![]() This is something that London-based Push Security is setting out to solve, with a platform that enables employees to use whatever SaaS apps they need for their jobs, without compromising basic security principles. “Like it or not, SaaS apps now form part of a company’s infrastructure, but many don’t even know what does and doesn’t exist, and it’s growing continuously,” Push Security cofounder and CEO Adam Bateman told TechCrunch. The company officially launches out of stealth today with $4 million in seed funding led by Decibel, with participation from notable angels including Duo Security cofounder Jon Oberheide. The initial setup involves connecting Push Security to Office 365 or Google Workspace, which imports the company’s employee profiles and reviews their security status. “This is our starting point because then the platform knows who it needs to initiate conversations with,” Bateman said. The core underlying problem that Push is looking to fix is what is known as “ shadow IT,” which is when employees use software and systems without explicit approval from IT - it’s a practice that has become much easier in the world of SaaS. Indeed, it has become much harder for IT and security teams to vet and scrutinize every application an employee wants to use to get their job done, given that they can sign up for just about any piece of software. And usually it’s well-intentioned, for example a worker might just want to trial a SaaS application as a precursor to convincing the powers-that-be that it’s worth investing in. In practice, this could mean that marketing teams test-driving third-party social media management tools could inadvertently jeopardise the company’s Twitter and Facebook accounts, or admins could dabble with mobile device management (MDM) software and create an easy inroad for hackers to deploy malware to mobile devices across the workforce.īut when they do that of their own volition, it often means weak passwords and a failure to activate any form of security controls such as 2FA. ![]() While it’s true that companies can go some way toward preventing this by enforcing strict IT policies and oversight, it’s never completely fool-proof - and it’s not always entire productive, either. “It frustrates your employees who want to use their preferred tools and features,” Bateman said. You’re essentially hamstringing your employees from being as productive as they could be.” “And moreover, if your competitors are allowing more SaaS in their companies, their employees are able to work faster and get products and features out the door quicker than yours can. While there are other shadow IT discovery tools on the market, they are generally all about giving IT and security teams the data to restrict SaaS usage. ![]() Push is designed to support SaaS usage, and make it more secure. “To us, the key thing is that by working directly with the employees, we can build mutual trust over time and let them continue to freely adopt the tools they want without raising alarm bells from their security team,” Bateman said.
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