Enterprises today are navigating a labyrinth of Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, with larger organizations using a whopping 371 on average, marking a significant rise from previous years. However, this diverse landscape of apps lacks clarity and oversight, often leading to misconfigurations that open the door to various security threats.
Joseph Thacker, the principal AI engineer at AppOmni, voiced the complexity of securing these multifaceted SaaS applications, highlighting the need for specialized expertise that most organizations lack. This gap places strain on security teams trying to comprehend and manage the intricate security settings of each application.
To combat this sprawl and complexity, AppOmni introduced AskOmni, a novel AI-powered SaaS security assistant. This trademarked tool empowers users to ask pertinent security questions in plain language, receiving critical data insights and actionable steps in return.
Thacker emphasized the lack of prioritization in SaaS security, despite these platforms often housing critical intellectual property and sensitive data. Threat actors can directly access data in SaaS environments, creating a unique ecosystem that demands a shift in mindset toward security.
Managing the multitude of applications becomes an overwhelming task, inundating security teams with a barrage of security findings and alerts, akin to facing an avalanche. Thacker likened this situation to the emergence of shadow IT, highlighting the challenging nature of identifying and addressing issues amid a constant influx of changes from major platforms like Salesforce and Microsoft 365.
The complexity is further compounded by the inconsistency in field names across different apps, making permissions management a daunting endeavour. AskOmni aims to address these challenges by utilizing generative AI and natural language queries to assist users in understanding their SaaS applications and their security aspects.
The tool performs contextual analysis, consolidates data points, and provides plain language alerts for critical issues, guiding users through remediation steps. Thacker envisioned AskOmni evolving to handle more complex queries, empowering users to secure their SaaS environments effectively.
Despite being in its nascent stages, AskOmni’s aspirations include responding to broader queries about entire AppOmni instances, a step toward leveraging AI’s potential to streamline operations and solve new challenges. Thacker expressed optimism about AI’s transformative impact, emphasizing its potential to enhance efficiency and drive problem-solving efforts.