How Penetration Testing Helps Secure Your RISE with SAP and Cloud ERP
Key Takeaways
The Shared Responsibility Model emphasizes that SAP secures the infrastructure while customers must protect their data and applications, highlighting the importance of proactive security management.
Penetration testing in SAP Cloud requires coordination with SAP ECS, ensuring compliance with strict guidelines to mitigate risks without disrupting multi-tenant environments.
Choosing a certified SAP partner for penetration testing is crucial, as it not only ensures adherence to compliance but also provides actionable insights for effective remediation and enhances overall security posture.
SAP S/4HANA Cloud platforms are the engine of enterprise transformation. However, migrating to RISE with SAP and Cloud ERP platforms fundamentally changes the security landscape, introducing novel risks that demand a proactive approach.
Under the Shared Responsibility Model for SAP cloud solutions, security is a collaborative effort between SAP and the customer.
- SAP’s Responsibility: Securing the underlying hyperscaler infrastructure, network level, servers, and embedded security controls.
- Customer’s Responsibility: Protecting their data, applications, integrations, extensions, and custom code.
It only takes one insecure interface, one misconfigured role, or one untested custom application to expose highly sensitive financial, operational, and HR data. This is why the customer’s role is critical: they must proactively secure their SAP cloud environments, manage user access, and vet all third-party integrations and extensions.
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Penetration Testing in SAP Cloud
Regular penetration testing is a crucial, proactive security exercise that allows organizations to detect weaknesses, assess existing controls, and validate security mechanisms within their SAP landscape before they can be exploited. However, due to the Shared Responsibility Model and the multi-tenant nature of cloud environments, customers cannot simply hire a provider and commence testing independently. The successful execution of a penetration test in SAP cloud platforms, including RISE with SAP and SAP S/4HANA Cloud, requires mandatory coordination with SAP Enterprise Cloud Services (ECS).
This coordination begins with a formal request submitted to SAP ECS. The request must detail the test’s specific scope, purpose, and timeline, as well as the identity of the chosen testing provider. This required approval step is not a simple bureaucratic hurdle; it enables SAP ECS to ensure the testing activities are safe, non-disruptive, and will not negatively affect other tenants sharing the cloud infrastructure or violate service-level agreements (SLAs).
Following approval, the execution of the penetration test adheres to strict rules of engagement enforced by SAP. Providers must confine testing activities to the approved window and limit their scope exclusively to the layers managed by the customer. This includes only the application configurations, custom code, and extensions. Crucially, external providers are prohibited from using denial-of-service techniques or destructive payloads.
Technical Expertise, Structured Methodologies Required
Given these requirements, SAP has vetted and partnered with service providers that have the technical expertise, testing methodologies, and track record of SAP ECS compliance required to perform penetration tests safely and effectively.
Layer Seven Security, a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions, and SAP partner, has developed several services accordingly. Its SAP Penetration Testing service tests customers’ defenses in SAP RISE, determines the business impact of possible exploits, detects exploitable vulnerabilities, and prioritizes remediation efforts.
Layer Seven Security-led penetration testing entails scoping, vulnerability discovery, controlled exploitation, and reporting within SAP ECS guidelines. Its testers employ automated tools and manual techniques to examine interfaces, applications, and user-privileges. Their findings are designed for remediation in-line with best security practices.
Moreover, they support the mandatory security and hardening requirements defined by SAP ECS. Layer Seven Security provides automated audits through its Cybersecurity Extension for SAP (CES) to identify compliance gaps in SAP RISE and Cloud ERP environments.
What This Means for SAPinsiders
Expertise matters. Effective penetration testing requires a technical knowledge of SAP applications, custom code, and integrations, as well as the ability to work within the shared responsibility model and SAP ECS guidelines, to deliver actionable findings. A provider with a track record of SAP ECS-compliant testing ensures vulnerabilities are identified without introducing operational risk.
Compliance is critical. Penetration testing in SAP Cloud environments is highly regulated. Providers must follow formal approval processes with SAP ECS, adhere to strict rules of engagement, and comply with reporting and non-disclosure requirements. Choosing a certified SAP partner reduces unnecessary risk and promises testing will meet internal governance and external standards.
Actionable insights underscore value. Look for a provider who delivers more than a list of vulnerabilities. The most effective penetration testing prioritizes findings based on business impact and provides remediation guidance, integrating compliance throughout. This helps organizations move from vulnerabilities to a more proactive security posture that meets ongoing compliance obligations.
