SaaS Security | Breaking Cybersecurity News | The Hacker News

SaaS applications contain a wealth of sensitive data and are central to business operations. Despite this, far too many organizations rely on half measures and hope their SaaS stack will remain secure. Unfortunately, this approach is lacking and will leave security teams blind to threat prevention and detection, as well as open to regulatory violations, data leaks, and significant breaches. If you understand the importance of SaaS security, and need some help explaining it internally to get your team's buy-in, this article is just for you — and covers:  Why SaaS data needs to be secured Real-world examples of SaaS apps attacks The attack surface of SaaS apps Other types of less suitable solutions including CASB or manual audit ROI of an SSPM What to look for in the right SSPM Download the full SSPM Justification Kit e-book or request the kit in presentation format with your logo! What Is in Your SaaS Data? Nearly all business operations run through SaaS. So does HR, sales,

When you connect your organization's Google Drive account to ChatGPT, you grant ChatGPT extensive permissions for not only your personal files, but resources across your entire shared drive. As you might imagine, this introduces an array of cybersecurity challenges. This post outlines how to see ChatGPT activity natively in the Google Workspace admin console, and how Nudge Security can provide full visibility into all genAI integrations. Since launching ChatGPT in 2022, OpenAI has defied expectations with a steady stream of product announcements and enhancements. One such announcement came on May 16, 2024, and for most consumers, it probably felt innocuous. Titled  "Improvements to data analysis in ChatGPT," the post outlines how users can add files directly from Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive. It's worth mentioning that other genAI tools like Google AI Studio and Claude Enterprise have also added similar capabilities recently. Pretty great, right? Maybe.‍ When you connec

For years, securing a company's systems was synonymous with securing its "perimeter." There was what was safe "inside" and the unsafe outside world. We built sturdy firewalls and deployed sophisticated detection systems, confident that keeping the barbarians outside the walls kept our data and systems safe. The problem is that we no longer operate within the confines of physical on-prem installations and controlled networks. Data and applications now reside in distributed cloud environments and data centers, accessed by users and devices connecting from anywhere on the planet. The walls have crumbled, and the perimeter has dissolved, opening the door to a new battlefield: identity . Identity is at the center of what the industry has praised as the new gold standard of enterprise security: "zero trust." In this paradigm, explicit trust becomes mandatory for any interactions between systems, and no implicit trust shall subsist. Every access request, regardless of its origin,

Shadow apps, a segment of Shadow IT, are SaaS applications purchased without the knowledge of the security team. While these applications may be legitimate, they operate within the blind spots of the corporate security team and expose the company to attackers.  Shadow apps may include instances of software that the company is already using. For example, a dev team may onboard their own instance of GitHub to keep their work separate from other developers. They might justify the purchase by noting that GitHub is an approved application, as it is already in use by other teams. However, since the new instance is used outside of the security team's view, it lacks governance. It may store sensitive corporate data and not have essential protections like MFA enabled, SSO enforced, or it could suffer from weak access controls. These misconfigurations can easily lead to risks like stolen source code and other issues. Types of Shadow Apps  Shadow apps can be categorized based on their interac

Designed to be more than a one-time assessment— Wing Security's SaaS Pulse provides organizations with actionable insights and continuous oversight into their SaaS security posture—and it's free! Introducing SaaS Pulse: Free Continuous SaaS Risk Management  Just like waiting for a medical issue to become critical before seeing a doctor, organizations can't afford to overlook the constantly evolving risks in their SaaS ecosystems. New SaaS apps, shifting permissions, and emerging threats mean risks are always in motion. SaaS Pulse makes it easy to treat SaaS risk management as an ongoing practice, not just an occasional check-up. Security teams instantly get a real-time security "health" score, prioritized risks, contextualized threat insights, and the organization's app inventory—without setups or integrations. SaaS is a Moving Target SaaS stacks don't stand still. Business critical apps can easily slip into a state of vulnerability (i.e. supply chain attacks, account takeovers

