SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) as a Layer in Your Identity Fabric

Jan 23, 2023The Hacker NewsSaaS Security / SSPM Solution

The move to SaaS and other cloud tools has put an emphasis on
Identity & Access Management (IAM). After all, user identity is one
of the only barriers standing between sensitive corporate data and
any unauthorized access.

The tools used to define IAM make up its identity fabric. The
stronger the fabric, the more resistant identities are to pressure
from threat actors. However, those pressures are only increasing.
Decentralized IT, evolving threats, and zero-trust tools are
pushing many IAM tools to their limits.

To maintain their effectiveness, IAM are shifting to operating
as an agile, interconnected identity fabric rather than just siloed
IAM tools. The demands of today’s IT operating environment are
forcing IAM to support decentralized IT environments while still
providing centralized management and governance for its users.

Interestingly, many of the identity fabric principles they
define are currently found in leading SSPM tools. It’s important to
note that identity fabric isn’t composed of a single tool. Rather,
a number of different tools, including directories, authentication,
and threat detection, come together to form an enforceable IAM
perimeter.

See how you can enable advanced IAM
governance. Schedule a demo
today^[1].

Scope

The scope of identity fabric includes any human, machine, or
application that is granted access to your applications and data.
Looking at this through an SSPM lens, your platform should be able
to track all access to your SaaS applications and alert you
whenever dangerous or suspicious entities or malicious applications
access your SaaS stack.

This extends beyond humans and covers the devices they use to
access their data. As we look ahead into the near future, it also
includes connected devices which may require access to perform
their tasks.

Topology

Traditional IAM solutions were siloed. Over time, organizations
recognized the need to centralize IAM to enable governance and
policy management that applied to the entire network.

Today’s work environment demands both centralized control and
decentralized enforcement so that SaaS applications adhere to the
same identity policies that are required to access other corporate
assets.

SSPM plays a key role in identity fabric, centralizing identity
governance in a single user inventory that is applied to all SaaS
apps using data from within each SaaS that goes beyond traditional
IAM solutions.

Security

Identity security must be adaptive, ongoing, risk-aware,
resilient, and use-case appropriate. SSPM platforms contribute to
an organization’s overall identity fabric by reviewing compliance
against industry standards and ensuring that all identity-centric
security checks are configured correctly.

Learn more about identity fabric and its interplay
with SaaS apps. Schedule a demo
today.^[2]

Change

SaaS environments are incredibly dynamic, and require identity
tools with the flexibility and agility to keep up with demands.
SSPMs are remarkably adept at staying on top of SaaS identity-based
changes, supporting new users and new applications.

Threat Detection

SSPM plays a critical role in identity-based threat detection.
While individual SaaS apps lack sign-in context, SSPM captures user
login information from all applications. It provides a tremendous
level of context to better understand user behaviors that may
threaten SaaS security.

SSPMs can also track user behavior based on user identification,
looking for behavioral patterns. When it detects suspicious
anomalies in behavior, such as downloading large volumes of data,
it also triggers an alert to the SOC team.

Privacy

Third-party applications are often granted privileges that could
compromise data privacy. SSPMs use identity-based tools to
recognize these applications and alert security teams when they are
engaging in high-risk behavior.

SSPM: Contributing to the Identity Fabric

The core strength of an SSPM, like Adaptive Shield’s, lies in
the visibility it provides to security teams and application
owners. Its ability to identify misconfigurations, shadow IT
applications, and devices make it an integral part of any
SaaS-centric security strategy.

However, its ability to identify and track users makes it an
important thread in identity fabric. Its broad scope across
multiple applications, centralized location, and ability to flag
suspicious behaviors and associate them with an identity cannot be
understated. Organizations looking to stitch together a robust,
resilient identity fabric would be well served to explore the
identity governance benefits inherent in SSPM.

Learn more about SSPM’s IAM
governance. Schedule a demo
today.^[3]