Yaldah Hakim Rashid, Oracle Product Marketing, wrote a blog that laid out a SaaS security checklist for business managers. This checklist took a look at the top security and compliance considerations to keep in mind when choosing a Software as a Service (SaaS) applications provider.
Rashid pointed out that in a world of cybersecurity hacks, data breaches, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA), etc., there has never been a better time for a business manager to hone in on the implications of SaaS data security and compliance. Data privacy violations and non-compliance with worldwide data security standards come with a heavy price tag that organizations want to avoid. You can view recent GDPR violations, their location, and associated costs at this GDPR Enforcement Tracker website.
Interestingly enough, Rashid also mentioned that only a third of organizations worldwide are said to be fully GDPR compliant. This means that a failure in security or data privacy compliance can affect your business’s bottom line.
As business managers subscribe to more and more cloud software, often without the help of the I.T., it helps to know some top considerations when choosing a SaaS cloud provider. This can help to reduce risk in your decision.
SaaS Security Checklist: Top Security and Compliance Considerations
Provider Viability
Ask yourself:
- Is your cloud applications provider viable?
- How long have they been developing cloud security and data compliance services for their customers?
- What is the cloud provider’s rate of investment in protecting data and building compliance tools for every aspect of business?
- Do they invest in and develop a full complement of advanced data security/privacy tools at every layer of the stack; from financial risk management cloud software to machine learning-based, malware resistant hardware running in highly performant, scalable servers?
Secure Data Isolation
Ask yourself:
- Does your cloud provider co-mingle your data with all their other customers? A secure data isolation architecture reduces risk and increases performance eliminating the effects of degraded performance from noisy neighbors.
- Does your cloud provider use multitenant database technology to easily extend applications/databases faster and more securely manage and relocate your data; (i.e. for growth expansion into other countries with data residency/regulations requirements?)
Global Unified Access Controls
Ask yourself:
- Can you easily and consistently control access across all your cloud applications? Or do you have silos of cloud applications scattered around, being accessed all across your company?
- What if users leave or join your company – how fast is it to onboard and offboard users across all cloud applications to which they need/have access?
- Does your cloud provider have a unified data access strategy when integrating with on-premises systems or other clouds?
Compliance and GDPR
Compliance and data privacy regulations are top of mind for many organizations worldwide. Now, with GDPR and CCPA, many organizations are finding it even harder to meet ever-changing data privacy requirements for their organizations. Many industries also require industry-specific data privacy controls such as PCI, HIPAA, etc.
Ask yourself:
- Does your cloud provider have strategies and controls in place to help support you in meeting changing regulatory requirements?
- Do they have built-in security tools to help you with audit-based risk management and compliance?
Global Cloud Operations
Many organizations worldwide have data location requirements where their business data needs to be within a certain country or regional boundaries. This can be a challenge if your cloud provider doesn’t have a worldwide presence with data centers in those regions.
Ask yourself:
- Does your cloud provider operate enterprise-grade cloud data centers around the world?
- Do they have redundant and highly performant infrastructure to help support customers of all sizes with their changing business needs?
- Do they employ 24×7 cloud security experts that proactively look after data security globally or do they contract with security contractors?
Advanced Security Options
Ask yourself:
- What if your business requires additional levels of security beyond what is built-in?
- Does your cloud provider offer additional advanced security options?
Often businesses require additional levels of security such as alerting/monitoring tools, or even tools to manage identity and access controls across multiple applications or between on-premises and cloud applications. Certain industries require even further levels of security. For example, in the financial services industry, you may require additional software to concretely manage risk and compliance requirements. Does your cloud provider offer additional products and services to help you with the audit and risk management process?
These are some things to consider when it comes to SaaS data security, data privacy regulations, and compliance reporting. Please note some of your considerations will vary depending upon the country or state of origin of your customer and/or employee data.