The 15 Most Common Security Risks For SaaS Applications And How To Fix Them
Nowadays SaaS has become trendy and utilized as a common software model in the world but the SaaS security concerns are also growing with it. The experts in the market are saying that its buzz not going to down very soon. SaaS apps are quite popular due to a few reasons. Firstly, the customers don't have to invest in storage, backups, and server rooms to utilize such software. The second best thing is that the SaaS software cost is too less compared to traditional software.
However, SaaS software is not only revolutionary in the cloud service model, but it is also bringing up new security issues with it. If SaaS organizations store the huge data of users in the cloud that it creates a huge possibility of attack by hackers. Even 66% of IT experts accept that security is the major issue when it comes to cloud technologies. Every tech companies are aware of the necessity of cyber security for their success in the market, and that’s why the information security market is growing rapidly in the current world.
So below in this article, we list the common security risks associated with SaaS solution development and how can you fix them appropriately. These will help you a lot to protect your business data.
The 14 most common security risks for SaaS applications
The most common security risks are:
1. Insecure data storage
Apart from malicious attacks, there are lots of reasons why stored data may be lost in SaaS software. The major reasons behind it may be the accidental deletion of data by the cloud service supplier, a physical disaster like fire or earthquake, loss of the encryption key, and insufficient knowledge about CSP's storage model these all reasons can lead to the permanent loss of client's data.
2. Lack of data encryption
Due to the lack of data encryption, private data may be disclosed in front of unauthorized persons in SaaS software and this simply means that someone were to gain access to the server where the important client’s data is stored and they would be able to see it effortlessly.
3. Insufficient access control
The one more usual security issue may be with SaaS apps is insufficient access control. This permits to user to access data or functionality that shouldn’t be accessed by him. For instance, a customer might be able to access important financial data besides they only have permission to access the sales data.
4. Lack of two-factor authentication
Passwords are not sufficient to keep secure and protected all of your business accounts in the modern era of cloud-based technology. The very smallest businesses are also creating lots of different accounts just because of the popularity and rapid growth of SaaS technology,
It is a very difficult task for users to manage 100 different accounts. This causes employees to utilize simply guessed, or reuse passwords around all accounts, which is not good and can create gaps in the overall security of the company.
5. Weak password policies
SaaS development makes essential to the utilization of SSO platforms and SaaS applications acquired outside of IT often bypass your SSO platform, and this thing can lead to weak passwords that may be responsible for another attack vector for hackers. According to a report from Digital Shadows, there are 24 billion username as well as password combinations circulating right now in cybercriminal marketplaces. It may be very dangerous for your company.
6. Malicious insiders
In the modern world, the Insider has become a real cyber warning to companies for a noticeable reason: just because they are already a part of the company and most of the time they are considered as a trusted person. Malicious has insider knowledge of about the company’s proprietary data and purposely misutilization of it can make negatively impact the company.
7. Phishing attack
Phishing email has been a general way of cyber attack nowadays and it is responsible for over 90% of successful cyber attacks at the current time. Cybercriminals utilize phishing emails to scam victims into offering payloads using malicious attachments or URLs, harvesting credentials with the support of fake login pages, or general fraud through impersonation.
8. Malware attack
Malware is considered a harmful cyber threat universally, and now it has also targeted SaaS companies or in other words, the SaaS organization has been primary for the attackers. Malware is a type of software that is specifically developed to disable or damage computers. It can be easily installed on a computer and would not get come to know about it, and once it is installed, then it may be very difficult to remove it from the system
It may be the major reason for the problems like informative data loss, system downtime, as well as financial losses.
9. Denial of service attacks
One another type of security-related risk that SaaS providers may face is the denial-of-service attack which short name is a DOS attack. A DoS attack can happen when an attacker tries to stop genuine users from accessing a service by flooding the service with requests that it can’t handle and just because of this the service may be engaged or slow down drastically which makes it almost impossible to access it for the original users and its consequences may be serious for both suppliers and its clients.
10. Insufficient security testing
Insufficient security testing may be one of the potential risks for the SaaS platforms and their users and it can be responsible for compliance issues, worse as well as costly data breaches.
