Taming Shadow SaaS: A Look at Grip Security’s Approach to Identity Risk

It’s never been easier for teams to onboard a new tool with a credit card and a few clicks. But this convenience comes with a cost: shadow SaaS, unmanaged accounts, and identity sprawl that put organizations at risk. Security teams are often left asking the same question: who is using what — and is it secure?

This is where Grip Security comes in.

The SaaS Identity Problem

The traditional security perimeter has dissolved. Employees are spinning up apps faster than IT can catalog them, leading to:

• Shadow SaaS & Shadow AI: tools adopted without IT oversight

• Duplicate and orphaned accounts: employees creating multiple logins or leaving accounts behind after offboarding

• Excessive privileges & misconfigurations: leaving sensitive data exposed and compliance controls weak

The result? Growing identity risk and governance headaches across the enterprise.

Grip’s Approach: Identity as the Control Point

Grip Security positions itself around an “identity-first” philosophy. Rather than focusing only on network traffic or device-level controls, Grip zeros in on the connection between people and SaaS apps.

Their SaaS Security Control Plane (SSCP) provides visibility into all SaaS usage — sanctioned or not — while their SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) continuously checks for misconfigurations and compliance drift. Together, these capabilities give security leaders a unified view of their SaaS estate.

Key highlights include:

• Discovery of shadow SaaS/AI: uncovering apps outside the sanctioned portfolio

• Risk prioritization: focusing security teams on what matters most

• Automated remediation: reducing manual effort with workflows that fix issues at scale

• Fast deployment: no heavy agents, designed for quick time-to-value

  What's going on?

Expanding into AI Security

AI transformation has far outpaced the controls that keep businesses safe in this time of rapid innovation. Grip Security is closing that gap with the natural evolution of its SaaS Security Platform into deeper AI protections.

The company recently announced new AI security capabilities in three key areas:

• Shadow AI Governance: discover and govern unsanctioned AI tools being used across the enterprise

• AI Security Posture Management (AI-SPM): assess and enforce AI security best practices to prevent data leakage or misuse

• Agent Governance: monitor and manage AI agents interacting with critical systems to ensure compliance and control

This marks Grip’s evolution from SaaS identity protection to AI risk governance — helping organizations manage both SaaS and AI exposure through a unified, identity-first framework.

Why It Matters

Identity has become the new perimeter. Attackers target misused credentials and weak SaaS or AI configurations because they’re often the easiest path to sensitive data. By managing access and posture at the identity layer, Grip helps enterprises:

• Reduce breach risk tied to SaaS and AI sprawl

• Strengthen compliance across frameworks like NIST CSF, ISO, and SOC 2

• Free up security teams through automation and continuous visibility

Differentiators and Considerations

What sets Grip apart is its identity-first lens on SaaS and AI risk — uncovering what’s otherwise invisible, from shadow SaaS apps to unauthorized AI tools. Unlike some competitors, Grip goes beyond reporting and delivers built-in remediation and posture management.

Still, organizations evaluating Grip should consider:

• Integration: how seamlessly it connects with existing IAM, ITSM, and SIEM tools

• Noise vs. actionability: can it effectively prioritize the most critical risks?

• Scalability and cost: how pricing grows with SaaS and AI adoption

These questions ensure that Grip’s platform drives measurable risk reduction and ROI.

Final Thoughts

SaaS and AI adoption show no signs of slowing. With every new app or agent comes potential exposure, and traditional security tools aren’t keeping pace. Grip Security’s identity-first approach — now expanded with AI protections — helps organizations tame both shadow SaaS and shadow AI, closing the visibility and governance gap before it becomes a breach.

For enterprises grappling with SaaS and AI chaos, Grip may be one of the most forward-thinking solutions on the market today.