
By 2026, insider risk management has outgrown legacy “insider threat” models that rely on static rules, endpoint monitoring, or after-the-fact investigations.
Modern SaaS environments demand continuous, contextual monitoring: understanding not just what a user did, but who that user is, what role they hold, what data they should have access to, and whether their behavior makes sense in context.
As organizations operate across dozens (or hundreds) of SaaS applications, insider risk increasingly stems from over-permissioned users, role changes that aren’t reflected in access controls, third-party collaborators, well-meaning employees who unintentionally put sensitive data at risk, or about-to-leave employees who try to take company IP to their next role.
Effective insider risk management today requires real-time visibility into user activity across SaaS applications, granular access controls, user behavior analytics (UBA), and automated remediation that can reduce risk without slowing the business down.
In insider risk management, context is everything. Identity, role, data sensitivity, application, and behavior must be evaluated together to manage insider risk at scale. But context alone isn’t enough. Visibility without action is useless. After all, simply seeing your risk doesn't eliminate it, it just makes you aware of the problem.
The most effective tools don’t just surface risk, they continuously assess risk, enforce least-privilege access, and take action automatically when risky behavior or misaligned permissions are detected.
To reflect this reality of what companies need today, we ranked the tools in this list based on how well they support modern, SaaS-first insider risk management, with a focus on contextual user monitoring, visibility into permissions and access, the ability to manage both negligent and malicious insiders, and the practicality of automated response.
The rankings prioritize solutions that help security teams reduce insider risk proactively, not just investigate it after damage has already been done.
1) DoControl
Strengths (Insider Risk Management)
- Purpose-built for managing insider risk across SaaS applications, providing strong visibility into user actions, permissions, and data access across SaaS environments
- Enriches activity with contextual data from HRIS and IdP systems to understand who the user is - including role, department, employment status, start date, and more
- Correlates user identity and context directly to the actions they take inside SaaS applications
- Uses user behavior analytics (UBA), behavioral baselines, contextual risk scoring to determine whether activity is truly risky or consistent with a user’s role, significantly reducing false positives
- Puts high risk users on watchlists, enabling security teams to monitor users that pose a threat to the organization closer than others and create specific workflows for specific actions
- Identifies third-party collaborators and contractors and evaluates their activity within full organizational context
- Enables large-scale bulk remediation by allowing teams to revoke access and eliminate existing exposure - up to one million files with a single click
- Offers custom, no-code drag-and-drop workflows that allow security teams to automate future policies, eliminate oversharing, revoke access, and remediate risk without manual effort while still being engaged
Limitations (Insider Risk Management)
- Primarily focused on insider risk within SaaS environments, with less emphasis on endpoint-level user activity
- Insider risk detection relies on depth of visibility within key SaaS applications rather than broad coverage across hundreds of apps
2) Proofpoint
Strengths (Insider Risk Management)
- Well-established insider risk management and DLP capabilities with strong enterprise maturity
- Provides real-time monitoring and detection of insider-driven data exfiltration, particularly through email and endpoint activity
- Benefits from broad enterprise adoption and proven threat intelligence, helping teams prioritize higher-confidence insider risk alerts
Limitations (Insider Risk Management)
- More complex to deploy and operate in SaaS-heavy environments compared to SaaS-native platforms
- Insider risk visibility is strongest in email, endpoint, and traditional data channels rather than in-app SaaS workflows
- Automated remediation within SaaS applications is more limited and often requires additional tools or manual intervention
3) Microsoft Purview
Strengths (Insider Risk Management)
- An excellent choice for organizations heavily invested in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, with native insider risk workflows built directly into the platform
- Provides integrated data protection and insider risk monitoring across Microsoft applications such as SharePoint, Exchange, and Teams
- Leverages identity and activity signals from Microsoft Entra ID to assess insider risk in context
Limitations (Insider Risk Management)
- Insider risk visibility is largely limited to the Microsoft ecosystem, with minimal coverage across third-party SaaS applications
- Contextual understanding of user behavior can be high-level compared to purpose-built insider risk platforms
- Automated remediation and cross-SaaS enforcement often require additional tools or manual workflows
4) Cyberhaven
Strengths (Insider Risk Management)
- Provides strong visibility into how data is created, accessed, modified, and exfiltrated by insiders across multiple channels
- Offers comprehensive channel control, helping security teams detect insider-driven data exfiltration across email, web, SaaS, and endpoints
- Well-suited for identifying insider risk tied to unauthorized data movement and misuse
Limitations (Insider Risk Management)
