Securing SAP Systems: Strategies to Minimize Attack Surface and Protect Sensitive Data

Have you experienced configuration errors, access control problems, or problems due to software bugs? If you haven’t had these problems and run SAP, beware that you might. If you have, you may have already found that those problems were due to issues in the SAP environment when integrated with multiple systems containing business-critical information—this is causing SAP systems to be vulnerable to attack. There exist vulnerabilities in SAP that can be exploited by bad actors who want access to classified information.

SAP systems’ ubiquity and vulnerabilities make them prime targets for cyber attacks. The potential risks are significant financial loss, data loss, reputational damage, and even legal liability. When attackers infiltrate the SAP system, these risks become a reality. If your third-party applications and systems are integrated into your SAP, they create an attack vector. This awareness of the potential risks will help you adopt a cautious approach to your system’s security and understand the issue’s urgency.

Why is the SAP attack surface so important?

Organizations must constantly monitor their attack surface to identify and block potential threats as quickly as possible. They also must try to minimize the attack surface area to reduce the risk of cyberattacks succeeding. In the context of SAP, the Internet Communication Manager (ICM) or Internet Communication Framework (ICF) is available via SAP transaction SICF, and the remote function call connection setup is prone to overexposing services to the outside. With SAP security in mind, SAP users must continuously assess and inventory the exposed services (SOAP, WebService, APIs). Any service that is not used or does not serve a specific SAP business scenario should be deactivated to reduce the attack surface and, thus, minimize the risk of exploitation. This proactive approach puts you in control of your system’s security.

Furthermore, close attention must be paid to services that do not require authentication. In SAP, these services exist in the /public/namespace, which can be found in transaction SICF. Services like /public/system_info are the number one touch point for threat actors to gather information in the exploration phase of an attack. Below are some of the steps that can be taken to ensure that you are reducing all your SAP vulnerabilities:

1. It is crucial to stay informed about the latest SAP security advisories. By following these advisories, you can stay ahead of potential threats and take proactive measures to protect your SAP systems.
2. Implementing strong access controls is essential to SAP security. Limiting the number of users with access to sensitive data can reduce the risk of unauthorized access and potential data breaches.
3. Update your SAP system regularly by deploying the latest security patches.
4. Native SAP security is limited; leverage third-party SAP security tools that monitor, alert, and categorize critical vulnerabilities for immediate attention.

Know The Common SAP Vulnerabilities

Cyber attackers target SAP systems because of their wide use—SAP platforms are used by 99 of the Fortune 100 companies and have over 280 million cloud subscribers worldwide. There are many types of vulnerabilities and different ways to deal with them. Listed below are some of the common vulnerabilities you need to be aware of and, more importantly, address:

• SAP Code Injection Vulnerabilities: These vulnerabilities allow attackers to inject malicious code into SAP Systems. This malicious code can help them steal data or attack business operations. Some examples of this type of vulnerability are SQL injection and Remote Function Call (RFC) injection.
• SAP Denial of Service Vulnerabilities: This allows attackers to send multiple requests or data to SAP Systems, causing them to become overwhelmed and crash.
• SAP Authentication Vulnerabilities: This allows cyber attackers to outsmart authentication protocols and access SAP Systems. Some examples of these vulnerabilities are the misconfiguration of authentication settings, shared credentials, or weak passwords.
• SAP Authorization Vulnerabilities: These vulnerabilities allow attackers to access critical information and system protocols. Some examples of these vulnerabilities are misconfigured authorization protocols and poor role designs.

We have only looked at some common vulnerabilities associated with using SAP systems. For the best risk reduction and defense against attack, make sure that you keep up with the latest alerts and routinely deploy all relevant patches to your system. In addition, one of the best ways to protect is to automate part of the process by purchasing a third-party tool. Many exist, and they are a great way to continuously harden your SAP systems against intrusion, thus allowing you to feel assured that your business’s critical data and sensitive information are guarded.