Data underpins everything we do in the digital age. It powers business innovation, global trade, medical research, and more. With every dollar invested in data generating $32 on average in business benefit, it’s no surprise that many industries have increasingly invested in data management. As more robust data programs and use cases emerge, however, so do new security risks.
The stakes have changed for businesses with data in the cloud, where intrusions increased by 75% between 2022 and 2023; cloud-conscious cyber attacks, where bad actors target cloud workloads, increased by 110% during the same time frame. As businesses scramble to protect their data assets to ensure security, continuity, and their futures, the issue of access has emerged as a major pain point. In fact, 55% of organizations agree that privileged users, those with the most access to a company, present the greatest risk. Team members and leadership must be able to access data to unlock its value, yet privileged permissions create the potential for error, data exposure, and insider threat.
Fast data access can be transformational, allowing businesses to respond to change, make timely decisions, and maintain cash flow. Data bottlenecks hamstring development and dull competitive edge, impeding productivity and making evolving business requirements harder to manage.
Access without risk
While SaaS platforms like Salesforce provide the architecture and enterprise security model, it doesn't offer the risk context that’s needed to identify and prioritize risk issues. Contextualizing risk is the critical component for organizations to improve in three core areas of security: risk identification, remediation, and continuous risk monitoring.
With focused security solutions in place for data management, IT teams can ensure their data remains tightly guarded against unauthorized access. SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) solutions, like Own Secure, help identify high-risk permission sets and enforce least privileged access, allowing you to scale your Salesforce org without risking data exposure. Teams also save time thanks to automations and visualizations that free them from manual tasks, enhancing efficiency while reducing risk.
Flexible risk identification
Many businesses choose to leverage Salesforce for its flexibility in configuration, adapting it to each instance. Yet, that very flexibility can introduce new security risks from unauthorized access, unknown sensitive data fields, over-permissioned users and APIs, misconfiguration vulnerabilities, and stale production data. Many businesses overcorrect to address these issues, unnecessarily removing data from Salesforce or creating cumbersome processes that involve switching between business applications to access data.
Instead of rigidly protecting data at the expense of employee access and productivity, investing in solutions that automatically identify threats, flag data classification problems, and quickly spot risks in user permissions and security configurations can deliver more value and access without increasing liability.
Proactive remediation
Insider threats cause as many as 60% of all breaches, according to ID Watchdog. Just knowing about the possibility of these risks and readily identifying them is not enough to ensure business continuity; companies must also proactively close security gaps as they are identified. Remediating risk allows businesses to enforce user access controls, classify data based on sensitivity, adhere to least privilege access, reduce risks from misconfigurations, and minimize sandbox data leakage.
How can businesses ensure seamless access for their teams while also thinking ahead to mitigate data risks? By taking a risk-based approach to access that sits on top of the Salesforce security model, users can more effectively identify risks, prioritize risks to address based on severity, and prevent leakage by reviewing and monitoring everything from user permissions to potentially sensitive fields in sandboxes. These practices can improve risk assessment and accelerate remediation while mitigating roadblocks to Salesforce functionality.
Active (and automatic) monitoring
When companies actively audit and monitor permissions, they can identify issues proactively and efficiently, preventing threats like permissions creep, excessive permissions, uncontrolled file access, and inadvertent reversion to Salesforce’s default permissions. As use cases within Salesforce expand and the platform updates, keeping up with the risks associated with new users and configurations can start to feel like a full-time job.
By incorporating tools that automate continuous risk assessment, businesses can maintain a proactive and strong security posture, even in an evolving environment, without extra effort from their teams. This alleviates stress, creates confidence, and ensures access threats are quickly addressed. Long term, companies can reduce the cost of data breaches and enhance job satisfaction for busy IT professionals.
How to create a data culture: Getting started
Creating and maintaining a data culture that promotes savvy use of all information while maintaining next-level security standards isn’t as challenging as it may seem. By following key steps and integrating new tools that match your business priorities, it’s possible to strike the right balance, enabling growth and security.
1. Define objectives
What is your company’s mission and vision and how does your data program align? In the short term, is data being effectively captured and utilized to advance your business goals? Taking the time to think through how your data is (or isn’t) working in tandem with business objectives can be revealing and help guide security and access considerations.
2. Address silos
Data silos create blind spots, impeding a business’s ability to act on complete and consistent data sets, while making collaboration more difficult. Some data silos can result from access issues caused when overprovisioned users store business data in tools outside of Salesforce or other secured platforms. Assessing these silos and aggregating data into protected systems is a crucial first step in a long-term secure access strategy.
3. Evaluate risks continuously
Nothing is static in any business—and certainly not in businesses chasing growth. Yet, assigning risk evaluation to a team member can inhibit growth by focusing too much talent and resources on tedious operations that can be better handled by automations purpose built for the task. Integrating smart systems to continuously run in the background to assess access interruptions and risks creates peace of mind while liberating teams from manual tasks.
4. Keep security at the forefront
The importance of data security can’t be understated. In a world where data rules everything, the associated threats are proliferating. Whether due to malicious intent or, just as commonly, user error, keeping data security front of mind is essential to compliance, security, and business transformation. The balancing act between availability and security is difficult to manage, yet with the right tools, you can put data security on autopilot and focus on the mission-critical work that fuels growth.
Worry-free security
Data access measures act as a gatekeepers to ensure that only authorized users get eyes on certain information. Working as part of your business’s security framework, access controls are a crucial aspect of security, continuity, and risk management that protects sensitive information and your business’s reputation.
The Own Data platform delivers a seamless, integrated data experience that updates data in tandem with Salesforce releases and aggregates views of data disruptions and access controls. Companies receive risk scores and robust reports that help IT leaders identify priorities. Your data differentiates you from other businesses. By empowering teams to use it effectively without creating additional risk, you’re creating an environment primed for sustainable, safe progress.
Click here to find out how Own can help secure your SaaS data.
