As organizations continue to adopt Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions to power productivity and innovation, securing these applications has become a top priority. Unlike traditional on-premise software, SaaS operates under a shared responsibility model, which means both the vendor and the customer have roles to play in maintaining security. In this context, the service provider (who delivers and manages the cloud-based service) and the SaaS provider (the vendor supplying the software) each have distinct security responsibilities, such as implementing security practices, tools, and compliance measures. Additionally, organizations should consider adopting a robust security model—for example, the Zero Trust security model—to guide access control, vendor assessment, and overall SaaS security strategy.
A recent example highlighting the importance of understanding this shared responsibility is the Snowflake breaches in 2024. Attackers exploited misconfigurations and weak access controls within Snowflake's SaaS environment, leading to unauthorized data exposure. This incident underscores how attackers can breach SaaS applications when security responsibilities are not clearly managed or enforced. For a deeper dive into how the shared responsibility model impacts SaaS security, see Understanding the Shared Responsibility Model in SaaS.
This guide outlines the SaaS security best practices your organization should adopt to safeguard sensitive data, meet compliance requirements, and mitigate the growing threat of cyberattacks. It also addresses the additional security risks associated with SaaS adoption, such as those introduced by third-party integrations, remote access, and the expanded threat landscape.
What is SaaS Security?
SaaS security refers to the strategies, technologies, and policies used to protect data and users in cloud-based applications like Google Workspace, Salesforce, Microsoft 365, Slack, and hundreds of other business-critical platforms. Because these applications are hosted and maintained by third-party providers, your organization doesn’t control the infrastructure—but you are responsible for how the apps are configured, used, and secured. It is essential to evaluate the security features offered by SaaS providers to ensure your data is protected and compliance requirements are met.
Why SaaS Security Matters More Than Ever
Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting SaaS applications for a simple reason: they contain high-value data and often lack adequate oversight. As SaaS adoption grows, so do risks like those discussed in SaaS security trends and best practices:
- Shadow IT and unauthorized app usage
- Over-permissioned user and third-party access
- Misconfigured settings that expose sensitive data
- Lack of visibility across interconnected apps, highlighting the need for comprehensive visibility to monitor and detect security issues across all SaaS environments
- Inadequate user behavior monitoring
The expansion of SaaS increases an organization's attack surface, making it more susceptible to potential security breaches.
SaaS Platform Security
Securing your SaaS platform is essential for protecting sensitive data and maintaining trust in your organization’s digital operations. SaaS platforms, which host a wide range of SaaS applications, are frequent targets for security threats such as data breaches, unauthorized access, and malware attacks. As these platforms often store and process critical business information, a single security incident can have far-reaching consequences.
To defend against these risks, organizations should adopt a layered approach to SaaS platform security. Start by enforcing strong access controls, including multi-factor authentication and least privilege access, to ensure only authorized users can reach sensitive data. Implementing strong endpoint security measures is equally important to safeguard devices that access SaaS applications, preventing unauthorized access and reducing the risk of malware infections.
Continuous monitoring is also vital. By keeping a close watch on user activity, system changes, and potential security incidents, security teams can quickly detect and respond to emerging threats before they escalate into full-scale security breaches. Combining these security measures with regular reviews and updates ensures your SaaS applications remain resilient against evolving cyber threats, helping you safeguard your organization’s most valuable assets.
1. Implement Strong SaaS Security Monitoring
Effective SaaS security monitoring is the cornerstone of any modern cloud defense strategy. It helps detect unauthorized access, unusual user behavior, and risky app integrations in real time. To maintain a strong security posture, organizations must continuously monitor SaaS environments for new threats and vulnerabilities. Using specialized SaaS security tools can automate monitoring and threat detection processes, while leveraging threat intelligence enables proactive identification and response to evolving risks. Effective SaaS security monitoring also involves tracking and analyzing user interactions to quickly detect and address suspicious activities.
Key Recommendations:
- Use a SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) solution to continuously assess configurations, permissions, and exposure across your SaaS apps.
- Monitor user behavior, especially around sensitive data and admin-level privileges.
- Track third-party app connections and assess them for excessive permissions or risky behavior.
- Leverage automation tools to efficiently track and maintain an up-to-date inventory of SaaS usage across the organization.
Visibility is key. You can’t protect what you can’t see.
2. Understand the Shared Responsibility Model in SaaS
Many organizations assume that SaaS vendors handle all aspects of security. In reality, you are responsible for securing user access, data, and configurations within the SaaS application. This includes implementing robust user authentication and carefully granting access based on roles to minimize risks. Additionally, it is essential to protect user credentials from theft or misuse to prevent unauthorized access and safeguard organizational data.
What You’re Responsible For:
- Managing user access and identity
- Enforcing least privilege access controls
- Regularly reviewing and managing user permissions to ensure compliance and security
- Monitoring and auditing data access activities to prevent unauthorized sharing and ensure security compliance
- Monitoring third-party integrations
- Configuring security settings correctly
SaaS vendors secure their infrastructure. You must secure your usage.
3. Follow SaaS Security Standards and Frameworks
Following established SaaS security standards helps align your organization with best practices and compliance requirements. Look for vendors that support or align with recognized frameworks, and when onboarding and monitoring cloud applications, include security assertion protocols (such as SAML) in your SaaS security policy.
