In our exploration of SaaS Security, we've covered Cloud Security capabilities, unveiled the transformative potential of SSPM for enhancing SaaS Security, and provided insights on initiating a successful SSPM deployment. Today, we conclude our series by demonstrating how SSPM can improve your Third-Party Management, responding to the growing regulatory demands while offering a robust solution for managing your organization's security posture when using Cloud services.

The urgency to manage Third-Party Risks has never been more pronounced, especially in heavily regulated industries such as Finance. Regulations like the EU's DORA and RCE, Switzerland's Finma Circular 2023/1, and Germany's KRITIS mandate stringent management of supply chain risks.

Organizations often bolster their vendor management processes with additional controls, including tool-based questionnaires and exhaustive reviews by cross-functional teams from Legal, Risk, Security, and Vendor Management. However, these largely manual processes demand considerable effort and resources, especially in cloud governance processes covering many SaaS applications.

While trends toward automation using tools, robotics, or AI are emerging, the onboarding of SaaS applications still largely depends on the vendor's assurances of security—through ISAE 3402 / SOC 2 reports, ISO 27001 certifications, security documentation, or regular penetration tests and vulnerability scans.

More proactive organizations might also leverage services like Bitsight or SecurityScorecard to gauge a vendor's security hygiene and maturity, collaborating to address issues and meet cloud due diligence criteria.  Here, SSPM offers a critical enhancement.



SSPM serves as a potent tool to evaluate the actual security configurations of SaaS applications, moving beyond mere checklists and generic reports. It unveils misconfigurations, risky SaaS-to-SaaS connections, and concerns around identities and entitlements, providing a clear, objective view of security postures.

Integrating SaaS applications with SSPM is generally straightforward, especially if the SSPM solution covers a wide range of applications or offers a detailed onboarding framework. This integration can be a part of the SaaS application's pilot phase. Subsequently, insights from SSPM enrich the vendor selection process with objective security criteria, complementing traditional reports and questionnaire outcomes.

Furthermore, SSPM transforms ongoing Third-Party Management by offering continuous security assessments. This shift from manual, point-in-time audits to an always-on security monitoring paradigm marks a significant advancement in how organizations can safeguard against third-party risks.

Watch out for more learnings on SaaS Security or book a meeting to discuss your needs.