What security roles should a SaaS provider have on their team?

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is becoming a standard operating model for businesses large and small. But alongside its popularity is the growing number of cyber criminals waiting to attack SaaS providers that lack proper security protocols.

 

No matter the SaaS provider, expert management of applications access across all levels must be top priority. Failure to do so can result in devastating consequences, such as costly data breaches that can ruin your hard built business reputation in a matter of minutes.

 

Amazon Web Services, for example, had nearly 200 million U.S. voters’ data compromised due to a negligible configuration error. Luckily, the e-commerce company learned about its mistake early on and resolved the situation quickly.

 

However, not every SaaS provider will be as fortunate, which is why you need to make sure your SaaS provider is equipped with the following security roles:

 

SecDevOps Professional

SecDevOps professionals, also known as an information security engineer, are responsible for determining insecure development habits of developers and fortifying better security systems. Their daily function is to evaluate coding practices, identify bugs, and conduct threat assessments and penetration testing throughout the development and deployment process.

 

An experienced SecDevOps should be familiar with Microsoft’s Security Development Lifecycle methodology or the Open Web Application Security Project’s top 10 data security vulnerabilities.

 

Governance and Risk Manager

A governance and risk manager enables SaaS providers to respond quickly and effectively to new threats by establishing clear communication concerning the provider’s security policies to its employees, clients, and regulators. They’re also responsible for enforcing and revising those mechanisms to support your changing requirements while ensuring complete compliance with regulatory mandates.

 

Make sure your SaaS provider’s governance and risk manager understands the types of data your business has. Only then will he or she be able to offer scalable security programs that help mitigate risks effectively.

 

Identity Manager

You should never assume that certain applications are secure because they’re hosted by big tech companies. This is the mindset of professional identity managers. Their job is to manage access credentials and create role-based security programming so your SaaS provider always know who, how, and when their applications are accessed.

 

At the very least, an identity manager should be able to safeguard your applications with two-step verification, robust password policies, and single sign-on features.

 

Security Operations Manager

Threat detection, prevention, and management are imperative to your company’s success. This is where a security operations manager is necessary. He or she will develop a plan to identify, protect, detect, respond to, and recover compromised data from cyber attacks.

 

You should always choose a security operations manager with Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification. This rigorous cybersecurity certification ensures your security operations manager is well-versed in cybersecurity knowledge and tools.

 

At SimplyClouds, we don’t make any compromises, especially when it comes to the security of our clients’ data. Our certified technicians are the best in their fields and we have hundreds of satisfied clients and industry-leaders to back our words. If you have any questions about SaaS security or the cloud in general, give us a call and we’ll explain everything in plain English.