Cybersecurity in SAP: why it’s crucial, how to mitigate risks and protect your business

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What are the main cybersecurity risks for companies using SAP solutions and how to protect themselves?

The last few years have been challenging for all types of companies: the pandemic, remote working, intensive use of the cloud, forced digitization of processes and supply chains. Every transformation brings changes in cybersecurity strategy, and companies with SAP systems are even more exposed to these risks than before.

According to the PwC Global Cybersecurity Survey 2023, which interviewed more than 3,500 senior executives, 65% of Latin American companies will increase their spending on cybersecurity by up to 20%. This trend clearly shows the need for action. In specific terms, SAP solutions store and process a large amount of sensitive data, which makes them highly attractive targets for cybercriminals, so in this article we will explain the main cybersecurity risks facing companies using SAP solutions today and how to mitigate them.

Main cybersecurity risks

1. Unauthorized access: Unauthorized access to SAP systems is a significant risk. Cybercriminals can exploit weak passwords, misconfigured users or incorrect roles and permissions to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data or perform malicious activities. This can lead to leaks of confidential information, damage to services, financial fraud, and damage to the company’s reputation. See note If you don’t know the security levels of your SAP systems, watch out!
2. External attacks: SAP solutions are exposed to external threats, such as hacker attacks and malware. Cybercriminals can exploit known vulnerabilities in SAP software or exploit weaknesses in the company’s IT infrastructure to steal information, disrupt business operations or compromise data integrity.
3. Internal security breaches: Internal threats also represent a significant risk. This can include malicious actions by disgruntled employees, accidental mistakes or oversights that compromise system security. These internal security breaches can result in the leakage of confidential information or unauthorized access to data and systems.
4. Vulnerabilities and lack of updates: Failure to apply security patches and updates in a timely manner can leave SAP systems exposed to known vulnerabilities. SAP security updates are critical to address vulnerabilities and strengthen system protection against cyber-attacks.
5. Internet publishing: Using Internet-accessible SAP portals may seem like a quick and easy way to give all your employees and business partners access to the system, but it is a very high risk, as it exposes you to cybercriminals who will be trying every possible way to breach access and compromise your system, with no time limit. The risk of using valid credentials that have been leaked or stolen from one of your users is the second most frequent attack vector for systems exposed to the Internet.

How Novis can help protect SAP environments

Novis understands the importance of protecting SAP systems against growing cybersecurity threats. The attack surface is vast, enhanced by the prevalence of remote working and the digitization of processes. To address these challenges, Novis offers a range of specialized services, which we tell you about in detail in this article: Novis cybersecurity services, and which are in summary as follows:

• SAP Cybersecurity Monitoring (InHouse): Controls are not enough if there is no team to respond immediately to a potential incident. Novis provides a 24/7 continuous monitoring service to prevent, identify and contain threats in real time, minimizing the impact. Unlike the competition, our solution is easy to implement and eliminates the high costs of SAP log management in your SIEM.
• SAP vulnerability management and automatic patching: SAP vulnerability management and automatic patching: Novis has a specialized solution for detecting and correcting vulnerabilities in all SAP components, with more than 2,000 secure configuration validations and security controls endorsed by the German Ministry of Security. These solutions allow a high percentage of vulnerabilities to be patched automatically, thus reducing the risk of exploitation by attackers.
• Additional consulting and advanced cyber defense services: Novis offers cybersecurity consulting services, supported by expert Cloud Security consultants. They work closely with organizations to identify vulnerabilities, establish robust policies and controls, and design advanced cyber defense strategies that are tailored to each client’s specific needs, aligned with their industry’s compliance regulations.
• SOC Monitoring: Novis has a Security Operations Center (SOC) that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The SOC has security specialists who proactively monitor client systems, identify threats in real time and take immediate containment measures to minimize the impact of attacks.

In summary, companies using SAP solutions face a wide and diverse attack surface, ranging from unauthorized access to external attacks, lack of monitoring and response, internal security breaches and lack of patches and updates. At Novis, we help our clients mitigate these risks through specialized cybersecurity services, minimizing the likelihood of incidents such as confidential information leakage, damage to services and reputation, financial fraud, regulatory fines and associated financial losses.

We are committed to complying with international security standards, ensuring that clients can be confident that their SAP solutions are protected to the highest standards. We invite you to contact us for a discussion.

Feedback/discussion with author Flavio Fernandes, CISO Novis, flavio.fernandes@noviscorp.com

Related note

• SAP Security Notes – Keeping up to date