Security teams are aware of the comforting sense of safety that is associated with the use of security controls such as single sign-on (SSO) providers to manage their major apps and vital tools within the organization. When these apps are routed through Okta, Azure AD, or other identity providers, the SaaS environment is managed and accounted for. However, lurking underneath could be a vulnerable spot— the SSO blind spot. Although you may be vigilant, employees access many untracked apps through different sides, like social logins, personal email logins, and direct password creation. This is what we call Shadow Saas, which is not just limited to inventory issues.
Shadow SaaS is a complicated real-time security risk, including uncontrolled data exposure, many user-granted permissions, and unpredictable employee attitudes. As a result of this, important user data is trapped in untracked apps, which makes it quite challenging to properly measure the actual risk profile of an individual. This hinders the process of effective security management. In this article, we will delve into the step-by-step process to evaluate Shadow SaaS within your organization and guide you to proceed with a user-centric risk management strategy.
What is Shadow SaaS?
Shadow SaaS is any cloud-based app or software adopted by the employees in an organization without proper knowledge, procurement compliance, or tracking IT and security departments. It is the modern, more pervasive evolution of an enduring security issue within the digital sphere.
Difference Between Shadow SaaS and Shadow IT
Shadow IT is a vast, old term for unapproved hardware, software, or services utilized in an organization. On the other hand, Shadow SaaS is a particular and quickly growing subset of this issue, emphasizing especially untracked cloud apps and services. For instance, Shadow IT includes personal devices like computers to access the organizational data. On the other hand, Shadow SaaS explains unauthorized web-based apps used for jobs like file-sharing, company data, or document summarization.
As SaaS apps are mainly web-based, need no installation, and can be accessed immediately, they are quite convenient for the staff to adopt instantly. This low entry barrier makes Shadow SaaS a way more dynamic and complicated risk to deal with compared to the previous unapproved company software.
Growth of Shadow SaaS in Modern Organizations
Shadow SaaS is becoming a great issue in the contemporary digital workplace. There are several tailored, user-friendly SaaS tools accessible and associated with the shift to the remote and hybrid work modes. These tools equip staff to look for and adopt apps that streamline their responsibilities and improve productivity. Productivity is often considered a positive business factor. However, it becomes an issue when it potentially challenges contemporary security policies.
What is SSO Blind Spot?
The key factor that supports the growth of Shadow SaaS in an organization is the SSO blind spot. Many security teams have a false sense of security since their visibility is restricted to the apps connected to their official identity provider. Teams can view and control access to assigned tools. However, this shows only one side of the coin.
Such a lack of visibility is a huge, unmonitored blind spot for many employees who sign up on apps to use alternative ways. Microsoft reported that more than 75% of the staff who utilize AI bring their own AI tools to the workplace. This number has risen to 80% for the small and medium-sized organizations. Each of these tools suggests Shadow SaaS, mainly when staff use ‘Sign in with Google/Microsoft’ with company credentials or register with their work email and unique passwords. Such actions are entirely transparent to the IdP, which suggests security teams remain unaware that the app is being used, data is being shared, or permissions are being granted.
Risks and Security Implications of Untracked SaaS Apps
Shadow SaaS is inherently concealed and presents a long list of risks that can have severe impacts on organizations, ranging from data leakage and non-compliance to potential reputational damage.
Data Security, Shadow AI, and Compliance Risks
Employees often manage sensitive or confidential information while using untracked SaaS applications. For instance, while uploading customer lists in a new marketing solution, assessing financial data in an unapproved analytics tool, or inputting proprietary company information into an unapproved Shadow AI tool. However, as these applications remain unreviewed or unchecked against the security protocols, there is no confirmation regarding the storage, processing, or protection of the data. Such a gap in the compliance results in data loss or develops a potential compliance breach if the data comes under data protection laws like GDPR, CCPA, or HIPAA.
Hidden Risk of Over-Privileged Access
The risks related to the Shadow SaaS also include the granted permissions. Staff often authenticate broad influential permission requests without security, mainly if they want to utilize the application immediately. Such permissions could lead to granting access to ‘read all emails,’ ‘check and manage files on Google Drive,’ and ‘access the full contact list.’ However, once an employee unwillingly grants over-privileged permissions to an untracked third-party app, they significantly increase the potential data siphon that results in severe security risks. If that SaaS vendor is ever faulty or the app itself is harmful, attackers can use those additional permissions to access and acquire a huge amount of sensitive data.
Reputational Damage
Data violations emerging from compromised shadow SaaS applications can have severe implications for the organizational reputation. Such loss of trust among the customers can be problematic to regain, or even impossible. Together with the expanding cases of cybersecurity issues and large-scale data breaches, boards of directors and executives are increasingly concerned about these risks. IT departments are lagging behind in ensuring full visibility and control over their overall SaaS environments poses a potential risk to the organizational governance and risk management approaches.
How to Find and Mitigate Shadow SaaS Successfully?
Managing Shadow SaaS needs a comprehensive approach. Rather than just blocking the know applications, you should focus on finding out, evaluating, and managing the areas where SaaS is being used across the workplace.
Step 1: Carry Out Technical Audits
Firstly, it is essential to gain visibility above the SSO provider in the organization to find the unknown SaaS applications. Technical audits are important for finding traffic to unknown cloud services and untracked applications. Hence, IT teams should emphasize evaluating:
- DNS and firewall logs to find common connections to the untracked cloud app domains
- Browser extension inventories to find the installed plugins, since many are gateways to SaaS services
- Endpoint data from EDR tools can unfold processes and network connections associated to the untracked apps
- SaaS integration logs from the approved platforms to find authorized third-party apps
Step 2: Include Employees to Understand ‘Why’
Identification of technical SaaS discovery suggests what is being used. However, it does not unfold the underlying purposes. Understanding the ‘why’ is important to find the business needs or workflow gaps that are influencing employees to use unapproved tools for different tasks. Interact with the employees using use-case surveys or tailored app inventories, with an emphasis on a collaborative approach the encryption. Such information can assist you in finding the need for new approved tools and encourage a collaborative security environment wherein the employees become companions instead of adversaries.
Step 3: Shift to Intelligent Risk Prioritization
Shadow SaaS management is not only about discovery, but also about the many apps in use. Hence, you should focus on prioritizing risks intelligently, starting with the use of vendor security ratings to get a quick, objective score of the security posture of the identified application.
Step 4: Adopt an Effective Response Strategy
After prioritizing the risks, you should focus on risk-based response instead of just blocking the applications. Deploying this strategy is not just about rejecting the access but about allowing business security. A strong response strategy must include:
- Verification and action
- Offering alternatives to the apps
- Implement granular measures
- Block and train employees
Summary
Overall, depending on SSO monitoring is not enough in this digital workplace landscape, as it creates a blind spot. The major risk lies in the occurrence and usage of unauthorized applications with additional permissions and untracked data access. Hence, this guide could be followed to overcome these risks.
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