Connect a Salesforce instance to SSPM to detect posture risks.
For SSPM to detect posture risks in your Salesforce instance, you must onboard your
Salesforce instance to SSPM. During onboarding, SSPM connects to the Salesforce API
through an External Client App that you create. By leveraging the OAuth 2.0
protocol, the External Client App provides the secure framework for SSPM to access
your Salesforce configuration. Once authenticated, SSPM uses the API to scan your
Salesforce environment for misconfigured settings and account risks.
The supported Salesforce editions for SSPM scans are the following editions:
- Enterprise Edition
- Unlimited Edition
- Developer Edition
- Professional Edition with the API Add-on
To access your Salesforce instance, SSPM requires the following information, which
you will specify during the onboarding process.
| Item | Description |
| Instance URL | The unique web address for your Salesforce instance. SSPM uses
this address to locate and communicate with your specific
environment. The instance URL has the format
https://<instance_name>.my.salesforce.com.
|
| Client ID |
SSPM will access a Salesforce API through a Salesforce External
Client App that you create. Salesforce generates the Client ID
to uniquely identify the External Client App. The Client ID acts
as a username for SSPM to identify itself during the connection
process.
The Salesforce interface calls this ID
the Consumer Key.
|
| Client Secret |
SSPM will access a Salesforce API through a Salesforce External
Client App that you create. Salesforce generates the Client
Secret, which acts as a password that SSPM uses to securely
authenticate and establish the OAuth connection.
The Salesforce interface calls this
secret the Consumer Secret.
|
Setting up a Salesforce External Client App involves two distinct requirements: a
user with permission to create and configure the app, and a
Run As user
account. The Run As user is the account whose identity the app assumes to interact
with Salesforce data. The Run As user provides the security context for the External
Client App, ensuring it can access only the records and fields permitted by that
account’s permissions.
Although accounts assigned to the System Administrator Profile have the necessary
permissions to create the External Client App and to act as the Run As user, you
might prefer to use accounts that have only the minimum necessary permissions.
To create and configure the External Client App, the user account requires only the
Create, edit, and delete External Client Apps permission. To adhere to
the principle of least privilege, you can create a specialized permission set with
this permission and assign it to the user who will create the External Client
App.
To act as the Run As user, the user account requires the following minimum
permissions:
- API Enabled
- View Health Check
- Customize Application
- Manage Sharing
- Manage Users
- Download AppExchange Packages
During onboarding, you
will specify whether you want SSPM to connect with Read Permissions
only or with Read and Write permissions. The Run As user requires the
Download AppExchange Packages permission only if you plan to grant SSPM full
Read and Write permissions during onboarding.
- View Event Log Files
- View Setup and Configuration
- View Roles and Role Hierarchy
- Assign Permission Sets
- Modify Metadata Through Metadata API Functions
To adhere to the principle of least privilege, you can create a specialized
permission set with only these permissions and assign it to the user who will act as
the Run As user. To support specific SSPM features, the Run As user account requires
only the following permissions:
| Feature | Permission | Type |
| Configuration Scans |
- API Enabled
- View Health Check
| Read Permission |
| Risky Account Scans |
API Enabled
In addition to the API
Enabled permission, you must also disable login
with Salesforce credentials for the account. You can do this by
selecting the Disable login with Salesforce
credentials checkbox on the Single Sign-on
Settings page. More information on this setting is available in
the following steps.
| Read Permission |
| Identity Scans |
- API Enabled
- View Event Log Files
- Customize Application
- Manage Users
| Read and Write Permission |
| Third-Party Plugin scans |
- API Enabled
- Download AppExchange Packages
| Read and Write Permission |
| Remediation |
| Read and Write Permission |
To onboard your Salesforce instance, you complete the following actions:
The following steps assume that you are using the
Salesforce Lightning Experience UI, which is now the default UI for most Salesforce
accounts. If you are using the Salesforce Classic UI, you can click the
Switch to Lightening Experience in your page header to
follow these instructions.