Andrei Korenevich, Senior SAP Basis Administrator, ACBaltica
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are the backbone of many businesses, automating and integrating core processes. SAP systems are particularly robust, supporting everything from financial operations to supply chain management. However, this vast functionality makes them a prime target for cyber threats. Any ERP security breach can be catastrophic, potentially leading to financial losses, regulatory non-compliance, or even operational paralysis. In this article, we will explore the main security threats to your SAP environment and outline key ERP security best practices to protect your organization.
What threatens your SAP system?
SAP systems handle vast amounts of sensitive data—financial records, HR information, intellectual property—making them highly attractive to attackers. Understanding the risks that threaten your SAP environment is the first step toward safeguarding it. Here are some of the key external and internal threats to be aware of:
External threats
Cyberattacks, malware, and ransomware continuously evolve, with attackers constantly seeking new ways to compromise business systems. For instance, ransomware may lock down your entire SAP system, preventing access to critical data until a ransom is paid. The consequences of such an attack include not only downtime but also the potential loss of critical business data and financial losses, of course.
A robust ERP security framework should include firewalls, anti-malware software, and intrusion detection systems. By implementing these measures, businesses can reduce the risk of external attacks and protect their valuable SAP data.
Internal threats
Not all threats come from external sources. Insider threats are another significant concern, especially within large organizations where many employees have access to sensitive systems. According to the SAP Cyber Security Survey Report conducted by Onapsis in 2021, 41% of respondents identified internal fraud or misuse as a significant risk for their SAP environments, compared to 14% for external attacks.
Employees with excessive access or misused privileges can expose data, either through error or malicious intent. Ensuring proper access controls and monitoring insider activity can help mitigate these risks and protect your SAP system from within.
SAP security challenges
The complexity of SAP systems introduces various security challenges. SAP environments often consist of numerous interconnected modules, custom code, and third-party integrations, all of which can create vulnerabilities if not managed properly. This complexity can create blind spots in security if not carefully managed. With each additional system component or customization, the potential for misconfigurations or overlooked vulnerabilities increases, increasing the need for a robust and continuous security monitoring strategy.
In this chapter, we examine some of the main security challenges in ERP systems and discuss how to address them in the next chapters.
Custom code vulnerabilities
Many SAP implementations involve significant customization, often resulting in the development of a custom code. While these customizations enhance functionality, they can also introduce security risks if not thoroughly checked and configured. Unoptimized or insecure code leaves gaps that cyber attackers can potentially exploit. To mitigate those risks, ensure regular code reviews, automated security scans, and rigorous testing. And we at ACBaltica can help you with that in terms of our development service.
Integration with other systems
To enrich SAP solutions' functionality, you often need to integrate them with various third-party applications. With all the capabilities that integrations bring, they also create additional security layers that you need to thoroughly manage since each integration point increases the potential attack surface. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that these integrations are secured according to ERP security best practices, continuously monitored, and comply with industry standards.
Data sensitivity
We’ve already mentioned that SAP systems often become prime targets for cyber attacks since they house critical and sensitive business data. However, there are even more data-related challenges, such as global and local regulations regarding sensitive data (like GDPR and more), which make managing the data even more complex. Any breach can result in significant financial and reputational damage, underscoring the need for encryption, role-based access controls, and continuous monitoring.
SAP features that make it challenging to maintain system safety
While SAP systems offer powerful capabilities, certain features can make maintaining security more difficult. Understanding these challenges will help you implement more robust SAP security measures.
Role-based access control (RBAC)
SAP's role-based access control (RBAC) is essential for managing user permissions – however, it can become a significant security challenge. With thousands of users accessing different parts of the system, maintaining precise control over who can view, modify, or delete data becomes truly complex.
The difficulty is that a universal RBAC policy suitable for any business simply doesn't exist: creating an RBAC system from scratch is a comprehensive process that could take months. It consists of a thorough matching of business requirements and access levels. In simple words, an SAP consultant would explore the functionalities and duties of every single role and grant access only to those areas where it is applicable. Mismanagement of those roles can either paralyze the whole business process (when a specific role doesn't have the relevant permissions) or lead to excessive privileges, exposing sensitive information to unauthorized users and even causing accidental data leaks.
Default сonfigurations
One of the biggest security risks in SAP systems comes from default configurations since sometimes users prefer to leave them unchanged. This approach can expose safety vulnerabilities, as default passwords, configurations, or open ports create easy access points for cybercriminals. To avoid those risks, you need to adjust all those default settings to your company's security policies and industry standards.
Frequent updates and patches
SAP truly supports continuous innovations with its frequent updates and patch releases, helping businesses meet the latest challenges and stay compliant and competitive. It is really important to keep up with the updates since delaying them or missing the patches can leave known vulnerabilities open. On the other hand, updates might sometimes disrupt business processes – so finding a balance between system stability and security might be really challenging.
Audit and logging difficulties
Regular system audits and tracking activity logs are crucial to identifying potential security breaches. However, managing audit logs and ensuring they are regularly reviewed in SAP systems can be overwhelming due to the sheer volume of data generated. Additionally, improper log configuration can result in gaps that make catching suspicious activity in time more complicated. To ensure safety, you need to maintain comprehensive logging (yet without overloading your system!) and regularly review this data.
