Rende is the founder and CEO of Rhymetec, a cybersecurity firm providing cybersecurity, compliance and data privacy needs to SaaS companies.
The burgeoning software-as-a-service (SaaS) market, estimated to reach $232 billion by 2024, offers an attractive target for cyberattacks. In this rapidly evolving environment, security often takes a back seat to speed, functionality and user experience.
Based on our experience with SaaS companies, a majority lack a foundational security approach mindset, causing them to neglect building data security into their product. Instead, security considerations typically arise as an afterthought by customers demanding assurance that their systems are secure before entrusting the company with their data.
The Cost Of A Breach
The costs associated with data breaches are staggering, regardless of whether insiders are compromised or not. Apart from the financial damage to organizations and their customers, reports show the average cost of a single data breach is approximately $4.35 million. In addition, research by IBM shows that 60% of surveyed companies raised the prices of their products and services following a data breach.
The same report also stated that about 45% of data breaches seen in 2022 were cloud-based, meaning that just because your data is stored in the cloud, it doesn’t allow you to go easy on security. Investing in security from the get-go is truly the most logical and watertight approach.
Disadvantages Of The Afterthought Approach
Taking a reactive approach to SaaS application security is fraught with risks and potential costs. Often, a software engineer’s initial reluctance to prioritize incorporating security into a new product is understandable. The topic can be daunting, the associated costs can be high for a startup and the inclusion of extra requirements hinders the project.
However, skipping the security aspect opens the door to heightened levels of risk, as evidenced by a Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) report that found 43% of organizations have experienced one or more security incidents resulting from SaaS misconfigurations. This scenario leads to costly and time-consuming remediation efforts down the line when companies are forced to “invent” a unique security solution for their specific system.
This approach demands additional resources and delays the implementation of the necessary safeguards. It also undermines the trust and confidence of customers and exposes companies to financial and reputational damage.
Five Benefits Of Building Security In
To avoid dealing with the fallout of inadequate security, building security into a SaaS application during the development stage is preferable for several reasons.
1. Achieves Cost Savings
Implementing this practice can save time and money and ensures the application is secure from the start. While the method might require a higher initial investment to cover the inclusion of security resources, the cost is generally lower than retroactively adding security to an already-built application.
2. Avoids A Cascade Of Changes
Retrofitting security measures can trigger a cascade of changes throughout the application, demanding extensive engineering resources and drawing out the development cycle. In contrast, building security from the ground up eliminates the need for costly and time-consuming remediation efforts, ultimately saving resources in the long run.
3. Addresses Vulnerabilities Early
Taking a proactive approach enables companies to identify and address potential vulnerabilities early on, reducing the likelihood of expensive and damaging security breaches. This process also ensures that the security measures integrate seamlessly into the application’s architecture and design, preventing awkward, clunky security protocols from occurring.
4. Escapes Legacy Syndrome
This occurs when a company has previously built an application, but no one who understands the code remains available to develop security for it. This scenario is surprisingly common, especially in older organizations where original developers may no longer be with the company. If security had been built into the code from the beginning, these organizations could have avoided costly, line-by-line code reviews.
5. Makes Maintenance Easier
Incorporating security into your SaaS applications from the start can make maintaining and updating them easier. It positions your organization to establish a robust defense against cyber threats, reduce costs and development time, and enable seamless maintenance and updates while safeguarding data and ensuring the trust of its customers.
A Recommended Approach To SaaS Security
For both start-ups and established organizations, the best option is to include application security when developing your product. If that ship has already sailed, however, other options exist.
Firstly, keep all your data in the cloud. This approach simplifies compliance, offers a more secure solution and could lessen the potential impacts of a breach. For example, if a standalone server in your office space gets hacked, it’s a significant problem for you. On the other hand, if a cloud server is compromised, the impact is spread across all users, not targeting you alone.
Secondly, if you’re preparing to launch a SaaS startup, here are some steps you can follow:
1. Review compliance and security frameworks, and determine which ones are right for you. Consider your customers and application, and make compliance the foundation of your program.
2. Train your engineers to understand the security risk, not just focus on building an application.
3. Make security a part of your organization’s vision and direction from the start rather than applying it afterward.
By incorporating these recommendations, your organization can establish a strong security posture, ensure compliance and protect valuable assets. Prioritizing security not only defends your systems against potential risks but also instills trust in customers and stakeholders, contributing to long-term success in the ever-evolving SaaS landscape.
More Than Just A Best Practice
Building security into your SaaS application from the ground up is not just a best practice—it’s a business imperative that safeguards your reputation, mitigates risk and protects your valuable data assets. If you’re on the threshold of developing a proprietary SaaS application, prioritize security from day one and spare yourself the challenges associated with adding it later.
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