What Is a Data Security Model in Salesforce?
A data security model in Salesforce refers to the rules and framework that dictate how company data is accessed, shared, and secured.
Why It Matters: Sensitive information needs to be protected both from cybercriminals as well as from improper internal processes. Something as innocuous as an unintentional deletion could have wide-ranging impacts.
- A recent study found that 82% of data breaches are the result of human error.
- The potential for a catastrophic error grows with each additional person granted access to a particular piece of data.
Here are six critical aspects of a comprehensive data security model in Salesforce:
- Default Settings
- Role Hierarchy
- Profiles and Permission Sets
- Object-Level Security
- Manual Sharing
- Ownership Transfer
1. Default Settings
The baseline configurations that establish initial permissions and access controls within Salesforce form the foundations of your data security model. These settings act as a starting point to define who can view, edit, and delete sensitive information.
Configure your default settings within Salesforce to restrict access to sensitive information and prevent accidental exposure of protected information.
Restrictive default settings allow administrators to ensure consistent security standards across the organization, reducing the risk of unauthorized data access or breaches.
2. Role Hierarchy
The organizational structure that defines the hierarchical relationships among users influences data visibility and access controls. Users at higher levels in the hierarchy typically have broader access privileges, allowing them to view and modify data owned by users lower in the hierarchy.
The role hierarchy allows administrators to ensure that users only have access to the data they need to accomplish their duties, minimizing the risk of unauthorized data exposure.
Role hierarchy is a fundamental component of a successful data security model in Salesforce because it enables granular control over data access while maintaining organizational efficiency.
3. Profiles and Permission Sets
Profiles define the baseline permissions and settings for a particular user role, specifying what objects they can access, the level of access, and other privileges such as login hours and IP restrictions. Permission sets provide additional permissions that can be assigned to users on top of their profile settings, allowing for more granular control over access rights.
Profiles and permission sets are two key mechanisms for managing user permissions within a data security model in Salesforce.
Having increased control over specific team members with access to sensitive information improves your ability to keep your data secure. Automated scanners are available to ensure these settings adhere to internal policies.
4. Object-Level Security
There are multiple levels of access control. Object-level security refers to the regulation of user access to different types of data objects such as accounts, contacts, leads, and custom objects. Object-level security allows administrators to define who can view, create, edit, and delete records within these objects.
Organizations can support data privacy and compliance with regulatory requirements, mitigating the risk of data breaches or unauthorized access with these controls.
A Salesforce data security model requires strict control, and object-level security is another piece to this puzzle. The granular controls continue with field-level security—the capability to control access to individual fields within a record—and record-level sharing, which allows organizations to control access to individual records within objects.
5. Manual Sharing
These access controls won’t fit into every single scenario. And this is when it’s necessary to manually adjust permission settings. This is particularly useful in situations where record-level sharing rules or default access settings do not adequately address specific access requirements.
Manual sharing allows for adjustments to access permissions on a case-by-case basis, empowering users to collaborate effectively while maintaining data security.
By providing a flexible mechanism for fine-tuning record-level access, manual sharing complements other aspects of a data security model in Salesforce, enabling organizations to balance data privacy and accessibility according to their unique business needs.
6. Ownership Transfer
Ownership of records is assigned to specific team members to manage the maintenance of data. This ownership can be transferred from one user to another when users leave the organization or change roles.
Updated permissions and transferring ownership of records avoids overexposure and ensures that critical records remain accessible and properly managed.
This practice also plays a vital role in maintaining data accuracy and compliance, as it enables organizations to keep track of record ownership changes and maintain accountability within the platform.
Next Step…
Data protection is a critical aspect of safeguarding your Salesforce environment. Internal processes go a long way toward ensuring everything is being properly handled. What else can you do to protect your platform?
Read our blog, A Step-by-Step Guide to Salesforce Data Security, to learn what you can do today to avoid costly outages and exposures.
FAQs
How can I monitor and detect unauthorized access within my Salesforce environment?
There are various tools at your disposal to keep tabs on who is accessing your data. Detailed audit trails allow you to track all user activity and changes made to records, providing visibility into who accessed what data and when. You can also set up real-time alerts for suspicious activities, such as multiple failed login attempts or unusual data access patterns, which are signs of potential security breaches. Regularly reviewing login history, monitoring login attempts from unfamiliar locations or devices, and conducting periodic security audits can further strengthen your ability to detect unauthorized access and mitigate risks.
How do data security models balance data availability while maintaining confidentiality?
The way your data security model is set up and the implementation of access controls help provide a beneficial balance of access and protection. By defining granular permissions, organizations can restrict access to sensitive data to only those who require it. They can also maintain data availability by granting appropriate access to authorized users based on their roles and responsibilities. Redundancy and backup strategies also play crucial roles, ensuring data remains accessible even in the event of an outage. Regular assessments of access controls and disaster recovery plans help maintain this delicate balance between confidentiality and availability.
How do data security models adapt to compliance requirements such as GDPR or HIPAA?
The integration of specific controls and practices mandated by these regulations is critical to maintaining compliance. For GDPR, emphasizing data minimization, encryption, and privacy-enhancing technologies ensures compliance with its stringent data protection principles. Meanwhile, HIPAA compliance entails robust access controls, encryption, audit trails, and risk assessments tailored to protect sensitive health information. Continuous monitoring and updates ensure ongoing compliance as regulatory standards continue to evolve.