11. Inadequate incident response plan
If any organization doesn’t have an incident response plan so it may be dangerous because it increases the risk of malicious cyber attacks, data breaches, and damage to the security of the company overall it is a must for the company to have this response plan.
12. Lack of security awareness training
If the company does not contain a formal security awareness program for all of its users of SaaS apps then it can raise the difficulties like data exposure that increase the security risks, like phishing scams, social engineering attacks, unintentional leaks of confidential data, etc.
13. Insecure APIs
APIs are so much an important part of any organization because it enables the monitoring as well as management of cloud services; that’s why it may be dangerous if they get exposed. The insecure APIs can create the issues like authentication problems, data encryption-related difficulties as well as access control-based issues so you should ensure there is an appropriate process is must control API connections with SaaS products.
14. Insufficient activity monitoring
In the absence of sufficient activity monitoring, the company will miss the audit trail for security analysis, and it can allow attackers to attack numerous times to penetrate multiple ecosystem mechanisms further as well as the company will also not be able to receive the raw traffic data which prevents the potential threats.
How to fix common security risks
Let's take a look at how to fix these common security risks
1. Secure data storage
Several organizations are not completely prepared for data breach issues, and the management of clients’ data is extremely important. So you can back up your data in various locations and makes sure that no particular system failure will be able to damage your security. Today’s too many SaaS organizations are offering these features as a part of their product, but you also have to be attentive with backups to stop potentially terrible losses of important data of the client.
2. Data encryption
Cloud applications are generally not covered or protected by usual methods such as firewalls, so they usually depend on key management as well as data encryption. So numerous clients manage this issue on their end and they generally prefer their keys with the support of a local hardware facility. The data can be easily protected with the help of Transport Data Encryption (TDE). The transferred data can be protected via Transport Layer Security (TLS).
3. Access control
SaaS users need to integrate with IAM tools for better access control. When enterpriser’s users access another segment of an enterprise-wide platform so at that time they don’t want a different password. It can be easily identified who has accessed what as well as when is an essential element with the support of sophisticated access control in any IAM system.
4. Two-factor authentication
It can put an additional layer of security in front of passwords to protect them from malicious activity as well as for standard login procedures.
The 2FA which is also known as multi-factor authentication can support companies to deal with security risks by helping their employees to manage account access. All applications, devices, and logins are the paths into your company, and protection is very important for all kinds of in all the segments organizations so it is important to use a 2FA authentication system for safety.
5. Strong Password policies
Strong password policies are essential for protecting sensitive data and preventing unauthorized access to systems. A strong password policy is a set of rules that define how users should create and manage their passwords. It should include requirements for password length, complexity, expiration, and storage.
Password length is an important factor in creating a strong password policy. Passwords should be at least 8 characters long, but longer passwords are even better. Longer passwords are more difficult to guess and can provide additional layers of security.
Password complexity is also important. Passwords should contain a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. This makes it harder for attackers to guess the password or use brute force methods to crack it.
The Google Chrome Password Manager can prevent the utilization of passwords that were involved in previous hacks as well as it is also capable to stop credential-stuffing attacks.
With the support of this password sync feature, every enterprise app can utilize a similar secure password and it will also be fruitful for the end users because they will have to remember just a single set of important credentials.
6. Social engineering
Several SaaS apps are providing vanity URLs through which the user can create customizable web addresses for landing pages, file-sharing links, and many more things. So it will be beneficial for the users to utilize the vanity URLs just because it is offering easy to remember links to their users and is also capable to prevent social engineering attacks, phishing campaigns, malware distribution, and many more serious issues.
7. Phishing Protection
The National Cyber Security Centre always suggests to users acquire a multi-layered method. The experts suggest you make wider your protection as well as security measures. For this, first of all, you will have to create obstacles as well as make it hard for the attackers to reach your user. The second important thing is that you have to assist the user in identifying and reporting supposed phishing emails. And in the end, you can take additional actions to protect your business from hidden phishing attacks, and make sure to address threats speedily.
8. Malware Protection
It is essential to keep the recent offline backup of your vital data and files to reduce this kind of cybersecurity threat. Law enforcement doesn’t support or accept the payment of ransom demands. It is necessary to be aware from the pay the ransom because there will be no assurance about that you would recover access to your data or machine and your system would still be infected, as well as for the attackers you could become a possible target in the future. Companies should always take action to reduce the effect of data extraction.
