SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) is a cybersecurity discipline that focuses on continuously assessing and improving the security of an organization’s Software as a Service (SaaS) applications. As SaaS adoption grows, so does the complexity and scale of the attack surface. SSPM provides the tools and processes necessary to identify risks, enforce policies, and maintain strong security hygiene across all cloud-based applications in use.

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The core functions of SSPM include:

• Discovery of SaaS applications in use—both sanctioned and unsanctioned (shadow IT).
• Assessment of security configurations, such as MFA enforcement, public file sharing, and admin privilege usage.
• Access control audits, identifying stale accounts, overprivileged users, and external collaborators.
• Monitoring of user activity and OAuth integrations to surface anomalous behavior or risky third-party connections.
• Compliance checks aligned with industry regulations like SOC 2, HIPAA, or GDPR.
• Automated remediation, offering policy enforcement or guided fixes for misconfigurations.

Unlike traditional security tools, SSPM operates in the cloud control plane, meaning it doesn’t rely on endpoints or network proxies. Instead, it uses APIs to directly interact with SaaS platforms such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Slack, Salesforce, and others. This allows for comprehensive visibility and management, even in decentralized or remote-first environments.

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By continuously monitoring the state of SaaS applications and detecting issues in real time, SSPM helps organizations reduce the risk of data exposure, insider threats, and configuration drift. It also enables IT and security teams to scale their oversight without needing to manually inspect every application or user activity.

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In an era where SaaS is central to business operations, SSPM is becoming a foundational capability for modern cybersecurity and governance programs.

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Read more about Nudge Security v. SSPM →