What is SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM)?
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Security Posture Management (SSPM) is a term we created at Gartner back in 2019 to describe an emerging set of tools, (e.g., Obsidian), designed to help organisations maintain the security of their SaaS applications and services. As organisations increasingly move their operations and sensitive data to SaaS, they increase their exposure to attack vectors for applications that are accessed and used over the internet, rather than installed on local devices or corporate networks. This elevated threat required a new set of processes and tools, as traditional security practices were limited to SaaS discovery and access control, leaving organisations blind to activity within applications and presenting a target rich environment for attackers.
SSPM tools can perform a variety of functions, including:
- Monitoring and analysis: SSPM tools monitor data from SaaS applications to detect and prevent security incidents. They may also analyse data to identify patterns and trends of user behaviour indicative of potential compromise.
- Security assessments: SSPM tools conduct regular security assessments by crawling through your SaaS applications to identify weaknesses and vulnerabilities, such as misconfigurations and overprivileged accounts.
- Security controls: SSPM tools alert on insecure settings and can autoremediate security controls such as multi-factor authentication and encryption to protect data stored in SaaS applications.
- Risk management: SSPM tools help organisations identify and prioritise potential risks to their SaaS applications, and implement measures to mitigate those risks.
- Compliance: SSPM tools can help organisations ensure that their SaaS applications and services are compliant with relevant security regulations and standards, such as data protection and privacy laws (e.g., GDPR).
Effective SSPM requires a comprehensive approach to SaaS security that takes into account the unique characteristics and risks of multiple SaaS applications. It involves evaluating the security of the SaaS applications themselves, as well as the security of the network and devices used to access them, and the security of the data stored and processed across the organisation’s interconnected SaaS landscape.
The importance of SSPM is increasing as organisations continue to adopt SaaS applications at a rapid pace, making it is essential for enterprises to have robust SSPM practices in place to ensure the security and integrity of their data and systems. Without proper SSPM, organisations may be vulnerable to cyber threats such as data breaches, malware attacks, and unauthorised access to sensitive data. SSPM is therefore a critical component of an organisation’s overall security posture, helping to protect against potential threats, automating compliance and ensuring the continued operation and integrity of SaaS applications.
Leading SSPM tools have evolved to provide advanced threat management capabilities and third-party integration controls. See The Evolution of SSPM for more details.
Early SSPM vendors include: Obsidian Security, Adaptive Shield and AppOmni.