Account takeover attacks have emerged as one of the most persistent and damaging threats to cloud-based SaaS environments. Yet despite significant investments in traditional security measures, many organizations continue to struggle with preventing these attacks. A new report, " Why Account Takeover Attacks Still Succeed, and Why the Browser is Your Secret Weapon in Stopping Them " argues that the browser is the primary battleground where account takeover attacks unfold and, thus, where they should be neutralized. The report also provides effective guidance for mitigating the account takeover risk.  Below are some of the key points raised in the report: The Role of the Browser in Account Takeovers According to the report, the SaaS kill chain takes advantage of the fundamental components that are contained within the browser. For account takeover, these include: Executed Web Pages - Attackers can create phishing login pages or use MiTM over legitimate web pages to harve

Attackers are increasingly using new phishing toolkits (open-source, commercial, and criminal) to execute adversary-in-the-middle (AitM) attacks. AitM enables attackers to not just harvest credentials but steal live sessions, allowing them to bypass traditional phishing prevention controls such as MFA, EDR, and email content filtering. In this article, we're going to look at what AitM phishing is, how it works, and what organizations need to be able to detect and block these attacks effectively. What is AitM phishing? AitM phishing is a technique that uses dedicated tooling to act as a proxy between the target and a legitimate login portal for an application.  As it's a proxy to the real application, the page will appear exactly as the user expects, because they are logging into the legitimate site – just taking a detour via the attacker's device. For example, if accessing their webmail, the user will see all their real emails; if accessing their cloud file store then all their r

It's no great revelation to say that SaaS applications have changed the way we operate, both in our personal and professional lives. We routinely rely on cloud-based and remote applications to conduct our basic functions, with the result that the only true perimeter of our networks has become the identities with which we log into these services. Unfortunately – as is so often the case – our appetite for better workflows, collaboration, and communications outpaced our willingness to make sure these tools and processes were secure as we hooked them into our environments, handing off our control of the security of our data. Each of these applications asks for various amounts of permissions into our data, which often rely on other vendors' services, creating not a network, but a tangle of interdependent intricacies that has become so complex most security and IT teams don't even know how many SaaS applications are connected in, let alone what they are or their access permissi

SaaS applications have become indispensable for organizations aiming to enhance productivity and streamline operations. However, the convenience and efficiency these applications offer come with inherent security risks, often leaving hidden gaps that can be exploited. Conducting thorough due diligence on SaaS apps is essential to identify and mitigate these risks, ensuring the protection of your organization's sensitive data. Understanding the Importance of Due Diligence Due diligence is a critical step in evaluating the security capabilities of SaaS applications. It involves a comprehensive assessment of the app's audit log events, system and activity audits, and integration capabilities to ensure proper logging and monitoring, helping to prevent costly incidents. Here are a few reasons why due diligence is non-negotiable: Identifying Critical Audit Log Gaps: A thorough review helps ensure that essential events, such as logins, MFA verifications, and user changes, are lo

Everyone loves the double-agent plot twist in a spy movie, but it's a different story when it comes to securing company data. Whether intentional or unintentional, insider threats are a legitimate concern. According to CSA research , 26% of companies who reported a SaaS security incident were struck by an insider.  The challenge for many is detecting those threats before they lead to full breaches. Many security professionals assume there is nothing they can do to protect themselves from a legitimate managed user who logs in with valid credentials using a company MFA method. Insiders can log in during regular business hours, and can easily justify their access within the application.  Cue the plot twist: With the right tools in place, businesses can protect themselves from the enemy from within (and without).  Learn how to secure your entire SaaS stack from both internal and external threats Subduing Identity-Centric Threats with ITDR  In SaaS security, an Identity Threat Detect

The browser is the nerve center of the modern workspace. Ironically, however, the browser is also one of the least protected threat surfaces of the modern enterprise. Traditional security tools provide little protection against browser-based threats, leaving organizations exposed. Modern cybersecurity requires a new approach based on the protection of the browser itself, which offers both security and frictionless deployment.  In an upcoming live webinar ( Register here ), Or Eshed, CEO of browser security company LayerX, and Christopher Smedberg, Director of Cybersecurity at Advance Publishing, will discuss the challenges facing modern enterprise in the new hybrid-work world, the gaps found in existing security solutions, and a new approach to securing the modern enterprise workspace, which is centered on the browser. The Browser is Where Work Takes Place The browser is the key to the organization's critical assets. It connects all organizational devices, identities, and SaaS and