Permissions in SaaS platforms like Salesforce, Workday, and Microsoft 365 are very precise. They describe exactly which users can access which data sets. The terminology varies between applications, but each user’s basic permissions are determined by their role, and additional permissions can be granted based on the tasks or projects in which they participate. The most important are the custom permissions required by a single user.
For example, a sales representative participated in a customer churn investigation for Team Tiger while also training two new employees. The sales representative’s role will give her a set of access rights to prospect data, while the Tiger Team project will give her access to existing customer data. Special permissions were also set up so that the sales representatives could view the accounts of the two new employees.
However, while these permissions are precise, they are also very complex. Application administrators do not have a screen in these applications that displays every permission granted to the user. Adding and removing permissions can become a nightmare as they move from screen to screen reviewing permissions.
In fact, in conversations with CISOs and administrators, linking users and permissions is one of their biggest pain points. They needed a solution that would provide 360-degree visibility into user permissions, which would allow them to enforce company policies at the object, field and record level across the organization.
Having all permissions in one place can greatly facilitate a strong SaaS security policy, providing benefits in many areas and enabling companies to enforce policies across the entire organization.
Learn how SSPM manages your permissions from a holistic perspective
Reduce SaaS attack surface
Centralized permission lists help organizations significantly reduce their attack surface, thereby strengthening their cybersecurity posture. By systematically identifying and restricting unnecessary user permissions, the platform helps reduce the attack surface and minimize the avenues available to malicious actors. Additionally, it enables organizations to discover and manage non-human access, such as service accounts or automated processes, ensuring every entry point is effectively scrutinized and controlled. This oversight can fine-tune the security and productivity balance in access policies, ensuring that stringent security measures are taken without compromising operational efficiency.
Additionally, permission inventories play a key role in identifying and removing overprivileged accounts that represent potential vulnerabilities within the system. By eliminating these accounts or adjusting their permissions to match actual work requirements, organizations can reduce the risk of unauthorized access and privilege escalation.
Additionally, the platform helps proactively detect privilege abuse, quickly flagging any unusual activity that may indicate a breach or insider threat. Through these combined capabilities, permission lists serve as a proactive defense mechanism to enhance an organization’s ability to defend against ever-changing cyber threats.
Multi-tenant management
A single permissions list also makes it easy to compare user permissions across different tenants and environments.
Security teams can view and compare profiles, permission sets, and individual user permissions side by side across the entire application.
This enables security to find instances of overauthorized, partially deprovisioned consumers, and external consumers from different tenants.
Improve supervision compliance
Permissions lists are an important tool in helping organizations achieve regulatory compliance on multiple fronts. With access reauthentication, it enables companies to regularly review and verify user permissions to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and internal policies. By facilitating Segregation of Duties (SOD) inspections, it prevents conflicts of interest and helps meet compliance standards set by regulations such as SOX.
Gaining a single permissions view helps control access to sensitive data such as personally identifiable information (PII) and financial data, reducing the risk of a data breach and ensuring compliance with data protection laws. In addition, centrally managed permission lists enable organizations to implement role-based access control (RBAC) and attribute-based access control (ABAC), simplifying access management processes and ensuring users have appropriate permissions based on their roles and attributes. thereby enhancing overall regulatory compliance efforts.
Simplify SaaS security with permission lists
Going forward, as organizations continue to adopt SaaS solutions, the challenges of managing permissions in SaaS environments such as Salesforce, Workday, and Microsoft 365 will become more severe. As permissions complexity increases, so does the need for comprehensive solutions that provide visibility and control.
In the near future, organizations can expect tools to address permissions management challenges. These tools in a SaaS State Management Solution (SSPM) will provide a unified dashboard that aggregates permissions from various SaaS applications, giving application administrators and security teams a holistic view of user access.
