Over
55%
of
security
executives
report
that
they
have
experienced
a
SaaS
security
incident
in
the
past
two
years
—
ranging
from
data
leaks
and
data
breaches
to
SaaS
ransomware
and
malicious
apps
(as
seen
in
figures
1
and
2).
 |
|
Figure 1. How many organizations have experienced a SaaS security incident within the past two years |
The
SaaS
Security
Survey
Report:
Plans
and
Priorities
for
2024,
developed
by
CSA
in
conjunction
with
Adaptive
Shield,
dives
into
these
SaaS
security
incidents
and
more.
This
report
shares
the
perspective
of
over
1,000
CISOs
and
other
security
professionals
and
shines
a
light
on
SaaS
risks,
existing
threats,
and
the
way
organizations
are
preparing
for
2024.
Click
here
to
download
the
full
report.
SaaS
Security
Incidents
Are
on
the
Rise
Anecdotally,
it
was
clear
that
SaaS
security
incidents
increased
over
the
last
year.
More
headlines
and
stories
covered
SaaS
breaches
and
data
leaks
than
ever
before.
However,
this
report
provides
a
stunning
context
to
those
headlines.
As
seen
in
figure
1,
an
astounding
55%
of
organizations
had
a
SaaS
incident
within
the
past
24
months.
These
incidents
included
data
leaks
(58%),
malicious
third-party
applications
(47%),
data
breaches
(41%),
and
SaaS
ransomware
(40%),
as
seen
in
figure
2.
 |
|
Figure 2. The types of security incidents organizations have experienced |
Current
SaaS
Strategies
Aren’t
Going
Far
Enough
One
reason
for
the
increase
in
security
incidents
is
that
current
solutions
aren’t
being
deployed
broadly
enough.
7%
of
respondents
claimed
to
have
100%
of
their
SaaS
stack
monitored
with
68%
reporting
that
they
were
monitoring
less
than
half
their
SaaS
stack.
The
current
SaaS
security
practices,
like
Cloud
Access
Security
Brokers
(CASB)
and
manual
audits,
are
not
enough
to
cover
the
SaaS
stack.
Unfortunately,
these
solutions
are
unable
to
meet
the
growing
use
and
demands
of
the
modern
SaaS
stack.
Companies
today
have
to
secure
hundreds
of
thousands
of
configurations
and
oversee
thousands
of
user
accounts
while
vetting
thousands
of
third-party
connected
applications,
which
are
beyond
the
capabilities
of
CASBs
and
overwhelm
the
resources
of
any
manual
effort.
 |
|
Figure 3. Percentage of the SaaS apps being fully covered and monitored by CASB or manual audits |
App
Ownership
is
Widespread
In
response
to
increasing
SaaS
incidents,
organizations
report
that
they
are
now
prioritizing
SaaS
Security.
The
survey
shows
that
more
executive-level
leaders
are
involved
in
securing
their
SaaS
stack
and
CISOs
and
security
managers
are
seemingly
transitioning
from
the
role
of
controllers
to
that
of
governors
in
securing
the
SaaS
stack.
There
are
layers
of
responsibility
involved
in
securing
each
app
as
oftentimes
the
ownership
of
the
app
sits
in
different
business
departments
throughout
the
organization,
while
it’s
the
security
team
that
is
the
one
ultimately
responsible.
 |
|
Figure 4: More roles involved in SaaS security make it difficult to know who is responsible |
SaaS
Security
Plans
for
2024
The
report
also
shines
a
light
on
how
organizations
are
creating
policies
and
processes
to
deal
with
key
SaaS
security
issues.
While
many
have
a
way
to
go,
they
are
building
a
strong
foundation
for
these
domains:
-
SaaS
misconfigurations -
Third-party
connected
apps -
User
devices
that
are
accessing
SaaS
apps -
Identity
and
access
governance -
Threat
detection -
Data
loss
management
Companies
Are
Increasing
Investment
in
SaaS
and
SaaS
Security
In
addition
to
enhancing
their
policies
and
adding
executive
stakeholders,
it’s
not
surprising
that
organizations
have
increased
their
SaaS
spending
as
well.
Over
the
last
year,
71%
of
organizations
have
increased
their
investment
in
SaaS
security
tools,
while
63%
have
either
hired
more
personnel
or
increased
training
for
SaaS
security.
 |
|
(Left) Figure 5. Organization’s change in investments over the past year | (Right) Figure 6. How many organizations are currently using or plan to use an SSPM platform |
One
key
area
of
investment
has
been
SaaS
security.
A
year
ago,
in
the
2022
State
of
SaaS
Security
Report,
17%
of
respondents
report
having
a
SaaS
Security
Posture
Management
(SSPM)
tool
in
place.
That
number
has
nearly
tripled
since,
growing
to
44%,
with
an
additional
36%
intending
to
add
an
SSPM
to
their
SaaS
security
stack
within
the
next
18
months.
This
brings
the
total
of
security
executives
already
using
SSPMs
or
planning
to
bring
them
on
to
80%.
Among
the
reasons
for
this
sudden
increase
is
the
reported
need
to
mitigate
SaaS
threats
(31%),
improve
their
company’s
SaaS
posture
(29%),
and
save
time
in
the
management
and
maintenance
of
their
SaaS
stack
(23%).
 |
|
Figure 7. Top expected benefits from an SSPM solution |
A
Picture
of
Challenges
and
Hope
Ultimately,
the
SaaS
Security
Survey
Report:
2024
Plans
and
Priorities
report
reflects
and
quantifies
many
of
the
changes
affecting
this
industry
over
the
past
year.
Threat
actors
are
tempted
by
the
seemingly
low-hanging,
high-value
fruit
within
the
SaaS
ecosystem.
SaaS
security
cybersecurity
incidents
are
up
by
12%
over
one
year
ago,
and
the
types
of
attacks
—
breaches,
data
loss,
and
ransomware
—
are
significant.
However,
organizations
are
rising
to
the
challenge
of
defending
their
SaaS
stack.
Whether
they
were
initially
drawn
to
SaaS
applications
for
the
cost
savings,
ease
of
access,
or
collaborative
nature
of
the
tool,
they
now
recognize
the
need
to
secure
their
assets
and
the
data
contained
within.
It’s
not
surprising
that
they
have
turned
to
the
SSPM
market.
By
helping
organizations
identify
and
secure
misconfigurations,
protect
themselves
from
intrusive
third-party
app
scopes,
manage
users
and
devices,
and
detect
threats
from
across
the
SaaS
stack,
SSPMs
offer
hope
that
the
sensitive
and
business-critical
data
stored
within
the
SaaS
stack
can
be
tightly
secured.
Learn
how
an
SSPM
can
help
you
secure
your
entire
SaaS
stack.
