As more organizations move to the cloud, one question continues to dominate boardroom conversations:

“Is our data truly secure?”

For enterprises in finance, healthcare, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and other regulated sectors, cloud adoption is no longer just about scalability and innovation — it’s about trust, compliance, and control.

Salesforce understands this deeply. That’s why security is not an add-on — it is embedded into the platform’s core architecture.

At Perigeon Software, we help organizations design, configure, audit, and optimize Salesforce environments so that security and compliance are not afterthoughts — but strategic advantages.

Let’s explore how Salesforce secures your data, what Salesforce Shield adds on top, and what best practices enterprises must follow.

? Salesforce Security by Design — Built on Trust

Salesforce operates on a “Trust First” philosophy. Its platform is designed with multiple security layers that protect data across infrastructure, application, identity, and compliance.

1. Data Encryption: At Rest & In Transit

By default, Salesforce encrypts:

• Data in transit using SSL/TLS
• Data at rest across Salesforce data centers

This protects data from interception, tampering, and unauthorized access.

? Salesforce Shield Encryption (Advanced Layer)

For highly regulated industries, Salesforce Shield Platform Encryption adds:

• Field-level encryption
• Deterministic & probabilistic encryption
• Encryption for files, attachments, and custom fields
• Full control over encryption policies

This ensures even Salesforce administrators cannot read sensitive data without permission.

Ideal for:
Healthcare (HIPAA), Finance (PCI-DSS), Life Sciences, Government, Manufacturing IP protection

2. Granular Access Control & Data Visibility

Salesforce offers enterprise-grade access control through:

• Profiles & Permission Sets
• Role Hierarchies
• Sharing Rules
• Field-Level Security
• Record-Level Security

This ensures:

• Users see only what they are authorized to see
• No over-exposure of sensitive data
• Strong segregation of duties

At Perigeon, we often redesign permission models for clients to eliminate “excess privilege” — one of the biggest causes of internal data leaks.

3. Identity, Authentication & Login Security

Salesforce provides a powerful identity layer with:

• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
• Single Sign-On (SSO) with Azure AD, Okta, Ping, Google
• OAuth & Connected Apps
• Login IP restrictions
• Session security policies

Admins can enforce:

• Mandatory MFA for all users
• Device & IP-based login controls
• Login history monitoring

This drastically reduces the risk of credential theft and account compromise.

4. Continuous Monitoring & Threat Detection

? Salesforce Event Monitoring (Shield Feature)

Salesforce Shield Event Monitoring tracks:

• Login attempts & locations
• Data exports
• API usage
• Report downloads
• Session behavior

With this, security teams can:

• Detect suspicious activity early
• Investigate insider threats
• Generate compliance reports
• Integrate logs into SIEM tools

This is critical for audits, breach prevention, and forensic analysis.

5. Field Audit Trail & Compliance Tracking

? Salesforce Field Audit Trail (Shield Feature)

Standard Salesforce tracks field history for a limited time.
Field Audit Trail extends this to:

• Long-term history (up to 10 years)
• Regulatory-grade data change logs
• Immutable audit records

This is essential for:

• FDA & GxP compliance
• SOX audits
• Financial traceability
• Healthcare data integrity

⚙️ Compliance Certifications & Regulatory Alignment

Salesforce maintains certifications across major frameworks:

• ISO 27001 / 27017 / 27018
• SOC 1 / SOC 2 / SOC 3
• GDPR
• HIPAA (with BAA)
• PCI DSS
• FedRAMP (Government Cloud)

This means:

• Infrastructure is compliant by default
• Enterprises can build regulated workloads confidently
• Global data protection standards are continuously maintained

? Shared Responsibility Model — Where Enterprises Must Act

Salesforce secures:

• Data centers
• Infrastructure
• Platform security
• Network & physical security

You are responsible for:

• User access configuration
• Permission design
• Data classification
• Integration security
• Compliance processes

This is where most breaches happen — not due to platform failure, but misconfiguration.

At Perigeon Software, we regularly perform:

• Security posture reviews
• Shield implementation
• Access model redesign
• Integration hardening
• Compliance readiness audits

?️ Other Salesforce Security Options & Add-Ons

Beyond Shield, Salesforce provides several enterprise security tools:

? Salesforce Security Center

Centralized dashboard to monitor org security posture across environments.

? Transaction Security Policies

Define rules to block or alert on risky actions in real time (e.g., mass downloads).

? Data Mask

Mask sensitive data in sandboxes and lower environments.

? Salesforce Backup & Recovery

Native and partner-based backup solutions for ransomware protection and disaster recovery.

? Einstein Trust Layer (AI Security)

For AI & generative features:

• Zero data retention

• No model training on customer data

• Secure prompt handling

• Data boundary enforcement

This ensures AI innovation without data leakage.

? Practical Best Practices for Enterprises

To strengthen Salesforce security, we recommend:

✅ Enforce MFA for all users

✅ Redesign permission sets every 6 months

✅ Enable Event Monitoring & Login History

✅ Implement Shield Encryption for sensitive fields

✅ Mask data in sandboxes

✅ Review integrations & API permissions quarterly

✅ Automate compliance reporting

These steps alone can reduce breach risk by 70–80% in large enterprises.

 The Future: AI, Automation & Zero-Trust CRM

As CRM platforms become intelligent and AI-driven, security must evolve:

• Zero-trust access models
• Continuous identity verification
• Real-time behavioral monitoring
• AI governance frameworks

Salesforce is already moving in this direction — and enterprises that invest early will gain both innovation velocity and regulatory confidence.

Final Thought

In today’s digital economy, trust is not optional — it is your competitive advantage.

Salesforce provides one of the most advanced enterprise security frameworks in the cloud.
When combined with:

• Salesforce Shield

• Thoughtful governance

• Expert implementation

it becomes not just a CRM, but a secure digital foundation for growth.

At Perigeon Software, we help organizations transform Salesforce into a secure, compliant, and trusted enterprise platform ready for regulated industries and AI-driven futures.