Mastering Salesforce Shield: A Comprehensive Guide to Fortifying Your Data Security

In today’s digital landscape, data security has become a top priority for organizations of all sizes. With the growing amount of information being processed and stored in the cloud, companies are now, more than ever, tasked with safeguarding their most valuable assets. One of the most powerful tools available to help with this is Salesforce Shield—a comprehensive solution that enhances the security of personal and sensitive business data.

In this blog post, we’ll dive into the key features of Salesforce Shield, including its advanced encryption methods, and discuss how businesses can implement this solution to ensure data protection. We’ll also explore the challenges that come with securing data in Salesforce and why this solution is essential for modern organizations.

What is Salesforce Shield?

Salesforce Shield is an advanced security suite designed for organizations that need extra layers of protection for their sensitive data and compliance management. It includes four key components that work together to protect vital business information:

1. Platform Encryption: This uses advanced encryption techniques, such as AES 256-bit encryption, to secure data stored in Salesforce.
2. Field Audit Trail: A feature that tracks changes to field data for up to 10 years, far surpassing the standard 18-24 months.
3. Event Monitoring: Enables the detailed tracking of user activity, including logins, report views, and data exports.
4. Einstein Data Detect: Scans databases to identify sensitive information such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, and other personal data using AI and machine learning.

These components can be purchased as part of a full package or individually, depending on a company’s specific needs.

How Does Salesforce Shield Platform Encryption Work?

Salesforce Shield’s Platform Encryption offers a high level of security by encrypting data at rest within the Salesforce cloud. The system uses a combination of a tenant-controlled secret key (managed by the client) and a master secret key (managed by Salesforce). These two keys are merged to generate a unique encryption key that protects sensitive information.

The encryption occurs at the Lightning platform application layer, ensuring that encrypted data is not stored as plain text. Salesforce Shield employs AES-256 encryption in CBC mode, providing an industry-leading level of security.

Why is Field Audit Trail Important?

Field Audit Trail is a crucial feature for organizations with strict compliance requirements. It extends the ability to track changes made to fields beyond the standard Salesforce offering, which stores field history for only 18-24 months. With Field Audit Trail, you can maintain a detailed record of changes for up to 10 years.

This extended history makes it easier for businesses to meet legal and regulatory requirements around data retention, while also providing insights into who accessed or changed specific data points over time. Field Audit Trail allows organizations to track changes in up to 60 fields per object, compared to only 20 fields in the standard version.

Event Monitoring and Its Role in Data Security

Event Monitoring is another vital component of Salesforce Shield that plays a key role in maintaining data security and regulatory compliance. It offers detailed logs of user activity, including login attempts, report views, and data exports.

By monitoring nearly 80 types of events, organizations can proactively detect potential security threats, such as unauthorized access or suspicious user behavior. Additionally, Event Monitoring helps businesses comply with regulations by providing an audit trail of user activities.

The Power of Einstein Data Detect

Formerly known as Einstein Data Detect, this tool leverages AI and machine learning to automatically scan Salesforce databases for sensitive data. It can identify and classify five main types of sensitive information: credit card numbers, email addresses, social security numbers, URLs, and IP addresses.

This functionality is especially useful for companies needing to meet data privacy regulations, such as GDPR, as it ensures sensitive data is classified and secured appropriately. Moreover, Data Detect allows companies to reassess fields and apply additional access controls where necessary.

Challenges in Salesforce Data Security

While Salesforce provides robust tools for data security, organizations still face several challenges. One major issue is managing user access rights. Many users are granted permissions that are too broad, which increases the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive data. Additionally, integrations are often configured with excessive permissions, violating the principle of least privilege.

Internal threats, such as human error and misconfigurations, also pose a significant risk, as do external threats like phishing attacks and ransomware. Organizations must understand the shared responsibility model, where customers are responsible for securing the data they enter into Salesforce.

Conclusion

Salesforce Shield provides organizations with a powerful set of tools to protect sensitive data and ensure compliance with data protection regulations. By leveraging components such as Platform Encryption, Field Audit Trail, Event Monitoring, and Data Detect, businesses can build a robust defense against both internal and external threats.

However, while Salesforce Shield strengthens data security, companies must stay proactive in managing user access rights, monitoring configurations, and understanding their shared responsibility. With the right approach, Salesforce Shield can become a cornerstone of your organization’s data security strategy.

FAQs

What is Salesforce Shield Encryption?
Salesforce Shield Encryption adds an extra layer of security for sensitive data stored in Salesforce applications, protecting personal, confidential, and proprietary information.

What is the purpose of Salesforce Shield?
Salesforce Shield helps companies closely monitor user activities, track changes, and encrypt data, allowing them to better manage access and compliance requirements.

Does Salesforce Shield include event monitoring?
Yes, Salesforce Shield includes Event Monitoring, which tracks nearly 80 types of user actions, providing a detailed audit trail for security and compliance purposes.

How can I check if I have Salesforce Shield?
To verify if you have Salesforce Shield, search for “platform encryption” in your Salesforce settings. If it appears, you have access. You can also check your licenses in the company information section of your settings.

By implementing Salesforce Shield, your business can ensure that its data remains secure while complying with evolving legal requirements.