3 Common Types of SaaS Attacks and How to Prevent Them

Software as a Service (SaaS) has come a long way, offering a flexible approach toward applications over the Internet. It has become commonplace for every workforce, office, company, and individual. SaaS is in great demand worldwide, from Google Docs, Microsoft Office, Zoom, and Google Sheets to Slack. While SaaS brings stability to work and offers a user-friendly approach, it also introduces security risks and attacks. There has been a significant rise in cyberattacks that break into SaaS. Since thousands of users access the software simultaneously, this ultimately increases the risk of a security breach. As a result, cybercriminals gain access to many confidential resources, including credentials, documents, administrative rights, and emails. Therefore, mobile application security testing, as well as security measures, are necessary for all the company’s online and offline resources.

There are three common types of ways in which threat actors attack software. Coming up next, we’ll discuss them in detail notes and guide you on how to prevent them by using free malware removal. So let’s get started!

3 Common Types of SaaS Attacks

The most frequent attacking types are as follows.

1. OAuth phishing attacks.
2. Malicious Web Extensions.
3. Brute-Force Attacks.

1.     OAuth Phishing Attacks

OAuth is a standard authorization protocol that allows access to your profile without sharing a password. Any program or application uses a standard security framework to authenticate the user as an official. For that purpose, it assigns a password for signing in. On the other hand, OAuth uses a protocol to allow programs and applications for secured access. For instance, Facebook allows a promotional campaign to send an alert to your profile without requiring your password.

Cybercriminals use a combination of OAuth and phishing attacks to target users. They create a malicious app that pretends to be legitimate. Usually, they create a rogue one generated from legitimate Office 365 accounts. Afterward, they target the victim and ask them to click on the given source, which indirectly gives the threat actor permission to access your information. The app appears genuine, and once the user grants permission, it directs them to a web page requesting consent. If everything goes successfully, the threat actor can access vital resources, such as a contact list, essential files, and email lists.

Cybercriminals use this technique very frequently to target users. In July 2020, Microsoft sued an attacker for hacking confidential resources for 6 months. It is further learned that the attacker had hijacked 62 countries via an OAuth phishing attack. So it is one of the most common attacks that occur in SaaS.

2.     Malicious Web Extensions

The next most common type of attacking SaaS is using a malicious web extension. Web extensions are popular nowadays and provide users with a quick interface to visit websites and applications without needing to type a web address. All you have to do is, install an extension on a web browser and get access anytime, anywhere. Google Chrome is the most widely used web browser worldwide for browsing the web. Similarly, Google Chrome has more than 200,000 web extensions and a 63% market share.

Attackers use this trendy idea to trap SaaS users; they create a malware web extension that pretends to be benign. This extension authorizes hackers to access a user’s sensitive information. There are two forms of malware extensions,

• Benign extension, but not harmful: The benign extensions do not compromise security aspects but affect the end-user interface. It hijacks the overall functionality.
• Harmful benign extension: The other version of malware is benign, and it’s a dangerous way to access users’ privacy.

Installing malware extensions is quite common, and more than 3 million users have been found to have installed malware extensions. These extensions collect data via your web browser and watch all your online browsing. Later on, it represents phishing apps that pretend to be genuine and authentic. This collects data and hijacks traffic to gain a financial edge, making it difficult to determine whether the updates or the extension are malicious.

SaaS users must realize that when things go wrong, malware can look natural and is often disguised as a very threatening attack. Still, it can be prevented by using free malware removal.

3.     Compromising Valid Accounts

As we all know, SaaS applications are interconnected, allowing threat actors to penetrate multiple applications. Typically, it is done by compromising valid accounts using phishing hacks. This is the most deadly attack on SaaS applications because it extracts helpful resources and sensitive information once the hacker gets the password. During an inspection, Microsoft detected 25 billion attempts to violate the security factors of their enterprise customer account. A phishing attack helps them steal a valid password, which is then used on various applications associated with a set of accounts.

Such attacks are pretty brutal and are done to get sensitive information. In July 2020, the Russian state-sponsored actor campaign spent nearly two years actively gathering sensitive data from networks of numerous cleared defense contractors in the United States. The objective was to steal information, including weapon, vehicle, and missile design, aircraft design, and even data analytics of the USA; they wanted to acquire sensitive technology and information related to the nation’s defense.

To gather information from Office 365 resources, such as profiles, emails, and SharePoint, the Russian state-sponsored actors behind this campaign used compromised Office 365 service accounts, including those with global administrator privileges. This altogether showed the intensity of the SaaS attack and could get many providers into great trouble.

Ways to Prevent Security Risk

SaaS is the future and is expected to grow extensively, based on current statistics. However, cloud computing security is at risk, and providers must arrange effective measures to keep users’ sensitive data safe. Still, there are ways to remove malware. Check them out!

●      Due Diligence

The best way to prevent security breaches is to inspect a vendor’s security throughout their lifecycle proactively, and this should be done more frequently than just during the vetting process. Enable your security team to avoid negligence by scaling their efforts. The best way to prevent security breaches is to regularly assess vendor security throughout the lifecycle, using SSPM tools for continuous monitoring and risk management.

●      Watch Out for Third-Party Attack

As the vendor list increases, the provider is seen as significantly non-compliant with the procedure. They only respond when they see the threat. Eventually, third-party attacks are the primary cause of security violations. As a provider, ensure that there is no third-party involvement in your SaaS.

●      Regular Inspection

Providers must conduct routine security inspections of high-risk vendors, such as SaaS providers, to ensure they comply with all relevant regulatory requirements. This minimizes hijacking risk to a significant extent.

●      Train Staff

Cloud computing skyrocketed during the pandemic breakout, and so did the security risk. Therefore, training your staff with all the technical insight could minimize privacy violations. Staff education initiatives should be included to keep all employees up to date on free malware removal and security requirements.

●     Integrate Single Sign-On (SSO)

Another effective option is to include SSO solutions as part of your apps. By choosing to add SSO into your app, users can access multiple applications using just one set of login credentials. This enhances user convenience and bolsters security by minimizing potential entry points for cyberattacks, limiting your exposure to threats.

SaaS Attacks – Conclusion

Cloud computing and SaaS can help businesses to provide end-to-end integration to get the best out of themselves. By the end of 2022, the market is expected to reach $489 billion. So, keeping up with the security aspect is exceptionally crucial. Cybercriminals mainly use the 3 common ways to hijack the system, which can be avoided with the abovementioned methods.