A single compromised credential can expose years of customer data, trigger millions in breach costs, and violate regulatory requirements. Yet most Salesforce organizations still rely on authentication methods designed for network perimeters that no longer exist.

Traditional authentication assumes that users who successfully log in once can be trusted for the duration of their session. This model collapses when attackers use stolen credentials that appear indistinguishable from legitimate access. For Salesforce organizations containing customer data, financial records, and business intelligence, this represents unacceptable exposure.

Continuous authentication within zero trust architecture addresses this gap by verifying identity and access rights throughout user sessions rather than relying on single-point authentication. Understanding why traditional authentication fails provides the foundation for implementing effective continuous verification.

Why Traditional Authentication Fails for Cloud Platforms

Perimeter-based authentication was designed for environments that no longer exist, making it fundamentally incompatible with cloud platform security requirements. Traditional security operates on implicit trust after initial authentication: users authenticate once at the network edge, then receive broad access to internal resources based on network location. This approach was designed for data centers with defined physical boundaries.

Cloud platforms like Salesforce eliminate traditional perimeters entirely. Users access systems from multiple devices, locations, and network contexts throughout their workday. Remote employees, contractor access, API integrations, and mobile applications create authentication challenges that perimeter security cannot address.

Verizon's analysis of the Snowflake breach in the 2025 DBIR illustrates credential-based compromise at scale: 80% of breached accounts had prior credential exposure, potentially collected by infostealer malware. Once attackers obtain valid credentials, they bypass detection by appearing as normal user activity.

These architectural limitations create specific attack vectors relevant to Salesforce environments:

• Static trust assumptions allow access decisions made at login to remain valid regardless of changing risk factors like location shifts, unusual data access patterns, or compromised device indicators.
• Long-lived sessions provide attackers with hours or days of access after initial credential theft through extended session timeouts.
• Binary access control means users either have access or they do not, with no dynamic adjustment based on risk signals.
• Limited context awareness causes authentication decisions to ignore device posture, behavioral patterns, and environmental factors that indicate compromise.

These vulnerabilities require a fundamentally different approach, one that NIST has codified in its zero trust architecture framework.

Continuous Authentication in Zero Trust Architecture

Zero trust architecture replaces implicit trust with continuous verification, requiring ongoing validation throughout user sessions. NIST Special Publication 800-207 defines this architecture on the principle that threats exist both inside and outside traditional network boundaries, establishing a shift from "authenticate once, trust always" to "never trust, always verify."

Continuous verification operates through three critical mechanisms:

• The Policy Engine evaluates trust levels based on dynamic inputs including user behavior, device state, environmental context, and threat intelligence. Trust scores change in real-time as new signals arrive.
• The Policy Administrator establishes and terminates communication paths based on ongoing policy evaluations. When trust scores drop below acceptable thresholds, access is immediately revoked.
• The Policy Enforcement Point monitors sessions in real-time and terminates connections based on continuous trust assessment. Every API call receives independent authentication and authorization.

For Salesforce environments, the NIST zero trust framework translates to three operational requirements. Each requirement addresses a specific gap in traditional authentication models and maps directly to native Salesforce security capabilities:

• API-level authentication validates every call independently rather than relying on session-based trust.
• Dynamic access control adjusts decisions based on real-time risk signals such as location changes or unusual access patterns.
• Continuous diagnostics aggregates multiple data sources to provide ongoing security state assessment throughout user sessions.

While NIST provides architectural guidance, organizations must also understand how continuous authentication aligns with regulatory compliance requirements governing their Salesforce environments.

Compliance Requirements for Continuous Authentication

Continuous authentication is not explicitly mandated by any compliance framework, but risk-based regulatory requirements effectively necessitate it for organizations handling sensitive data in Salesforce.

• Federal zero trust mandate: OMB Memorandum M-22-09 requires Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies to achieve zero trust security goals, including multi-factor authentication and identity-based access controls. Private enterprises reference this memorandum to demonstrate alignment with federal security standards.
• NIST authentication assurance levels: NIST SP 800-63B defines Authentication Assurance Levels. For Salesforce CRM systems, organizations often apply AAL2, which requires two distinct authentication factors, based on internal risk assessments.
• SOC 2 risk-based approach: SOC 2 evaluates Trust Services Criteria based on organizational risk assessments. Organizations justify continuous authentication by demonstrating that traditional session-based authentication creates unacceptable exposures to credential theft, session hijacking, or unauthorized access to sensitive CRM data.
• ISO 27001 control selection: ISO 27001 requires organizations to implement controls based on risk assessment findings. For Salesforce continuous authentication, this means identifying high-value assets containing personally identifiable information or financial data, recognizing authentication threats, and implementing dynamic access controls with documented rationale.

