The difference between SaaS security and cloud security is more than just semantics. For CISOs, SOC teams, and enterprise security architects, it’s a critical distinction that directly impacts risk posture, compliance readiness, and incident response efficacy. Misunderstanding this boundary can leave an organization exposed to threats that go undetected by otherwise mature security programs.
SaaS security focuses on the externally hosted, user-driven layer of the stack, which includes hundreds of third-party apps integrated into daily workflows. Cloud security, in contrast, protects your core infrastructure such as virtual machines, storage, and containers that your teams build and operate within public cloud environments. These differences are the answer to the question: “Does my organization need both SaaS and cloud security?”
Each domain is governed by different ownership models, attack vectors, and operational tooling. SaaS apps introduce risks like OAuth sprawl, shadow IT, and unmanaged third-party access. Cloud infrastructure demands vigilance around configuration drift, workload protection, and IAM policy enforcement. Expecting a single solution or team to address both leads to blind spots, fractured accountability, and higher likelihood of breach.
This blog clarifies essential points: what are IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS, and how do those services relate to the difference between SaaS security and cloud security. It also explains why this matters from an operational and strategic perspective and offers actionable guidance for securing each domain effectively. Consider this post your playbook for bridging the SaaS/cloud security gap before attackers exploit it.
What is SaaS security?
SaaS security focuses on protecting your organization’s use of third-party applications like Salesforce, Slack, Zoom, and Google Workspace. It encompasses critical functions such as identity and access management, third-party app vetting, OAuth token governance, data residency and privacy controls, and detection of shadow IT.
With the average enterprise using dozens or even hundreds of SaaS apps, often across multiple departments with little central oversight, visibility and control become serious operational and risk management challenges. Many of these applications are implemented directly by end users, creating decentralized access points that bypass corporate IT. Because these apps are hosted and managed externally, traditional security controls such as firewalls, endpoint protection platforms, or SIEM tools frequently miss them entirely.
Security professionals must account for the dynamic nature of SaaS environments: employees onboarding new tools without approval, permissions that accumulate over time, and third-party integrations that inherit access to sensitive data. These SaaS security challenges create risks that, if left unmanaged, can lead to compliance violations, data exposure, and lateral movement opportunities for attackers.
Common SaaS security risks include:
- OAuth sprawl – Persistent third-party access via tokens granted by users. Employees may authorize personal productivity tools using corporate SSO, creating tokens that often remain valid long after the tool is no longer in use. A notable example is the 2022 CircleCI breach, where compromised OAuth tokens allowed attackers to access customer repositories and data without detection.
- Overprivileged SaaS users and dormant accounts – Users frequently accumulate unnecessary permissions over time—or retain access after leaving or changing roles. Dormant or overprivileged accounts serve as easy entry points for attackers. A real-world example occurred when a breach at Uber was traced to a former contractor’s credentials. Attackers bypassed MFA and accessed Slack, Google Workspace, and other internal systems.
- Third-party integrations – Connected apps may carry risk or access sensitive data. Many SaaS tools offer plug-and-play integrations with core systems like CRMs or ERPs that may carry elevated permissions. In 2024, The Home Depot suffered a breach when a misconfigured third-party SaaS app exposed data from 10,000 employees.
- Shadow IT – Unsanctioned tools deployed without security oversight. Cisco reports that 98% of cloud services are implemented without IT’s involvement, and 20% of organizations have experienced a cybersecurity issue due to unapproved SaaS apps. Many of these tools lack enterprise-grade security features and create unmonitored attack surfaces.
Identifying every SaaS app in use, along with app-to-app connections, is the priority when determining how to secure SaaS applications. Mitigating these risks requires purpose-built solutions that prioritize visibility, governance, and automation at scale. Manual audits or periodic reviews simply cannot keep pace with the volume and velocity of SaaS activity in a modern enterprise.
SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) tools like Wing Security’s provide continuous, real-time monitoring of your entire SaaS ecosystem. These tools surface unauthorized access attempts, flag overly permissive OAuth grants, detect unvetted third-party integrations, and highlight deviations from established security policies.
