With SaaS applications serving as the backbone of most businesses, managing SaaS identity security has grown increasingly complex. In 2023 and 2024, several high-profile SaaS attacks highlighted the need for robust ITDR. ITDR in SaaS security specifically focuses on threats that emerge within SaaS environments, such as:

• Account takeover: Unauthorized users gaining control of legitimate accounts—attackers often attempt to steal user credentials through phishing or other malicious activities to gain unauthorized access
• Privilege escalation: Unauthorized escalation of user privileges, often targeting users with elevated access, giving attackers broader control within the environment
• OAuth token abuse: Attackers have increasingly targeted OAuth tokens to compromise SaaS accounts without needing direct access to user credentials. For example, malicious actors gained access to sensitive data by abusing OAuth permissions in the Midnight Blizzard breach and several supply chain attacks
• Supply chain risks: High-profile attacks have leveraged compromised third-party integrations, escalating privileges and misusing non-human identities (like service accounts in the case of the Cloudflare breach) to gain unauthorized access to enterprise data
• Data exfiltration: The unauthorized transfer of sensitive data from SaaS applications to external locations

Role-based access control is a key mechanism for managing permissions and reducing the risk of identity-based attacks in SaaS environments.

This focus on SaaS identity threats enables organizations to gain visibility into potentially risky activities that could otherwise go unnoticed within vast, interconnected SaaS environments.

One of ITDR’s unique advantages is its focus on monitoring the behavior of both human accounts and non-human identities. SaaS environments often contain non-human entities such as OAuth tokens, service accounts, and other automated integrations that can create security risks if misused. ITDR’s role in tracking these identities ensures that all accounts, whether human or machine-based, are evaluated for unusual or risky behaviors. In addition, ITDR continuously monitors authentication systems to detect suspicious login attempts and credential misuse, further strengthening identity threat detection. Monitoring both human and non-human identities is essential for protecting user identities from compromise.

Non-Human Identity Monitoring

Non-human identities present unique risks due to their elevated permissions and automated nature, making them attractive targets for attackers. An effective ITDR system flags and assesses non-human activities that may indicate suspicious or malicious behavior, such as:

• OAuth activity: Abnormal OAuth application behavior, such as unexpected geographical access or repeated access token requests can signal potential misuse of these tokens
• Service account activity: Service accounts with excessive permissions or those showing unusual access patterns may be manipulated by attackers to access sensitive SaaS data
• Automated API requests: Increases in API call frequency, especially from an application or integration that hasn't been actively used, may indicate unauthorized data extraction or other malicious activity

By including non-human identity monitoring in its threat detection framework, ITDR enhances visibility across all components of a SaaS environment, helping security teams catch threats that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Successful Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) strategies within SaaS environments rely on three key pillars:

ITDR is a critical function of any modern security solution designed to protect SaaS environments.

Unlike traditional identity management solutions, which focus on authentication, user access control and privilege management, ITDR emphasizes proactive threat detection within SaaS applications. With ITDR, security teams can quickly respond to emerging threats based on user behavior, privilege misuse, and identity anomalies. ITDR also helps detect early signs of identity compromise and enables organizations to respond before significant damage occurs.

For instance, ITDR tools for SaaS applications monitor for privileged access misuse, inactive account exploitation, and unusual account behaviors, which can indicate the presence of insider threats or external attacks. Given that SaaS applications are highly interconnected, a single compromised identity can jeopardize an entire network of applications, making ITDR a critical component of a comprehensive SaaS security strategy. ITDR helps organizations protect identities and reduce the risk of identity-related breaches by quickly identifying and responding to compromised accounts.

It’s important to differentiate ITDR from SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM). While SSPM is a proactive approach to identifying potential misconfigurations, ITDR operates with the assumption that a breach has already occurred. ITDR is especially critical for providing visibility and threat detection across complex cloud environments, where the attack surface and identity risks are significantly increased. It looks for behavioral anomalies and suspicious identity-related activities rather than configuration errors. Where an SSPM could focus on preventing threats by securing the SaaS environment through the detection of misconfigurations and configuration drift, ITDR detects active threats based on identity patterns, access behavior, and potential misuse of credentials, including the need to quickly identify and respond to compromised accounts. Automated ITDR solutions can help contain threats by disabling compromised accounts as part of incident response.

Implementing Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) solutions can present challenges, but selecting a comprehensive SaaS security platform with robust ITDR capabilities can significantly simplify these complexities for security teams. As mentioned, Valence's platform offers seamless integration with existing security tools like privileged access management (PAM), security information and event management (SIEM), and other detection and response systems. This unified approach enhances the correlation of identity-related threats with broader security incidents, streamlining threat detection and response across the organization.

While managing false positives is a common concern, advanced ITDR solutions within integrated platforms leverage continuous tuning, risk-based prioritization, and intelligent filtering to reduce alert fatigue. This ensures security teams can focus on genuine identity-based threats such as privilege escalation attempts and unusual access patterns, improving overall efficiency.

Comprehensive visibility into the identity infrastructure is critical, and modern SaaS security platforms with built-in ITDR provide continuous monitoring and analysis of user activity logs, privileged user behavior, and access management logs. This holistic view helps detect anomalies like credential misuse, unauthorized access attempts, and lateral movement in real time.

Moreover, these platforms are designed to effectively handle the complexity of modern cloud environments by analyzing user behavior, access patterns, and network traffic across human and non-human identities. Leveraging advanced analytics and machine learning, they distinguish between normal and suspicious activities, adapting as organizations scale their cloud usage.

By choosing a SaaS security solution with integrated ITDR capabilities, organizations can reduce the resource investment typically required for standalone ITDR implementations. These platforms often include automated response features and align closely with existing security controls, access management policies, and incident response processes. This alignment strengthens the organization's identity security posture and enhances protection against evolving identity-based attacks.

In summary, while ITDR implementation could involve navigating challenges related to integration, alert management, visibility, cloud complexity, and resources, selecting a SaaS security platform with robust, integrated ITDR capabilities empowers organizations to overcome these obstacles efficiently. This approach enhances detection and response effectiveness, helping security teams better protect user identities and sensitive data from sophisticated cyber threats.