The continuous discovery of SaaS applications is essential to mitigate risks associated with Shadow IT and strengthen the cloud securityThis practice ensures visibility into the applications used, helps reduce costs, and maintains regulatory compliance. Furthermore, it also prevents vulnerabilities. security and other risks.

What is Shadow IT?

O Shadow IT refers to the use of software, services, and applications without the approval of the IT department. Studies show that more than 70% of companies use SaaS tools unauthorized. This opens the door to risks of:

• Exposure of confidential data

• LGPD compliance failures

• Increased risk of cyber attacks

• Hidden costs and license redundancy

A survey of the McAfee revealed that many companies believe they use around 40 cloud services, but in reality they use more than 1,400. This discrepancy highlights how Shadow IT is an invisible threat.

Therefore, if your company wants to identify and monitor digital risks, solutions cybersecurity and continuous monitoring can help map and mitigate threats in real time.

Shadow IT and Its Risks

Among the Shadow IT risks, are mainly included:

• Security vulnerabilities: Unapproved apps may not meet company security standards, making them easy targets for cyberattacks.
• Data breaches: Sensitive company data may be stored or processed in unsecured applications, increasing the risk of leaks.
• Compliance issues: Using unapproved apps may violate data protection regulations such as the LGPD (General Data Protection Law).
• Hidden costs: The proliferation of unmanaged SaaS applications can lead to unnecessary expense and duplication of functionality.
• Integration and Management: Unsupervised integrations can cause incompatibility with other systems, hindering management and overall performance.

Benefits of Continuous SaaS Application Discovery

THE continuous application discovery SaaS It works like a radar that automatically maps and monitors all applications in use within the company. Unlike ad hoc audits, this practice ensures constant visibility, allowing IT to:

• Identify all SaaS applications in use: Discover approved and unapproved applications, revealing the true extent of Shadow IT.
• Assess security risks: Analyze the risk profile of each application, identifying vulnerabilities and potential threats.
• Ensure compliance: Ensure applications comply with internal policies and external regulations.
• Optimize costs: Identify redundant or underutilized applications, enabling consolidation and cost reduction.
• Improve IT governance: Establish clear policies for the use of SaaS applications and ensure their enforcement.

Companies in the financial sector, for example, reduced by up to 15% SaaS license costs after implementing continuous discovery, eliminating duplicate applications and centralizing usage in approved tools.

Best Practices for SaaS Application Discovery

Effectively implementing continuous discovery for SaaS applications requires a strategic approach and the right tools. So, here are some of the best practices:

1. Choosing the Right Tool:

   • Continuous Discovery Tools: Use solutions that offer real-time monitoring and integration with other security tools, such as CASBs (Cloud Access Security Brokers) and SIEMs (Security Information and Event Management).
   • Integration with Firewalls and Proxies: Configure firewalls and proxies to log network traffic and identify SaaS applications in use.
   • Log Analysis: Use log analysis tools to identify usage patterns for SaaS applications.

2. Implementation and Configuration:

   • Phased Implementation: Start with a pilot group of users or departments before rolling out across the organization.
   • Policy Configuration: Define clear policies for using SaaS applications, including approval criteria and security guidelines.
   • Integration with Identity and Access Management (IAM): Ensure discovery tools integrate with IAM to track application usage by user.

3. Monitoring and Reporting:

   • Continuous Monitoring: Use dashboards and alerts to monitor SaaS application usage in real time.
   • Regular Reports: Generate periodic reports on SaaS application usage, identified risks, and actions taken.
   • Policy Review: Regularly review and update SaaS application usage policies based on insights gained.

4. Communication and Education:

   • Communicate transparently with the team: It is essential that the team understands the reason for implementing a discovery system, emphasizing that the goal is data security, not restriction or punishment.
   • Continuous Training: Provide regular training to employees on Shadow IT risks and SaaS application usage policies.

Technology, healthcare, and finance companies have used this practice to prevent data leaks and ensure greater cyber resilience.

Additionally, if your organization is looking for customized solutions, it is also worth exploring the IT governance consulting services to implement effective policies digital security.

SaaS Application Monitoring and Cloud Security

O SaaS application monitoring is a crucial component of continuous discovery. It ensures visibility into who accesses, when they access it and how they access it applications. This allows you to detect:

• User Activity Tracking: Monitor who is accessing which applications, when, and from where.
• Network traffic analysis: Identify suspicious traffic patterns that may indicate malicious activity.
• Anomaly detection: Use machine learning algorithms to identify anomalous behavior that may indicate internal or external threats.
• Access control: Implement access control policies to restrict access to sensitive applications and data.
• Vulnerability Management: Regularly assessing the security of SaaS applications, identifying and fixing vulnerabilities, is essential to protecting against attacks and maintaining the integrity of company data.

The Future of Cloud Security

In conclusion, the continuous discovery of SaaS applications is today one of the most effective practices to combat Shadow IT and protect corporate data. Therefore, companies that adopt this approach:

• Reduce cyber risks

• Ensure regulatory compliance

• Optimize technology investments

• Reinforce the trust of customers and partners

So the next step is to adopt a vision proactive and strategic digital securityThe sooner your company integrates continuous SaaS discovery with monitoring and governance policies, the better prepared it will be to face future challenges.

MattZero can be an ally in your ongoing SaaS discovery by helping you optimize results, reduce costs, and bring security to your software management. Schedule a demo and count on MattZero to develop your company.