Supply Chain Fallout: What the Salesloft Drift Attack Reveals About Third-Party Risk—and How Plixer One Helps

The recent breach of the Salesloft Drift application highlights a troubling truth: even organizations with strong internal security can be compromised through trusted external partners. Between August 8 and 18, attackers exploited OAuth tokens tied to the Drift app to gain unauthorized access to Salesforce instances across hundreds of organizations, including major players like Palo Alto Networks, Zscaler, and Google.

This wasn’t a simple smash-and-grab. The attackers exfiltrated sensitive business data, scanned for credentials, and used anti-forensics tactics to erase traces of their activity. It was stealthy, targeted, and disturbingly effective.

While the breach is a sobering reminder of the risks tied to third-party integrations, it also underscores the urgent need for deep, continuous network visibility and behavioral monitoring. This is exactly where Plixer One stands apart.

From OAuth Tokens to Data Theft: A Breakdown of the Attack

At the heart of the incident was a supply chain vulnerability—specifically, the misuse of OAuth tokens by a threat actor known as UNC6395. Once compromised, these tokens allowed attackers to access Salesforce APIs, exfiltrate data using bulk exports, and hunt for credentials that could enable broader lateral movement.

Google later confirmed that the breach extended beyond Salesforce, touching email integrations and exposing even more organizations to risk. This type of attack bypasses traditional perimeter defenses and SIEM rules. It blends in with legitimate traffic, making it difficult to detect.

The consequences were real:

• Business and customer data exfiltrated
• API tokens and cloud credentials harvested
• Sensitive Salesforce records accessed across sectors
• High-profile victims, including security and tech giants

This is a scenario tailor-made for Network Detection and Response (NDR). And that’s exactly where Plixer steps in.

Plixer One Delivers What Traditional Tools Miss

Unlike traditional security tools that rely on log files or static rules, Plixer One inspects real-time and historical flow data to uncover anomalies, credential abuse, and lateral movement, even when logs are deleted or API calls appear “normal.”

Behavioral Monitoring That Spots the Subtle

Plixer One doesn’t just observe traffic—it understands it. Our platform creates behavioral baselines for applications, APIs, and users. So when Drift (or any integration) starts exfiltrating hundreds of megabytes of Salesforce data, it doesn’t go unnoticed:

• Detect unusual outbound data volumes over Salesforce Bulk API
• Flag credential use from unexpected locations or services
• Highlight spikes in DNS or email activity tied to compromised integrations

Even if attackers delete logs, Plixer’s metadata retention and flow-based analysis still tell the story.

Zero Trust Support from the Network Up

An effective Zero Trust strategy needs data to back it up. Plixer One supports Zero Trust architectures by identifying and enforcing the principle of least privilege across applications and services.

For example, if an application like Drift suddenly initiates outbound communication to an unknown domain, Plixer One raises a contextual alert. We developed the platform to make sure it only sends useful signals, not more noise.

This enables your security team to:

• Immediately isolate suspicious applications or APIs
• Investigate credential use across multiple systems
• Enforce conditional access controls more effectively

Investigation, Retrospective Analysis, and Recovery

When an incident like this occurs, time is everything. Plixer’s platform accelerates every stage of the investigation by providing complete visibility into:

• Who communicated with whom
• When and how it moved
• Which credentials were potentially exposed

And thanks to extended data retention and timeline-based search, forensic teams can reconstruct attacker behavior—even months after the fact.

Use Cases That Map Directly to Attacks Like These

The Salesloft Drift attack intersects with several key Plixer One security and network use cases:

• Threat Hunting with Anomaly Detection: Discover behavioral deviations tied to exfiltration or unauthorized access
• Detect Brute Force and Credential Abuse: Monitor OAuth misuse, password spraying, and login anomalies
• Prevent Data Leakage and Monitor Third-Party Access: Visualize API-based traffic flow and pinpoint exfiltration attempts
• Detect Malware and Lateral Movement: Understand how attackers pivot across services once inside
• Proactive Monitoring for Downtime Prevention: Ensure third-party integrations don’t silently disrupt internal systems.

Why Plixer Is the Right Partner for Times Like These

Plixer One empowers organizations with a unified, scalable, and context-rich view of their entire network—on-prem, cloud, and hybrid. Our platform was built for environments where visibility is otherwise fragmented and risk exposure can change unexpectedly.

Key advantages:

• On-prem deployment for full control over data
• No need for additional probes or appliances
• Real-time and historical analysis from a single interface
• Machine-learning-based anomaly detection
• Dedicated support teams who understand both security and networking

When you’re under attack—or preparing for the next one—Plixer One delivers the clarity and intelligence needed to act with confidence.

Final Word: Clarity Over Complacency

The Salesloft Drift breach is a wake-up call. It exposed a gap that exists in almost every enterprise today: blind trust in third-party integrations. Plixer helps you close that gap by making your network activity—and your supply chain—fully visible and verifiable.

With Plixer One, you don’t just react to incidents. You get ahead of them.

Learn how Plixer can help secure your SaaS integrations and internal traffic flows.
Book a demo or contact us to discuss your environment.