Tag: security

This guest post is written by Harikrishna Kundariya, marketer, developer,
IoT, ChatBot & Blockchain savvy, designer, co-founder, Director of eSparkBiz Technologies. His 12+ years of experience enables him to provide digital solutions to new start-ups based on IoT and SaaS applications.

Salesforce is a well-known customer relationship management (CRM) platform that manages large amounts of sensitive data, which is essential to the operations of many organizations. It is vital that sensitive data be secured and that unwanted access be prevented. 

Salesforce best practices to strengthen your Salesforce environment:

1. Use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and Other Robust Authentication Mechanisms

Adding multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a powerful way to increase Salesforce account security. By requiring users to provide two or more verification factors—usually a password and something the user has, such as a mobile device or security token—this technique provides an extra layer of security. Salesforce encourages better security by requiring multi-factor authentication for all direct logins.

Single Sign-On (SSO)

SSO increases security and simplifies the login procedure. Users may access Salesforce and other apps with a single set of credentials by connecting Salesforce with an SSO solution, reducing the risks related to password fatigue and the usage of weak passwords.

2. Use Profiles and Permission Sets to Control Access

Users’ behaviours inside the Salesforce environment are described in their profiles. Every user has a profile that determines their access levels and permissions. It is recommended that administrators periodically examine and update user profiles to make sure users have access levels that correspond to their jobs.

Authorization Sets

More precise control over user permissions is provided by permission sets. Permission sets can be applied to users in addition to their profiles, unlike profiles, which are assigned to users. This flexibility makes it possible to provide limited or temporary rights without changing the user’s profile.

3. Adopt Data Encryption Restriction-Free Encryption

Salesforce protects data kept on its servers using encryption while it is inactive. When data is encrypted while it is at rest, it guarantees that in the event of unwanted access to the physical storage, the data cannot be decrypted without the necessary decryption keys. An add-on called Salesforce Shield offers complete encryption solutions for data that is not in use.

Transparent Encryption

Salesforce uses TLS (Transport Layer Security) encryption to protect data that is actively travelling between places, such as over the internet or a private network. By doing this, data security is maintained as it moves between Salesforce servers and users.

4. Consistent Security Audits and Security Health Assessment Monitoring

Salesforce provides a Security Health Assessment tool that compares your Salesforce environment’s security parameters to the suggested baseline. This tool offers recommendations for improvements and helps identify possible weaknesses.

Constant Observation

Salesforce activity may be tracked in real-time by using continuous monitoring tools. Tools that provide insights into user behaviour, such as Salesforce Shield’s Event Monitoring, can help identify potentially suspicious activity and security breaches.

5. Make Field-Level Security Mandatory

Whether a user may read, change, or remove the values of a particular field on an object is determined by field-level security settings. Administrators can protect sensitive data from unwanted access or manipulation by configuring field-level security. This is particularly important for fields that hold financial or personal data.

6. Utilize Sharing Rules to Reduce Data Exposure

Using Salesforce’s sharing rules, administrators may permit users to share information according to their responsibilities, record ownership, or other predetermined criteria. This lowers the possibility of illegal data exposure by guaranteeing that users only access the data necessary for their job duties.

7. Put Role Hierarchies in Place

Salesforce role hierarchies allow users to view records shared or controlled by people below in the hierarchy. Role hierarchies should be carefully created by administrators to match the organisation’s structure and data access guidelines. By doing this, consumers are guaranteed the right access levels without needlessly disclosing private information.

8. Apply Salesforce Shield

Salesforce Shield offers sophisticated security features including platform encryption, field audit trails, and event monitoring. These solutions include strong encryption features, extended data tracking capabilities, and improved visibility into user activity. Businesses that deal with extremely sensitive data have to think about enhancing their security posture by purchasing Salesforce Shield.

9. Inform Users of Recommended Security Practices

An essential component of any security plan is user training. Users should get regular training sessions that teach them the importance of using strong passwords, how to spot phishing efforts, and how to report suspicious activity. Providing users with information can dramatically lower the risk of security breaches caused by mistakes made by people.

10. Carry out regular penetration tests

Penetration testing is a process that simulates cyberattacks on your Salesforce system to find security holes that might be used by hostile actors. Frequent penetration testing reveals security flaws and provides a chance to fix them before they are used in actual assaults. Hire Salesforce Developers from reputed organization possessing core expertise in handling Salesforce operations and safeguarding the system from online threats.

11. Implement DLP (Data Loss Prevention) Guidelines

Policies for data loss prevention (DLP) help stop private information from being disclosed to or leaked from outside the company. Sensitive data security may be ensured by configuring DLP systems to monitor and restrict data flows per specified criteria.

12. Examine and oversee integrations with other parties

Additional security concerns may be introduced by third-party programs and integrations. It is imperative that administrators closely monitor and oversee these integrations to guarantee adherence to the security protocols of the firm. Frequent audits of third-party programs can assist in locating any weak points and guarantee that only essential and safe integrations are present.

13. Keep Up with Patches and Security Updates

To fix security flaws and improve the platform’s security features, Salesforce regularly issues updates and patches. Administrators need to be aware of these upgrades and make sure they are applied as soon as possible. Keeping up with the most recent security developments can be facilitated by subscribing to Salesforce’s security alerts.

Conclusion

A complete approach that includes strong authentication, precise access control, encryption, ongoing monitoring, and user education is required to secure your Salesforce environment. Organizations may reduce the risks of unauthorized access and protect sensitive data by putting these salesforce best practices into effect. Maintaining the ongoing protection of your Salesforce data and aggressively addressing new threats need regular reviews and updates of security policies.