- More data-centric than identity-centric, with limited native understanding of user role, job function, or organizational context
- Insider risk insights focus primarily on data movement rather than permission misuse or oversharing within SaaS applications
- Automated remediation within SaaS environments may require additional tooling or manual workflows
5) Nightfall
Strengths (Insider Risk Management)
- Uses machine learning and generative AI to accurately detect and classify sensitive data across SaaS platforms such as Slack, GitHub, and Google Drive
- Provides strong visibility into where sensitive data is stored and shared within SaaS applications
- Lightweight deployment model makes it easier to adopt across distributed, SaaS-first organizations
Limitations (Insider Risk Management)
- Primarily focused on data classification and protection rather than holistic SaaS insider risk management
- Limited behavioral context around who the user is, their role, or whether activity aligns with job function
- Less effective at detecting sophisticated or malicious insider activity beyond policy-based data exposure
6) Code42
Strengths (Insider Risk Management)
- Strong visibility into file movement and uploads to personal and corporate email, social networks, Google Drive, OneDrive, and Slack
- Particularly effective at detecting insider risk related to data exfiltration and intellectual property theft
- Well-suited for organizations handling sensitive client data or proprietary information
Limitations (Insider Risk Management)
- Insider risk monitoring is heavily centered on endpoint activity rather than in-app SaaS behavior
- Limited contextual understanding of user roles, permissions, and access within SaaS applications
- Automated remediation and access enforcement within SaaS environments are more limited compared to SaaS-native insider risk platforms
7) Varonis
Strengths (Insider Risk Management)
- Uses behavior-based analytics and UEBA to detect anomalous user activity across data stores
- Provides continuous monitoring, data discovery, and classification to help reduce insider risk stemming from overexposed or mismanaged data
- Includes data security posture management (DSPM) capabilities to identify risky permissions and access configurations
Limitations (Insider Risk Management)
- Insider risk visibility is strongest at the data layer rather than within SaaS application workflows
- Less contextual understanding of user roles and business intent inside modern SaaS applications
- SaaS-native remediation for insider risk management and real-time access enforcement can be more limited compared to purpose built insider risk SaaS platforms
8) Obsidian Security
Strengths (Insider Risk Management)
- Provides strong visibility into SaaS identity, authentication, and access misuse across cloud applications
- Effective at detecting compromised, hijacked, and misused accounts that can contribute to insider risk scenarios
- Uses API-based integrations to monitor SaaS activity and access patterns without requiring agents or endpoint deployment
Limitations (Insider Risk Management)
- Insider risk capabilities are more focused on external compromise and account takeover than on intentional internal misuse or insider threats
- Limited behavioral context around user intent, job role, or whether actions align with expected responsibilities
- Less emphasis on detecting negligent insider behavior, such as oversharing or permission sprawl, within SaaS applications
9) KiteCyber
Strengths (Insider Risk Management)
- AI-powered, Zero Trust–aligned platform that helps manage insider risk across devices, SaaS applications, and internet activity
- Provides real-time user behavior analytics to identify anomalous or risky actions that may indicate insider threats
- Includes DLP capabilities to monitor and control sensitive data movement across multiple channels
Limitations (Insider Risk Management)
- Insider risk management is part of a broader security platform rather than a dedicated, purpose-built capability
- Limited depth of contextual user information, such as role, department, or business intent, compared to insider-focused platforms
- SaaS-native visibility and remediation workflows may require additional configuration or complementary tools
10) DTEX Systems
Strengths (Insider Risk Management)
- Well-suited for organizations with strict insider risk requirements or regulated workforce environments
- Uses AI and machine learning combined with behavioral indicators to detect risky insider activity and potential data loss
- Provides deep visibility into user behavior at the endpoint level to support insider risk investigations
Limitations (Insider Risk Management)
- Heavily endpoint-focused, with limited native visibility into SaaS application activity
- Less optimized for SaaS-first or cloud-native organizations
- Deployment and ongoing tuning can be resource-intensive compared to API-based SaaS platforms
Conclusion
All of these solutions bring different strengths and are designed to support organizations with varying priorities and risk profiles. It’s important to note that no single tool needs to solve every single challenge - especially when addressing a problem as complex as insider risk management.
However, as a general rule, effective insider risk management today requires real-time visibility into user activity across SaaS applications, granular and role-aware access controls, user behavior analytics (UBA), and automated remediation that reduces risk without slowing the business down.
The most effective solutions combine identity, context, and behavior to continuously assess risk, limit unnecessary exposure, and take action before insider-driven incidents escalate.
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