Salesforce Data Security Under Threat: How Breaches at Salesloft and Drift Exposed Sensitive Customer Information
Salesforce is the central nervous system for countless businesses, holding invaluable customer data that fuels sales, marketing, and service operations. While the core Salesforce platform is known for its robust security, a recent series of data breaches has exposed a critical vulnerability that every organization must address: the third-party applications connected to their CRM environment.
Recent security incidents involving popular sales engagement platforms Salesloft and Drift have underscored this growing threat. In these cases, it wasn’t Salesforce’s own infrastructure that was compromised. Instead, threat actors exploited weaknesses in these connected third-party applications to siphon off sensitive customer data, leaving a trail of compromised information and shaken consumer confidence.
If your organization uses Salesforce in conjunction with these or other integrated apps, understanding how these breaches happened—and how to prevent them—is not just important, it’s essential.
How the Breaches Unfolded: Exploiting Misconfigured APIs
The attackers gained unauthorized access by targeting and exploiting misconfigured Salesforce API endpoints within the Salesloft and Drift applications. Think of an API (Application Programming Interface) as a secure digital bridge that allows two different software programs, like Salesforce and Salesloft, to talk to each other and share data.
In these incidents, the “bridge” was left partially unguarded. The misconfigurations allowed malicious actors to make unauthorized data requests, effectively asking the system for sensitive customer information and receiving it without triggering standard security alarms.
The data stolen included a significant amount of personally identifiable information (PII), such as:
- Full Names
- Email Addresses
- Phone Numbers
- Job Titles and Company Names
This type of information is a goldmine for cybercriminals, who can use it for sophisticated phishing attacks, identity theft, and other malicious activities. The core issue was not a failure of Salesforce security, but a failure in the security of the integration connecting the third-party app to Salesforce.
The Dangers of Unsecured Third-Party App Integrations
The modern business relies on a web of interconnected applications to create an efficient workflow. However, each new integration added to your Salesforce instance represents a potential new entry point for attackers if not managed properly.
Many organizations grant these applications broad permissions during setup, often without fully understanding what level of data access is being provided. This creates a significant security risk. If a single connected app with excessive permissions is compromised, it can act as a master key, unlocking vast amounts of your most sensitive customer data.
The impact of such a breach extends far beyond the immediate data loss. It can lead to:
- Loss of Customer Trust: A data breach can irreparably damage your company’s reputation.
- Regulatory Fines: Non-compliance with data protection regulations like GDPR and CCPA can result in severe financial penalties.
- Competitive Disadvantage: The theft of customer lists and contact information can be used by competitors or sold on the dark web.
Actionable Steps to Protect Your Salesforce Environment
Proactive security is the only effective defense against these evolving threats. Protecting your Salesforce data requires looking beyond the core platform and scrutinizing every application connected to it. Here are four essential steps every administrator and security team should take immediately.
1. Conduct a Thorough Third-Party App Audit
You cannot protect what you don’t know exists. Begin by creating a complete inventory of every application integrated with your Salesforce environment. For each app, ask critical questions:
- Is this application still necessary for our business operations?
- Who is the business owner for this integration?
- When was its security last reviewed?
- If an app is no longer needed, decommission it immediately to eliminate the risk.
2. Enforce the Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP)
This fundamental security concept dictates that an application should only be granted the absolute minimum permissions required to perform its function. Many apps request sweeping access during installation. It is crucial to manually review and restrict these permissions. If a marketing app only needs to read contact names and emails, it should not have permission to modify or delete entire account records.
3. Regularly Monitor API Usage and Logs
Keep a close watch on the activity within your Salesforce instance. Monitor API usage logs for unusual patterns, such as an abnormally high volume of data exports or access attempts from unfamiliar IP addresses. Anomaly detection tools can help automate this process and provide real-time alerts for suspicious activity, allowing you to respond before significant damage is done.
4. Implement a Robust Vendor Security Review Process
Before integrating any new third-party application, conduct a thorough security assessment of the vendor. Investigate their security policies, data handling procedures, and history of security incidents. Do not connect any application to your Salesforce environment without first vetting its security posture.
Ultimately, the security of your Salesforce ecosystem is only as strong as its weakest link. As these recent breaches demonstrate, that weak link is often a poorly configured or unvetted third-party integration. By taking a vigilant and proactive approach to managing your connected apps, you can significantly reduce your attack surface and safeguard your company’s most valuable asset: its customer data.
Source: https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/threat-intelligence/data-theft-salesforce-instances-via-salesloft-drift/
