Feb 2, 2024
Feb 2, 2024
As enterprises strive to modernize legacy identity and access management (IAM) systems as companies embrace business-led IT, understanding and mitigating the risks associated with shadow SaaS is crucial.
Security and risk management leaders are facing a growing headache: managing technical identity debt is becoming a bigger and bigger problem. As Gartner discusses in its report, Reduce IAM Technical Debt, the debt, often hidden in the shadows of complex IT environments, is primarily fueled by the uncontrolled proliferation of shadow SaaS applications. As organizations push forward with modernizing legacy identity and access management (IAM) systems and embrace business-led IT, it's imperative to understand and tackle the risks posed by shadow SaaS.
Shadow SaaS—the use of unauthorized cloud applications by employees—is a key driver of IAM technical debt. When employees bypass central IAM controls, these hidden apps create serious security risks to an organization’s security posture, undermine security measures, and lead to fragmented identity systems that are hard to manage.
Companies need a clear strategy for modernizing their IAM systems to counter the risks posed by shadow SaaS. Moving from isolated IAM tools to a unified architecture boosts flexibility, agility, and risk management. By adopting identity fabric principles, organizations can combine different tools into a cohesive system that supports both business operations and security.
Organizations lack comprehensive discovery processes for accounts and entitlements, and dashboards that provide insights of what’s found. —Gartner
Finding and addressing shadow SaaS is crucial to governing it. Organizations must uncover and map all identities to their permissions in various applications and systems. Using a range of discovery tools can reveal hidden areas where shadow SaaS might exist, allowing for better control and governance.
Integrating older tools or using multigenerational IAM solutions supports centralized management while allowing for decentralized enforcement of IAM controls. Simplifying application enrollment for user administration and access management can also foster wider adoption of IAM controls, ensuring that new applications are brought under organizational oversight and reducing the propensity for Shadow SaaS adoption.
According to Gartner’s report, “Organizations lack comprehensive discovery processes for accounts and entitlements, and dashboards that provide insights of what’s found. Processes often miss a large set of users such as contractors, partners, or machine identities. The discovery process may be limited to a one-time activity and not be continuous. This results in a static view of identities, leaving critical blind spots regarding threat vectors for a part of the IT surface area. Poor observability limits IAM operation and weakens an organization's security posture.”
The report highlights the need for a nuanced approach; the Grip SaaS Security Control Plane can provide shadow SaaS discovery beyond what traditional SaaS security products like CASBs can deliver.
IAM teams must proactively identify, manage, and remediate technical debt to reduce technical identity debt effectively. This includes regularly auditing and monitoring shadow SaaS usage and integrating these applications into the centralized IAM framework wherever possible. By doing so, organizations can improve their agility, reduce risk, and increase the coverage of IAM controls across their hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
Shadow SaaS is a key cause of technical identity debt, posing significant risks to an organization's security and operational efficiency. Organizations can mitigate these risks by adopting a strategic and phased approach to modernizing IAM systems, improving visibility, and integrating various IAM tools. Managing technical identity debt isn't just about securing the digital space—it's essential for maintaining business resilience in an increasingly complex and cloud-driven world.
Contact Grip to gain visibility into your IAM technical debt and understand what can be done to reduce it through automated discovery and remediation.
Additional Resources:
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