SaaS Security Overview
As the capabilities of cybercriminals evolve alongside new protection methods, a constant increase in data leak threats challenges SaaS security. However, that shouldn’t prevent you from leveraging the benefits of cloud computing.
Current cloud security trends allow companies to implement the highest possible level of data protection.
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