SSPM vs. DSPM: What Security Teams Actually Need

Martin Snyder
Aug 20, 2025
4 min read

If you’re drowning in SaaS tools and mystery data trails, here’s the practical truth: without knowing what services you’re actually using, both SSPM and DSPM are low value. Waldo Security helps you identify every SaaS app and account across your environment—including shadow and AI tools—so posture checks and data controls land where they matter. Start with Instant SaaS Discovery, then export audit-ready evidence via our SaaS Compliance Overview.

What these acronyms actually cover

SSPM (SaaS Security Posture Management): Continuously checks and fixes SaaS configurations, identities, sharing, and OAuth grants (e.g., SSO/MFA coverage, admin sprawl, risky plug-ins). It’s app-layer posture—not cloud infrastructure. See CSA’s overview of how SSPM differs from CSPM. Cloud Security Alliance. (Cloud Security Alliance)
DSPM (Data Security Posture Management): Finds where sensitive data lives, who can access it, and how it’s exposed across clouds and apps (e.g., overshared folders, public links, risky roles). Read CSA’s guide for a clear definition. Cloud Security Alliance. (Cloud Security Alliance)

Both are useful. Neither is magic without an accurate list of what apps and integrations exist in the first place.

The catch: inventory first, or waste cycles

Security teams often deploy SSPM/DSPM and still miss the long tail—department tools, personal workspaces, niche plug-ins, and “just testing” AI apps. That’s how you end up tuning policies for 40 apps while 70 more hum along unseen. Even public guidance emphasizes inventory + least privilege + centralized logging as table stakes before deeper controls. CISA Cloud Security Technical Reference Architecture. (CISA)

Bottom line: If you don’t know the services in play, SSPM can’t fully harden them and DSPM won’t scan where the data actually flows.

What to do (in this order)

1) Build a living inventory

Aggregate from your IdP, HRIS, email, network logs, browser extensions, and expense data. Include: app name, owner, department, auth method (SSO vs. local), admins, OAuth grants, and basic data sensitivity.With Waldo: SaaS Discovery correlates these signals to reveal sanctioned, unsanctioned, and AI tools in minutes.

2) Apply SSPM to reduce misconfig and identity risk

Enforce SSO + MFA on high-risk apps.
Trim admin sprawl; block risky third-party plug-ins; review OAuth scopes (especially *.ReadWrite.All and persistent offline_access).
Set consent policies so users can approve only low-risk scopes and verified publishers. (Strongly recommended by major vendors.) (Cloud Security Alliance)

3) Apply DSPM to shrink data blast radius

Classify where sensitive data (PII/PHI/code/financials) lives across drives, repos, and stores.
Kill public links and over-broad external sharing; reduce “everyone” roles; watch exfil paths. See CSA’s DSPM guidance for patterns to target. CSA DSPM Guide. (Cloud Security Alliance)

4) Automate offboarding and evidence

HR event → remove access everywhere (including long-tail apps and tokens) → transfer ownership → store proof.
Tie evidence to SOC 2 / ISO 27001 / HIPAA / GDPR controls.With Waldo: One-click exports from the SaaS Compliance Overview.

When to start with which

Use this quick decision guide:

Start with SSPM if you struggle with SSO/MFA coverage, admin sprawl, risky plug-ins, or opaque OAuth grants. It hardens your people & permissions posture first. (Cloud Security Alliance)
Start with DSPM if your biggest pain is not knowing where sensitive data resides or how it’s shared. It tightens exposure channels quickly. (Cloud Security Alliance)
Do both after discovery. Inventory turns both from guesswork into targeted, high-ROI controls. CISA’s TRA frames this as an inventory-first journey toward zero trust. CISA TRA. (CISA)

A 30-day, low-drama plan

Week 1 — See it: Run discovery; tag owners, auth method, sensitivity. Prioritize the top 20 riskiest apps (sensitivity × privilege × no SSO).

Week 2 — Stabilize: Enforce SSO/MFA on those apps; revoke unused persistent tokens; restrict new app consents to verified, low-risk scopes.

Week 3 — Map data: Identify three highest-sensitivity domains (customer data, HR, code); remove public links and broad external shares.

Week 4 — Automate: Wire HR events to revoke tokens and remove consents across all apps; enable a monthly drift report (new apps, new admins, new high-privilege grants, new public links).

What to measure (so improvements stick)

Unknown → Known: % of traffic/spend tied to inventoried apps.
Identity posture: SSO/MFA coverage for high-risk apps; count of local passwords eliminated; number of high-privilege OAuth grants.
Data exposure: # of public links; # of overshared folders; sensitive data stores without owners.
Offboarding SLA: Median time from HR event to all SaaS access removed.
Evidence freshness: % of control evidence updated in the last 30 days.

For context on why this matters, the Verizon 2025 DBIR shows credential-driven and web-app issues remain costly and common—exactly what good inventory + SSPM + DSPM reduce together. Verizon DBIR 2025. (Verizon)

The takeaway

SSPM hardens how apps are used. DSPM protects what the apps touch. Neither delivers full value until you know which apps and integrations exist. Waldo Security gives you that ground truth—a living inventory of every SaaS app, account, and risky connection—so your posture checks and data controls land where risk is real. Get your map first with Instant SaaS Discovery, then keep auditors happy with the SaaS Compliance Overview.