As UK enterprises continue shifting critical operations to cloud applications, SaaS has quietly become the nervous system of modern business. HR systems, collaboration tools, CRMs, data warehouses — everything lives in the cloud now. But for many organisations, SaaS adoption has happened faster than SaaS security.
At Brain Trips, in partnership with SpinAI, we’ve seen first-hand how simple misconfigurations and blind spots in SaaS environments lead to unnecessary risk. Most breaches are not the result of sophisticated hacking — they’re caused by overlooked SaaS security gaps hiding in plain sight.
Below, we break down the five most common SaaS vulnerabilities in UK enterprises, alongside real-world examples that show how costly these gaps can become when ignored.
1. Shadow SaaS
Shadow SaaS remains a major blind spot as employees connect unapproved apps to company systems without involving IT. UK firms often run over 120 unmanaged SaaS tools, many with public sharing enabled by default. A Manchester logistics company learned this the hard way when customer delivery data surfaced online due to an unapproved analytics tool. When IT can’t see an app, it can’t secure it — and that creates an immediate risk.
2. Overprivileged Accounts
Excessive access permissions are another silent threat. Many UK companies still fail to revoke admin rights when staff change roles or leave. PageGroup’s data exposure incident, tied to a lingering privileged account, shows how easily attackers can exploit outdated permissions. One compromised overprivileged account can unlock an entire SaaS environment.
3. Misconfigured SaaS Settings
Misconfigurations — such as public links, open sharing, or weak authentication defaults — are now one of the leading causes of SaaS data exposure. A London healthcare provider accidentally exposed patient documents simply because their file-sharing tool was left on its default public access setting. Nothing was hacked; it was just misconfigured. These small oversights create big vulnerabilities.
4. Weak Data Encryption and Backups
Many UK organisations assume SaaS vendors fully protect their data, but the shared responsibility model places encryption and backup duties partly on the customer. The Capita breach revealed just how damaging this misunderstanding can be, with several councils discovering their sensitive data wasn’t encrypted or properly backed up. Relying entirely on the vendor leaves critical gaps.
5. Vulnerable Integrations and APIs
As businesses connect more systems together, unmonitored integrations become easy targets. A London fintech startup suffered a breach when an outdated API exposed customer financial details, allowing attackers in through the “side door.” Without consistent monitoring, APIs turn into hidden entry points into core SaaS platforms.
Why SpinAI + Brain Trips Are Addressing These Challenges
Most UK companies don’t have the visibility or automation required to continuously monitor and secure their expanding SaaS ecosystem. That’s why Brain Trips partnered with SpinAI — a leader in SaaS security posture management (SSPM), data loss prevention, and AI-driven threat detection.
Together, we help UK enterprises:
- Discover hidden SaaS applications
- Detect misconfigurations before they lead to breaches
- Protect data across Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Slack, Salesforce, and more
- Monitor risky integrations and external apps
- Implement least-privilege access across your SaaS stack
In short, we help you close the gaps before attackers find them.