Compliance officers and IT managers build justification by citing NIST 800-207 as authoritative guidance, documenting risk assessments showing traditional authentication insufficiency, and mapping implementations to SOC 2 CC6 or ISO 27001 Annex A.9 controls.

With compliance requirements understood, DevOps teams can proceed to technical implementation using Salesforce's native security capabilities.

Technical Implementation for Salesforce DevOps Teams

Salesforce provides native capabilities for continuous authentication through Real-Time Event Monitoring and Transaction Security Policies, enabling ongoing session verification without disrupting deployment workflows.

Core Monitoring and Enforcement Mechanisms

Real-Time Event Monitoring serves as the foundational mechanism, providing near real-time detection of standard events across the organization.

Transaction Security Policies build on this foundation by enabling automated responses to suspicious activity. These policies evaluate events as they occur and execute predefined enforcement actions without manual intervention. Available enforcement actions include:

• Blocking suspicious sessions immediately
• Requiring multi-factor authentication step-up
• Logging events for SIEM integration
• Triggering custom Apex actions for complex authentication flows

A practical example: A DevOps team creates a Transaction Security Policy monitoring ApiEvent in real-time. When the policy detects an API call from a new IP address for a user with access to sensitive customer data, it triggers MFA step-up authentication before allowing the session to continue. This prevents compromised credentials from accessing high-value data even if attackers bypass initial authentication.

Session Elevation and API Authentication

High-assurance session elevation configured at the Connected App level requires users to verify identity with two-factor authentication at login. Session attributes remain validated throughout the interaction, with policies triggering re-authentication when risk scores change based on device, location, or behavior patterns.

For API integrations, OAuth 2.0 Client Credentials Flow handles system-to-system authentication, while JWT Bearer Flow manages secure server-to-server communication. Each API layer can utilize Transaction Security Policies for additional enforcement.

SIEM and External Monitoring Integration

Continuous authentication extends beyond Salesforce boundaries through external monitoring platforms. Real-Time Event Monitoring data streams to SIEM platforms through Platform Event APIs, enabling real-time alerting on authentication anomalies and integration with Identity Threat Detection and Response solutions.

Implementation Steps

With the core components understood, DevOps teams can deploy continuous authentication through a structured sequence. Each step builds on the previous, establishing detection capabilities before adding enforcement policies and external integrations.

1. License and enable Real-Time Event Monitoring for near real-time event detection
2. Configure Transaction Security Policies using Condition Builder for declarative policy configuration
3. Implement OAuth 2.0 authentication flows for API integrations
4. Configure Connected App session policies with high assurance requirements
5. Integrate with external SIEM platforms through Platform Event subscriptions

Policy and Compliance Considerations

Effective continuous authentication requires thoughtful policy development alongside technical implementation. Rushing to enforcement without establishing baselines can disrupt legitimate user activity and create operational friction that undermines adoption.

Policy development requires careful planning before enforcement:

• Establish baseline behavioral patterns for legitimate users before enforcing blocking policies
• Configure different authentication requirements for production versus sandbox environments
• Design automated policy compliance checking into CI/CD pipelines

Beyond operational policies, organizations must maintain documentation that demonstrates compliance alignment. Auditors expect clear evidence connecting security controls to risk assessments and regulatory requirements.

Compliance documentation must support audit readiness:

• Maintain audit trails of policy changes
• Document risk assessments justifying authentication requirements
• Establish review cycles for access roles in multi-domain Salesforce organizations

One critical ambiguity requires attention: The Salesforce MFA FAQ reveals uncertainty about whether risk-based and continuous authentication approaches fully satisfy Salesforce's contractual MFA requirements. Organizations should obtain written clarification from Salesforce support before production deployment.

Bridging Security Controls and Deployment Velocity

The technical components for continuous authentication in Salesforce, including Real-Time Event Monitoring, Transaction Security Policies, and high-assurance session requirements, are available today. The challenge lies not in capability but in coordination.

Most organizations struggle to layer security controls into workflows without slowing releases. Security teams configure policies that block legitimate deployment activities. DevOps teams bypass authentication requirements to meet deadlines. Compliance documentation drifts from actual configurations. The result is friction between security and efficiency, with neither fully achieved.

Effective implementation requires embedding continuous authentication into existing deployment pipelines rather than treating it as a separate security layer. Organizations that approach continuous authentication as a DevOps problem rather than a security-only initiative achieve faster implementation with fewer disruptions.

Request a demo with Flosum to see how integrated DevSecOps workflows embed continuous authentication enforcement into Salesforce deployment pipelines, enabling security and velocity to reinforce each other.