9. Denial of service attacks protection
There are some trustworthy approaches available through which we can stop DDoS attacks. The primary method is to keep a separate server farm on various network sections, with dissimilar DNS. If the network integrating your primary DNS is being consumed so you can go towards the secondary DNS on other different and the duplicate cloud infrastructure is a must for this procedure.
10. Strong security testing
You can conduct security awareness campaigns for your existing users in your company to avoid security mishaps. If end users don’t have awareness about the security misshapes in the cloud field serious issues may be created for them like an exposition of their important data, phishing scams as well as intentional leaks of private data, therefore, an awareness program is necessary for the users.
The baseline training should be offered by your internal security team for everyone before they start to utilize the app and it should cover all the important points from data privacy procedures to cybersecurity attacks.
11. Incident response plan
Companies need to design strong IRP as well as it’s so much essential to support and optimize your security processes over time. If you have a robust IRP then it can support you to prevent major fallout which occurs due to the security incident and any SaaS business needs to move rapidly while maintaining the trust of its clients in an aggressive marketplace.
12. Lack of security awareness training
Data security is an increasingly important issue in today's digital world. With the rise of cybercrime, it is essential that businesses and individuals take steps to protect their data. Data security awareness is the process of educating people about the importance of protecting their data and the steps they can take to do so.
Data security awareness starts with understanding the risks associated with data. This includes understanding the types of threats that exist, such as malware, phishing, and ransomware. It also involves understanding the potential consequences of a data breach, such as financial loss, reputational damage, and legal liability.
Once people understand the risks associated with data, they can begin to take steps to protect it. This includes implementing strong passwords, using two-factor authentication, and encrypting sensitive data. It also involves regularly backing up data and using secure networks and devices.
Data security awareness also involves educating people about the importance of being vigilant when it comes to their data. This includes being aware of suspicious emails or links, not sharing passwords or other sensitive information, and being careful when using public Wi-Fi networks.
13. Strong API Authentication
Unsecured APIs are a major security risk for businesses and organizations. They can be used to access sensitive data, manipulate systems, and even launch attacks. Fortunately, there are steps that can be taken to secure APIs and protect against malicious activity.
Also, Cloud security professional can help you with their best practice for "API hygiene." APIs calls should be designed with authentication and proper access control with the encryption and API keys must be protected in secure database and not should reusable or anyone.
You can also regularly monitor the API for any suspicious acti.0vity. This includes monitoring for unauthorized access attempts, suspicious requests, and other signs of malicious activity. If any suspicious activity is detected, it should be investigated immediately.
14. Regular security audits
Security audits are an important part of any organization’s security strategy. Regular security audits help organizations identify potential security risks and vulnerabilities and take steps to mitigate them.
Security audits are conducted to assess the effectiveness of an organization’s security policies, procedures, and controls. They can also be used to identify areas where additional security measures may be needed. Security audits can be conducted internally or externally, depending on the organization’s needs.
Internal security audits are conducted by the organization’s own staff or a third-party consultant. These audits focus on the organization’s internal processes and procedures, such as access control, authentication, and data protection. Internal security audits can help organizations identify weaknesses in their security posture and take steps to address them.
External security audits are conducted by an independent third-party auditor. These audits focus on the organization’s external environment, such as its network infrastructure, applications, and data storage systems. External security audits can help organizations identify potential threats from outside sources and take steps to protect their systems from attack.
Regular security audits are essential for any organization that wants to protect its data and systems from unauthorized access or malicious attack. Security audits can help organizations identify potential weaknesses in their security posture and take steps to address them before they become a problem. Regular security audits also help organizations stay up-to-date with the latest security technologies and best practices, ensuring that their systems remain secure and compliant with industry standards.
Conclusion
As the SaaS industries are growing rapidly so it is essential for businesses to must be aware of their security measures to avoid expensive blunders and attacks. You should have great SaaS security checklists, inspiring risk assessment processes, as well as liberal end users. So you can Follow our simple suggestions to stay focused on SaaS application security as well as to stop possible attacks before they occur or you can also take support from the SaaS development experts to simply manage the security of your SaaS stack.
