Key Points:

• Rapid startup growth, driven by excitement, can lead to inadequate security foundations, potentially hiring unqualified staff, and insufficient cybersecurity training.  
• Lack of proper security foundations, training, and data protection measures can leave startups vulnerable to cybersecurity threats and data exposure, especially in sprawling SaaS applications like Google Drive and Slack.
• Proactive security measures, including regular audits and automated data protection, are essential for maintaining control over sensitive data within rapidly expanding SaaS environments.
• With just a few clicks, Metomic helps you secure your SaaS applications, enforce policies, and maintain compliance, so your team can focus on what truly matters: innovation and collaboration.
• Webinar: See Metomic in Action: Clean Up and Secure Your Google Drive in 15 Minutes. Watch here.

With nearly 5 million startups in the UK, there are plenty of budding business owners excited to see their organisations grow and become a success. But while we hear about plenty of businesses failing within the first year, some founders experience the opposite - their businesses grow too fast.

This can be a wonderful achievement but it can come with its own risks too, especially when it comes to security.

Why might a startup be growing too fast?

‍When a founder of a startup sees it growing quickly, they can become excited about the expansion they’re seeing, and end up biting off more than they can chew. Caught up in the excitement of it all, a business owner can take on more staff, and invest in new technologies, without having a clear strategy in place.

There is a danger that any founder can want too much too fast from their business. But with hypergrowth comes a whole lot of risks that need to be handled carefully.

The Proliferation of SaaS and its Impact

‍A significant driver of rapid startup growth is the accessibility and scalability of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications. Platforms like Google Workspace, Slack, Salesforce, and countless others enable startups to quickly deploy essential business tools without the need for extensive on-premises infrastructure. However, this reliance on SaaS introduces a unique set of security challenges.  

What are the security risks founders face, especially with SaaS?

‍Not having the proper foundations or processes in place for your business can leave gaps in your data security strategy, and expose you to plenty of cybersecurity risks.If founders are hiring quickly to fill gaps in their team, and potentially hiring people without the right qualifications for the sake of speed, it could mean their staff aren’t totally equipped to deal with the cybersecurity threats they could face, especially within complex SaaS environments.

Similarly, founders may not be training the whole team on best security practices, leaving it to chance that they could spot a phishing attempt effectively. Specifically, within SaaS, this could mean employees are unaware of how to properly share files, manage permissions, or recognise malicious links within collaboration platforms.

Without the proper security in place around customer information or employee data, businesses will leave themselves vulnerable to targeted attacks that can leave data exposed.

The very nature of SaaS, with its distributed data storage and access, means that sensitive information can easily spread across multiple applications and devices, increasing the risk of unauthorised access and data breaches.  

Specific SaaS Security Risks for StartUps:

• Shadow IT: Employees may adopt unapproved SaaS applications, creating blind spots for security teams.   ‍
• Data Sprawl: Sensitive data can be scattered across numerous SaaS platforms, making it difficult to track and control.‍
• Over-sharing: In collaboration-heavy SaaS environments, files and folders can be accidentally shared with unauthorized individuals or external parties.‍
• API Vulnerabilities: SaaS applications rely on APIs, which can be exploited by attackers to gain access to sensitive data.   ‍
• Third-Party Integrations: Connecting various SaaS applications can introduce security risks if integrations are not properly vetted.‍
• Access Management: Incorrect or excessive permission settings within SaaS applications can lead to data exposure.

What security protections should founders consider for their SaaS apps?

‍A data security tool like Metomic can be hugely beneficial for businesses that are growing quickly, as their data becomes sprawling and unmanageable, especially within the context of numerous SaaS applications.“When a company grows quickly,” explains Rich Vibert, CEO at Metomic, “they can accumulate data at an alarming rate. Although founders may be excited to gain new customers and bring in more revenue, business owners should realise they need the vital infrastructure in place to support their rapidly scaling organisation. When it comes to data, they’ll need to focus on locking it down while keeping their employees’ productivity levels high. A data security tool with low noise should be your main priority.”

What sort of damage can it cause?

‍If a business grows too quickly, without the right pillars in place to support it, a business owner may find themselves in trouble. For instance, if the customer experience starts to fail due to an overwhelming demand, clients may start looking elsewhere.

Without a human firewall in place, a successful phishing attempt from a hacker could be disastrous for a growing business, impacting their finances as well as reputation.

A founder could find themselves paying fines, for instance, if they don’t have the right processes in place to secure their customers’ data, leaving them exposed to identity theft.

‍Specifically, a data breach stemming from a poorly secured SaaS application could result in significant financial losses, legal penalties, and irreparable damage to the company's reputation.

‍In order to comply with national and international regulations such as GDPR, business owners will need to make sure they have procedures in place from the very beginning to stop data amassing in insecure hotspots like SaaS applications.  

🔒See Metomic in Action: Clean Up and Secure Your Google Drive in 15 Minutes

By implementing workflows with Metomic, organisations can swiftly transform their Google Drive security posture from reactive to proactive. What once seemed like an overwhelming security challenge becomes a manageable and automated process, ensuring that sensitive data stays where it belongs—protected and accessible only to those who need it.

With just a few clicks, Metomic helps you secure your Google Drive, enforce policies, and maintain compliance, so your team can focus on what truly matters: innovation and collaboration.

In our webinar, we will walk through how you can:

• Identify and classify sensitive data across your entire Google Drive
• Fix access risks and remove unnecessary exposure in a few clicks
• Apply retention policies to keep data under control without disrupting workflows

Instead of hoping for the best, take practical steps to reduce the risk of data breaches and keep your SaaS environment secure from day one.