Unified SaaS Security: Best Practices to Protect SaaS Applications with Zscaler

Introduction

The rapid adoption of software-as-a-service (SaaS) apps has transformed how businesses operate, offering flexibility and scale. However, it has also expanded the attack surface, increased risks of misconfigurations, and exposed sensitive data to potential data breaches. To effectively address these challenges, you need a unified approach to SaaS security.

In this blog, we'll explore how Zscaler Unified SaaS Security—integrating SSPM, DLP, and app governance—can help you secure your SaaS apps while keeping your operations efficient and compliant.

The Need for Unified SaaS Security

Securing SaaS apps is more than just monitoring configurations. With your data flowing across various platforms, integrations, and user roles, you need a unified strategy to manage security risks.

Unified SaaS security offers:

• Comprehensive visibility: Full insight into sanctioned and unsanctioned SaaS apps and their connections.
• Consistent enforcement: Dynamic policies tailored to security needs without hindering user productivity.

Streamlined risk management: A holistic approach to remediation, compliance, and data protection.

Best Practices for Unified SaaS Security
 

Discover and Monitor SaaS Applications

Visibility is the foundation of effective SaaS security. Businesses often struggle to track all sanctioned and unsanctioned SaaS apps and their third-party integrations.

How to achieve it:

• Identify SaaS apps and third-party integrations in use with Zscaler's Shadow IT and Third-Party App Governance reports.
• Assess risks associated with critical corporate SaaS apps.
• Map the third-party apps connected to them and analyze their posture, permissions, and usage.

Define and Enforce Security Policies

Balancing security with user productivity is a constant challenge. Overly restrictive policies can disrupt workflows, while lax policies can expose sensitive data to needless risks.

• Create granular security controls instead of blanket restrictions with Zscaler Cloud App Control. Keep users productive while protecting sensitive data by restricting specific actions, such as uploading sensitive files to risky apps.
• Define baseline security settings based on your compliance needs (GDPR, SOC 2, HIPAA, etc.). Use Zscaler Posture Management to monitor for misconfigurations.
• Define policies to govern third-party apps and add-ons. For instance, revoke unused apps, block unapproved apps, or notify admin when application risk increases.
• Enforce dynamic DLP policies with Zscaler CASB. This solution identifies and classifies sensitive data, monitors its usage, and controls data sharing.

Strengthen Identity and Access Security

Effective user access management is essential for safeguarding SaaS apps. Attackers commonly exploit vulnerabilities such as weak user login credentials and inactive accounts.

• Regularly identify and deactivate dormant accounts, such as those associated with unused apps or belonging to former employees.
• Ensure all users are enrolled in robust authentication methods, such as MFA and SSO. Ensure consistent enforcement and implement regular credential rotation.
• Efficiently detect and address misconfigured user accounts by taking advantage of Zscaler’s App Governance and Posture Management reports.

Prioritize and Execute Efficient Remediation

Maintaining a secure SaaS environment relies on prompt and effective issue resolution. Rapid remediation minimizes the risk of breaches and noncompliance.

• Focus on high-risk issues. Use the remediation map and risk scoring to identify and address high-risk integrations and take appropriate actions promptly.
• Audit dormant applications. Conduct regular reviews to identify and remove unused or inactive apps that pose unnecessary risks.
• Assess overprivileged applications. Periodically audit third-party apps' permissions, revoking excessive or unnecessary access.
• Fix identity security misconfigurations. Use guided remediation in Zscaler Posture Management to efficiently address and resolve identity-related vulnerabilities such as disabled MFA.
• Leverage automation. Implement workflows to enforce access controls and automatically revoke permissions upon detection of new risks.
• Validate changes. After manual remediation, verify changes to ensure effective resolution of all issues.

Protect Sensitive Data with Robust DLP Practices

Sensitive data, such as customer information or intellectual property, is a prime target for attackers. Unified SaaS security provides DLP to mitigate these risks effectively.

• Monitor data movement. Track how sensitive data flows within and outside your organization.
• Block unauthorized transfers. Prevent downloads or sharing of sensitive data to untrusted domains.
• Respond to incidents quickly. Investigate flagged data exposures and remediate them using integrated alerting and workflows.

Leverage Advanced Unified SaaS Security Features

Zscaler Unified SaaS Security provides advanced features to seamlessly monitor and enforce security standards.

• Automatically detect and monitor deviations from security baselines with Configuration Drift Detection.
• Track your adherence to critical security frameworks such as GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2, and more with a comprehensive compliance dashboard.
• Classify users based on their roles (such as VIP) to enable precise monitoring of their activities and misconfiguration.

Conduct Regular Audits and Policy Reviews

Regular audits are vital to ensure SaaS apps stay compliant with security policies. Tools like the compliance dashboard help track adherence to frameworks such as ISO, GDPR, and HIPAA.

New SaaS apps appear on the market every day, making it crucial to maintain full visibility. To support this, we frequently update the Zscaler app catalog with new apps as well as regularly evaluate widely used and critical apps. These evaluations may lead to updates such as changes in risk index values, reflecting the latest security insights.

To stay ahead of potential risks, we recommend periodic (ideally monthly) reviews of your SaaS apps, their permissions, and posture management controls. By regularly evaluating and updating these policies, you'll be able to ensure your environment stays secure and compliant in the face of evolving threats and technologies.

Bringing it all Together
 

Unified SaaS security combines SSPM, DLP, and App Governance to provide a holistic approach to protecting SaaS apps. By focusing on visibility, policy enforcement, and efficient remediation, your organization can reduce risks, enhance compliance, and safeguard sensitive data.

Adopting these best practices can help you achieve a robust SaaS security posture that keeps your operations agile and resilient against evolving threats.

For more top SaaS security insights, check out these related blog posts and articles:

• 8 Recommendations on How to Manage Shadow IT
• The Top Data Protection Challenges for an Enterprise