Advanced SSPM platforms also integrate with identity providers and ticketing systems to automate remediation, including revoking access, alerting owners, or initiating access reviews. This makes SSPM essential for both risk reduction and compliance reporting. A centralized approach ensures your organization maintains a strong security posture even as users and apps evolve.
Cloud security explained
Cloud security focuses on protecting IaaS and PaaS environments like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. Unlike SaaS apps, these are managed by your own teams, making you responsible for securing workloads, data flows, and access policies.
Key risks include misconfigured IAM policies, unpatched virtual machines, and exposed storage or APIs. The dynamic nature of cloud environments, where resources are constantly created, modified, and deleted, makes it challenging to maintain consistent security controls. Cloud-native tools like Kubernetes or serverless functions further complicate visibility and enforcement, requiring continuous monitoring and specialized solutions.
In the cloud, the shared responsibility model is critical: cloud providers such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud are responsible for securing the physical infrastructure, hypervisors, networking, and core services that support the cloud. However, customers are responsible for everything they deploy, configure, or store on top of that infrastructure, including operating systems, identity and access management policies, application code, data, and encryption settings.
One prominent case was the 2023 MOVEit breach involving Progress Software’s managed file transfer tool. A zero-day SQL injection vulnerability in MOVEit was exploited by the Cl0p ransomware gang, resulting in the exfiltration of personal data from over 2,700 organizations and approximately 93 million individuals—including government agencies, healthcare providers, and universities.
Why getting it wrong creates security gaps
A dangerous assumption still lingers in many organizations: “We’ve got a cloud security tool—so our SaaS is covered.”
In reality, that’s like locking your front door while leaving all your windows open.
in 2024, Ascension Health disclosed that a third-party vendor with API access was compromised, resulting in data exposure across multiple healthcare facilities. This incident illustrates how treating SaaS integrations and cloud services as a single domain can overlook major risks introduced by third-party connections.
Failing to recognize the difference between SaaS security and cloud security often leads to:
- Unmonitored app access and SaaS sprawl – When SaaS applications are adopted without IT involvement, it becomes difficult to track what tools are in use, how data flows between them, and who has access. For instance, marketing or HR departments may independently adopt SaaS tools that store sensitive customer or employee data, making it difficult to apply consistent security policies or perform incident response.
- Overprivileged SaaS users and dormant accounts – Users frequently accumulate unnecessary permissions over time—or retain access after leaving or changing roles. Dormant or overprivileged accounts serve as easy entry points for attackers.
- Misconfigured cloud workloads and identity roles – In cloud environments, misconfigured IAM permissions, storage buckets, or containers can accidentally expose sensitive data.
- Gaps in compliance coverage and audit readiness – When SaaS and cloud environments are not managed distinctly, security controls may not meet regulatory requirements such as HIPAA, GDPR, or SOX. Failing to conduct periodic access reviews or log OAuth token activity in SaaS platforms can result in audit failures or penalties.
Each domain needs its own tools, policies, and monitoring. Security leaders should assign distinct responsibilities, ensure dedicated visibility, and develop tailored incident response plans for each.
Teams should be trained to recognize the difference between SaaS security and cloud security, such as OAuth sprawl in SaaS versus misconfigured IAM roles in cloud. Regular access reviews, automated tools, and alignment with frameworks like NIST or SCuBA help enforce clear boundaries and reduce risk.
SSPM vs CSPM: What’s the difference and do you need both?
SSPM and CSPM both help reduce risk, but they focus on different attack surfaces.
SSPM gives security teams control over the SaaS apps employees use daily by detecting risky third-party connections, enforcing app approval policies, and revoking unused OAuth tokens.
CSPM focuses on cloud infrastructure, flagging misconfigurations like exposed storage or overly broad IAM roles. It compares settings against standards like CIS or NIST and can trigger alerts or automated fixes.
Together, by accounting for the difference between SaaS security and cloud security, SSPM and CSPM secure distinct but equally important parts of your tech stack.
Best practices for securing your SaaS and cloud environments
Understanding the difference is step one. Securing both requires operational discipline, role-specific accountability, and purpose-built tooling. For security leaders, this means not only deploying SSPM and CSPM technologies, but also embedding SaaS and cloud responsibilities into day-to-day governance, risk management, and compliance practices.