Common SaaS Security Standards:
- ISO 27001 – Information security management
- SOC 2 – Security, availability, and confidentiality controls
- NIST SP 800-53 – Controls for federal information systems
- CIS Benchmarks – Best practice guides for cloud security
Internally, create a SaaS-specific policy that documents how you assess, onboard, and monitor cloud applications.
4. Enforce Identity and Access Management (IAM) Policies
IAM is foundational to SaaS security best practices. Without proper identity controls, users and applications may end up with excessive access. Secure access management is essential not only in SaaS environments but also in platform as a service (PaaS) environments, ensuring that user access is controlled and monitored across different cloud service models.
Best Practices:
- Enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) across all apps
- Use single sign-on (SSO) to centralize identity controls
- Apply least privilege principles to users and non-human identities
- Monitor for inactive or orphaned accounts
5. Regularly Audit SaaS App Configurations
Misconfigured settings are one of the most common causes of SaaS data leaks. A simple sharing setting or unchecked default can expose sensitive information publicly or to the wrong users.
Recommendations:
- Use automated tools to audit configurations across apps like Salesforce, Google Workspace, and Slack
- Remediate high-risk misconfigurations immediately
- Ensure secure default settings for new apps
6. Vet and Monitor Third-Party Integrations
SaaS apps often connect with a wide ecosystem of third-party tools, many of which request broad permissions to read, write, or share data. Integrating third party services and other SaaS apps introduces unique security challenges and creates a shared responsibility for data protection, as organizations must manage increased security risks and compliance issues. This includes managing access not only for human users but also for non-human identities such as service accounts, OAuth tokens, and API keys. Different SaaS offerings may also require specialized security measures, such as monitoring usage, managing risks, and implementing authentication options like single sign-on or multi-factor authentication.
Risk Mitigation Tips:
- Maintain a list of approved third-party apps
- Block risky or unknown integrations
- Continuously review app permissions and usage patterns
- Remove unused or suspicious integrations proactively
SaaS-to-SaaS connections are powerful—but they must be governed.
7. Train Employees on SaaS Security Awareness
Your employees are the first line of defense against SaaS threats. Equip them with the knowledge to recognize phishing attempts, avoid risky app installations, and follow security protocols.
Key Topics to Cover:
- Verifying third-party app requests
- Reporting suspicious activity
- Avoiding shadow IT
- Using corporate-approved tools
8. Build an Incident Response Plan for SaaS Threats
Even with the best security controls, incidents can and will happen. A well-defined SaaS-specific incident response plan helps minimize impact and speed recovery. Regular data backup of customer data across multiple cloud platforms is essential to ensure disaster recovery and maintain system resilience.
Your Plan Should Include:
- SaaS-specific detection and response workflows
- Clear roles and escalation paths
- Data breach response protocols
- Communication templates for internal and external stakeholders
9. Use Automated Remediation Workflows Where Possible
Manual fixes don’t scale. With the complexity of today’s SaaS ecosystems, look for platforms that allow you to automate repetitive or high-risk remediation tasks.
Examples:
- Auto-revoke unused access after inactivity
- Automatically correct misconfigurations based on policy
- Notify users when excessive permissions are detected
Automation reduces time-to-response and removes room for human error.
10. Continuously Assess and Improve Your SaaS Security Posture
SaaS security is not a one-time project—it’s a continuous process. Conduct regular security reviews, risk assessments, and tool evaluations to evolve your program. Evaluate and adopt emerging technologies such as AI and machine learning to enhance SaaS security, improve threat detection, and strengthen data integrity.
Proactive Measures:
- Quarterly risk assessments for key apps
- Track metrics like number of third-party apps, critical misconfigurations, and user behavior anomalies
- Reassess your SaaS inventory and policies annually
Conclusion
As SaaS continues to reshape how work gets done, securing SaaS environments must be a top priority. By following these SaaS security best practices—ranging from robust monitoring to employee education and automated remediation workflows—you can reduce risk, improve visibility, and build a proactive security program.
Remember: in the world of SaaS, responsibility is shared—but the risk is yours to manage.
Looking for a way to simplify SaaS security across your organization? Explore how Valence helps teams discover, manage, and remediate SaaS risks at scale.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most important SaaS security best practices to implement?
The most important SaaS security best practices include enforcing strong access controls such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), continuously monitoring SaaS environments using SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) tools, regularly auditing app configurations, vetting and monitoring third-party integrations, and educating employees on security awareness. Together, these measures help protect sensitive and confidential data, prevent potential security breaches, and maintain a strong security posture.
How does the shared responsibility model affect SaaS security?
In the shared responsibility model, SaaS providers are responsible for securing the infrastructure and platform, while customers are responsible for securing their data, user access, and configurations within the SaaS applications. This means organizations must actively manage user permissions, monitor data access, and ensure proper security controls are in place to protect critical data and prevent unauthorized access.
Why is continuous monitoring essential for securing SaaS environments?
Continuous monitoring is essential because SaaS environments are dynamic and constantly evolving with new users, integrations, and configurations. It enables security teams to detect suspicious user behavior, misconfigurations, and vulnerabilities in real time, allowing for quick response to evolving cyber threats. This proactive approach reduces the risk of data breaches and helps maintain compliance with security policies and regulations.
