Today, there is a SaaS solution for every need. Each year, businesses increasingly depend on SaaS platforms for diverse tasks – ranging from website analytics to accounting, and from payroll management to email automation.
By harnessing these services, companies can focus on their core skills and objectives while incorporating various third-party SaaS solutions either as integral parts of their offerings, or within their daily operations.
As a result of their ease of access and activation, IT leaders frequently may not always be fully cognizant of the full spectrum of SaaS platforms that are being utilized by their employees.
Dependency on SaaS is inevitable, yet it introduces important risks and security concerns.
The SaaS attack surface
Enterprise SaaS services necessitate deep integration with a company’s technology stack, utilizing APIs (application programming interfaces) and generating subdomains for various functions.
The security of a business is only as strong as its weakest SaaS provider because these varied software components and interconnections collectively form the SaaS attack surface.
With the growing reliance on SaaS platforms, the attack surface of companies continues to expand annually.
The top security hazards of employing third-party SaaS providers
1. Data leaks
B2B SaaS providers are prime targets for data breaches due to the fact that they process customer data for numerous organizations. In the event of a breach, regulations like the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) in the EU and CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) in the USA have introduced important responsibilities for organizations using third-party services for data processing.
Businesses can mitigate the risks by conducting thorough due diligence before onboarding new SaaS providers.
However, IT departments must stay vigilant by conducting regular audits, maintaining continuous monitoring, and enforcing strict security policies when adopting new SaaS tools.
2. Supply chain attacks
If a third-party SaaS provider suffers a security breach, it may enable the attackers to also breach the provider’s clients by means of a supply chain attack.
The potential for this depends on the depth of integration between the SaaS provider and its clients, as well as the objectives and capabilities of the attackers.
Preventive measures against supply chain attacks involve carefully managing the access rights granted to applications, and thoroughly testing all updates in isolated environments. These measures can significantly reduce the likelihood of a successful attack.
3. External attack surface expansion
The use of Software as a Service introduces new risks related to an expanded external attack surface that includes vulnerable subdomains and APIs, and the ports used for integration.
Abandoned user accounts and records resulting from discontinued SaaS usage pose particular threats that are often overlooked by businesses.
One solution to address these risks could be to use external attack surface management tools, which take an outside-in approach to identify and manage vulnerable assets and also continuously monitor the external attack surface.
The new digital Comply platform
Introducing our groundbreaking digital Comply platform for AP management, designed to revolutionize data security and mitigate the aforementioned risks.
With state-of-the-art encryption protocols, multi-factor authentication, role- and rules-based data access, real-time monitoring, and proactive threat detection mechanisms, Comply platform offers unparalleled protection for your valuable data assets.
Our event log tracks every access and event that occurs inside the platform and to your data, while our routine backups ensure that your data is safely stored offsite in the event of an attack on your company or any other disaster.
Comply Platform is built on the state-of-the-art cloud provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS), which is architected to be the most secure global cloud infrastructure. Furthermore, Comply is also an accredited Peppol Service Provider for B2G document exchange, guaranteeing its security for this type of document exchange.
Say goodbye to vulnerabilities and embrace a new era of secure AP management operations with our innovative platform.
