Nowadays, almost every company is a tech company in some capacity, and data is primarily stored in the cloud - a world managed by many different vendors and people external to an organization.
No matter what industry you’re in, you’re likely using many different SaaS applications to operate your business efficiently. Firstly, you’re probably using a productivity application like Microsoft 365 or G Suite. You may also be using applications like Salesforce for customer relationship management (CRM). Furthermore, depending on the nature of your business, you may be using single sign-on products like Okta, customer support products like Zendesk, project management tools like Jira or ServiceNow, human resource management tools like BambooHR or Workday, and the list goes on.
Some of these applications are multi-purpose tools, and together they create a space where virtually entire organizations operate out of the cloud.
How do these applications intertwine to streamline business processes?
Productivity suites like G Suite enable collaboration across teams in the form of file and information sharing, scheduling, reporting, and consolidated search. They make project management functionally more organized and efficient, whether teams keep track of their ideas or solve business or customer problems.
All of this data is frequently transferred between departments and specific applications. For instance, the help desk reports a customer issue in Zendesk, a ticket is created in Jira or ServiceNow to manage the resolution of that issue, and updates may then be sent to Salesforce and back to Zendesk to update customer records.
Files, teams, and operations intertwine within these applications, which is excellent for modernization and efficiency. However, these overlaps make data much harder to secure.
Data protection is becoming more disparate and requires expert hires and a deep understanding of how each integration works. It’s challenging to monitor everything all at once and develop a comprehensive security policy as the nature of operations varies with each department.
Which applications contain the most sensitive data, and how do you secure them?
Where your most sensitive data is stored depends on what kind of company you are. For most businesses, applications that house customer data are the most important ones to secure.
There are four categories for ranking data:
- Low sensitivity
Data of low sensitivity can include publicly available information or confidential company records. This could look like unreleased blog posts, PR announcements, and product support pages. If leaked, your company may take a quick reputation hit that would likely last no more than a 24-hour news cycle. You don’t have to devote as much effort to securing this as you do more sensitive data.
- Moderate sensitivity
A breach of moderately sensitive data would result in a notification to the SEC, possibly a fine, and the loss of some business - minor to medium losses. Moderately sensitive data can include process handbooks and internal documentation. It's best to place some emphasis on protecting moderately sensitive data and the applications that house it.
- High sensitivity
Data of high sensitivity include your crown jewels and private data that varies with industries. The most sensitive data is customer payment information, various forms of customer data dependent on the sector, and intellectual property. These items being seized or disclosed would cause serious harm to your organization and the individuals involved.
- Restricted
This type of data is the most sensitive, protected by NDAs, and often overlaps with high sensitivity data. It can include your trade secrets, employee and customer information, intellectual property, and other confidential information that would pose serious harm to your organization if leaked.
A breach of high sensitivity or restricted data would cause a significant news cycle, extreme fines, loss of customer confidence and trust, and potentially a loss of a substantial amount of revenue. Damage could go as far as the extinction level.
If you’re an organization utilizing multiple SaaS applications, it’s important to classify your data while keeping in mind where each type is stored. Then, you can decide which applications to focus on protecting the most.
Check out our conversation with Fletch’s CEO and Founder, Grant Wernick, for more information on how to go about securing data within SaaS applications.
If you are interested in learning more about how Fletch can help you protect your business, please contact us at uba@fletch.ai or sign up for a demo on our website.