Today’s guest post is delivered by Gilad David Maayan, a technology writer who has worked with over 150 technology companies including SAP, Samsung NEXT, NetApp and Imperva, producing technical and thought leadership content that elucidates technical solutions for developers and IT leadership.

Salesforce provides security controls for your data, categorized according to organization, object, field, and record level. To properly secure your Salesforce workloads, you must first understand the Salesforce data security model, as explained in this article. You will also learn tips and best practices for data sharing, auditing, session configuration, and encryption.

Salesforce Data Security Model

Within Salesforce, you have full control over what information users can access. This extends to articles, records, and individual fields. Each security concern is categorized into a level, which enables you to control certain aspects of security.

Organization Level Security

Organization level security settings enable you to determine who has access to your Salesforce system, including from where and when.

At the organizational level, you can define:

• IP restrictions—determines what IP addresses users can access data from.
• Login access—determines timeframes when users can access data.
• Password policies—determines the life cycle of passwords, required complexity levels, and reusability. 

Object Level Security

Object level security settings enable you to guide how objects are handled, including creation, access, and modification.

At the object level, you can define:

• Profiles—determines who is allowed to do what with objects. This is based on individual users with individual create, read, edit, delete (CRED) settings. 
• Permission sets—enables you to extend permissions granted to user profiles in a standardized way.

Field Level Security

Field level security settings enable you to restrict specific fields according to user profile. For example, you can determine who can see an employee’s compensation information. For those without permission, this information is hidden from view or access.

Record Level Security

Record level security settings enable you to determine how and by whom records are accessed or shared. 

At the record level, you can define:

• Organization-wide sharing defaults—determines how freely records can be accessed if profile permissions are not defined. 
• Role hierarchy—enables you to grant tiered permissions. This grants higher level users, such as supervisors, access to all data of the users below them. 
• Sharing rules—determine how you can share information and who with. You can use these rules to define lateral sharing or to allow access outside your organization.
• Manual sharing—enables you to grant record limited sharing permissions. For example, if only one specific user needs access to a record. 

Salesforce Security Best Practices

When configuring or auditing your data security settings, there are several best practices you should apply. These practices can help you increase the overall security of your data and ensure that customer and employee privacy is protected.

Data Sharing

Data sharing policies often aren’t used exclusively for security purposes but these policies can significantly impact security.

For example, you should carefully choose between hierarchical sharing and use of Public Groups. Keep in mind that hierarchical sharing provides a higher tier user access to all data of those below them. In contrast, Public Groups enable you to define sharing rules regardless of where users fall in a larger hierarchy. 

You should also take care with how you allow owner sharing. When records are shared manually by owners you have limited ability to track who has access. You can use the Developer Console to manually identify which records are shared but this is not practical on a larger scale. Additionally, when records swap owners, this information is lost. The lack of visibility this creates can be a liability if owners are sharing sensitive information without approval. 

Audit Regularly and Watch for Vulnerabilities

As with any system, you should make sure to regularly audit your configurations and settings. Audits can help you identify configurations that have been changed manually or automatically due to updates. It helps you identify users or roles that are no longer valid and that should be removed. Auditing can also help you identify inefficiencies in your current roles and groups and point to how these aspects can be streamlined or refined. 

It is also a good idea to regularly check for Salesforce security vulnerabilities in a vulnerability database, and take action if necessary. There is also a standard SalesForce procedure that allows you to perform a full security assessment and penetration test of the SalesForce platform to ensure it meets your security requirements.

Session Settings

Session settings provide you control over individual user sessions, including verification and timeout settings. Verification settings enable you to specify whether or not multi-factor authentication is needed. This is activated via the “Raise session to high assurance” setting. This feature is available for a variety of data and services, including reports, dashboards, and connected applications. 

Timeout settings enable you to define for how long a session is authenticated and for how long inactive sessions should persist. When setting this, you need to find a balance between convenience and security. You don’t want your users to have to log-in every thirty minutes but you also don’t want sessions active for hours after a user is done with the system for the day. 

Shield Platform Encryption

Shield Platform Encryption is a natively integrated service that enables you to encrypt your data in-transit or at-rest. You can use it to extend the built-in encryption that comes with Salesforce by default. 

With Shield Platform you can encrypt a range of data, including:

• Fields—includes a range of standard and custom fields
• Files—includes attachments, notes, PDFs, and images
• Data elements—includes analytics, search indexes, Chatter feeds, and Change Data Capture information

Shield Platform Encryption works via keys managed either by you or Salesforce. If you use Salesforce managed keys, you can create keys based on a master secret and organization-defined key material. If you wish to manage your own keys, you can use the Cache-Only Key Service to fetch the key as needed. 

Apply the Principle of Least Privilege

When creating permissions, access controls, and roles, be sure to enforce the principle of least privilege. This principle specifies that only the minimum functional amount of access is provided. These limitations help reduce the damage that users can accidentally or purposely create. It also limits any access provided by compromised credentials. 

Conclusion

Salesforce provides you with the majority of the features and tooling needed for basic security. The organization level enables you to configure access control, object level is for profiles and permissions, field level restricts access to fields, and record level enables you to create a record access hierarchy. 

Once you configure your security settings, you should set up sharing procedures, audit regularly, configure and monitor session restrictions, encrypt data, and apply the principle of least privileges.