For instance, while cloud teams may already use Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and automated scanners to identify misconfigurations, SaaS security may require establishing continuous OAuth token audits and third-party app vetting processes. Without this operational separation, coverage gaps will persist.
The following steps are foundational best practices to secure both SaaS and cloud environments effectively:
1. Build a SaaS security checklist
Create a checklist aligned with your risk profile and compliance goals. Start by identifying active OAuth tokens, cataloging apps, and reviewing user access. Add controls like approved app whitelisting, MFA enforcement, and SIEM integration.
Ask: Are all third-party apps reviewed before integration? Are stale OAuth tokens revoked automatically?
2. Inventory your stack (SaaS and cloud separately)
Keep an up-to-date inventory of all SaaS and cloud assets, including key metadata.
- SaaS: Use discovery tools to track all apps (sanctioned and shadow), OAuth tokens, and third-party data sharing.
- Cloud: Document assets like VMs, storage, Kubernetes, and IAM roles, along with configuration and ownership details.
A detailed inventory supports faster response, risk assessment, and audit readiness.
3. Assign ownership
Designate clear security and operational owners for SaaS and cloud environments.
- SaaS: App owners from business units work with IT to manage risk.
- Cloud: DevOps or platform teams manage infrastructure integrity and respond to risks.
Defined ownership ensures accountability during reviews and incidents.
4. Use dedicated tools for each layer
Deploy SSPM for SaaS and CSPM for cloud. Generalized tools often miss key context.
- SSPM: Detect risky apps, unused tokens, and bypassed SSO. Enforce app governance.
- CSPM: Identify misconfigurations, enforce baselines, and detect drift.
Using both ensures comprehensive, layered protection.
5. Monitor identities, access, misconfigurations, and third-party integrations
Continuously monitor permissions, misconfigurations, and integration behavior.
- Audit access for both user and service accounts.
- Revoke inactive OAuth tokens.
- Watch for permission creep or suspicious activity in third-party apps.
- Scan for misconfigured IAM policies and insecure settings.
In short, adopt practices that help contain risk and improve overall security posture.
These actions help close gaps that attackers frequently exploit, particularly across sprawling SaaS deployments and dynamic cloud environments. By continuously monitoring identity-based access, third-party integrations, and configuration drift, security teams can detect anomalies early and enforce guardrails before issues escalate.
For instance, revoking stale OAuth tokens, blocking unvetted app installations, and alerting on sudden privilege escalations can make the difference between a minor incident and a major breach.
Ultimately, treating SaaS and cloud security as distinct but interdependent disciplines enables stronger overall coverage. With the right tooling, team structures, and operational practices in place, organizations can move toward a more holistic and resilient security posture. A stance built around the difference between SaaS security and cloud security not only helps prevent breaches but also aligns with long-term business goals and compliance mandates.
Conclusion
SaaS security and cloud security serve different purposes, face different threats, and require different strategies. Treating them as interchangeable is one of the most common, costly mistakes enterprises make, often resulting in overlooked risks, fragmented controls, and audit failures. Building protocols around the difference between SaaS security and cloud security helps plug gaps that can too easily be overlooked.
To build a mature security program, you must start with a detailed understanding of the shared responsibility model for both SaaS and cloud environments, define clear ownership, and implement controls designed for each layer’s unique architecture and threat profile.
- Know what SaaS and cloud security each cover: Develop threat models specific to each. For SaaS, prioritize user access, third-party integrations, and data-sharing behavior. For cloud, focus on workload protection, IAM hygiene, and secure configuration management.
- Use SSPM and CSPM side by side: These tools offer complementary visibility and enforcement. Use SSPM to automate SaaS discovery, OAuth governance, and app risk scoring. Use CSPM to monitor infrastructure misconfigurations, enforce compliance policies, and detect drift across cloud environments.
- Maintain visibility, assign clear ownership, and automate wherever possible: Continuously monitor both environments using centralized logging and alerting. Assign domain-specific ownership for remediation and policy oversight. Automate actions like orphaned account removal, misconfiguration alerts, and token revocation to scale your security response.
By implementing these strategies in parallel, organizations can ensure their SaaS and cloud environments are not only secure but also operationally aligned with broader risk management and compliance goals.
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