Eventually, maintaining system safety means finding a balance between a business's needs, system performance, and safety requirements. Not easy!
The good news is that you can reduce all those risks by following SAP security best practices. In the next chapter, we'll briefly explain how to do it.
SAP security best practices
When it comes to securing your SAP environment, following the SAP security best practices is essential to safeguard your business-critical data and systems. Below are a few tips that could help mitigate risks and protect your SAP landscape.
Network security
Strong network security is the first line of defense in protecting SAP systems. Firewalls, antivirus, and data loss prevention (DLP) tools are all essential components of a secure network. Regular penetration testing can also help identify vulnerabilities before they can be exploited (for that, you can use third-party apps like HP ArcSight). Additionally, ensure that all network connections—especially wireless connections—are secured using encryption and MAC address filtering.
Patch management
Keeping your system up-to-date is vital to ensuring ERP security. SAP provides regular updates and Support Package Stacks to address vulnerabilities (you can find the maintenance schedule on the site). It is essential to apply these patches as soon as possible to reduce the risk of exploitation. SAP also provides Early Watch Alert (EWA), which helps monitor system performance and identifies areas where updates or patches are required.
Role and access management
We've already mentioned that managing user access is one of the top challenges in SAP security. The main rule is to give users access only to the information and functionality they need to do their jobs—and nothing more. We recommend doing a regular review to understand what roles you have and the permissions they currently have. The next step would be to adjust authorizations as needed (if some system users have higher access levels than they actually need) and then document your policies. And we, a certified SAP support partner, can help you with that.
It's also vital to review employee access anytime someone changes their role within the organization. In fact, we strongly recommend supporting roles and access management as a separate business process. Every time a specific trigger implies a change in the access level (like onboarding, promotion, change of responsibilities, termination, etc.), relevant actions should be taken: new access levels granted to the promoted employee or access deactivated when someone leaves the company. Accordingly, there should be people responsible for the relevant actions to be taken.
Segregation of duties (SoD)
Segregation of Duties (SoD) is a kind of access management that helps ensure no single individual has too much control over critical processes – and thus reduces the risk of fraud and errors. For example, the person who initiates a payment should not be the one who approves it. Implementing SoD requires a careful assessment of roles and responsibilities within your SAP system, as well as regular checks to ensure compliance.
To ensure the segregation of duties, you can implement the SAP GRC Access Control solution.
We also recommend the SAP Fraud Management solution, which helps you improve the detection and prevention of anomalies, leading to mitigated fraud risk and fewer losses. It scans large volumes of data in real-time to detect activity patterns and anomalies and alerts if something goes against regular patterns.
Regular audits and proactive system monitoring
Regular audits and system monitoring are essential for system safety. But it's even better to go beyond that and enable proactive system monitoring to prevent issues before they actually happen. We strongly recommend implementing SAP Early Watch Alert (EWA) for detailed insights into your system's health and security.
We strongly recommend combining SAP EWA (which is part of a Solution Manager and comes for free when you buy a license) with other solutions for monitoring IT infrastructure (like Zabbix). Unlike EWA, these solutions can alert about issues with system components (like a lack of space on your server, etc.). EWA does that—but not in real-time, so you might receive critical information later than needed.
Another system monitoring solution is SIEM (Security, Information, and Event Management), which helps detect threats before they disrupt business. Many vendors provide SIEM solutions (including SAP, of course, and its Enterprise Threat Detection solution). If you need help integrating your SIEM solution with the SAP system, we can also assist you.
Data encryption
Sensitive business data within your SAP system—such as financial records, personal employee information, and customer details—should be encrypted both at rest and in transit. Encryption adds an extra layer of protection, ensuring that even if data is accessed illegally, it remains unreadable. Use industry-standard encryption methods and regularly review your encryption policies to keep up with evolving threats.
If you're using S/4HANA, we have good news: SAP HANA Cloud (a database behind S/4HANA) uses native SAP encryption services to protect data at rest – by default. With ECC, you can also implement data encryption, but you will need some additional configurations (and we can also help with that)
Training and awareness
No matter how robust your security tools are, human error remains one of the biggest security risks. Regular security training and awareness programs for your employees are essential to reduce the likelihood of mistakes such as phishing attacks or mismanagement of sensitive data. Ensure that your staff understands their role in maintaining SAP security and encourage a culture of security awareness throughout your organization.
We provide user training as part of one of our support packages—feel free to contact us for details.
Conclusion
SAP security is a multi-layered approach that involves managing access, securing custom code, and keeping up with frequent updates. To protect your ERP system, follow ERP security best practices like regular patch management, continuous monitoring, and enforcing role-based access control. Addressing these challenges can prevent costly breaches, safeguard sensitive data, and comply with regulatory requirements.
And don't forget that you can always rely on an experienced SAP partner like ACBaltica to help you maintain the safety and optimal performance of your SAP system!
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