Cloud security is the set of apps, processes, and rules designed to safeguard your cloud infrastructure and data. Cloud systems are more vulnerable to hackers and cyberattacks than ever before, putting the important data held within them at risk.
Unfortunately, there is no way to completely eradicate all cloud security threats, although they can be mitigated.
Some Cloud Security Threats we should concern about are,
Misconfiguration
Unauthorized Access
Insecure Interfaces/APIs
Hijacking of Accounts
External Sharing of Data
Denial of Service Attacks
Malware
Table of Contents
Cloud Computing Security Threats
Misconfiguration
Cloud infrastructure is intended to be simple to use and to facilitate data sharing, it is challenging for companies to verify that data is only available to authorized persons. Furthermore, companies that use cloud-based infrastructure do not possess entire access and control over their infrastructure, since it is required to have reliance on security measures offered by their cloud service provider (CSP) to design and safeguard their cloud installations.
Many organizations use multi-cloud deployments because they are not familiar with securing cloud infrastructure which is provided by different CSPs. Due to this reason, misconfiguration happens which leaves an organization's cloud-based resources vulnerable to attackers.
The common misconfigurations are,
Deactivating encryption
Disabling standard security features
Human error
Excessive permissions
Keeping underused and dormant accounts
Allowing excessive sharing settings may result in sensitive data being exposed.
Keeping default settings unchanged, including admin credentials and port numbers
Unauthorized Access
Since cloud-based servers are located remotely and are immediately accessible from the public internet, it is beneficial for the employee and customer access to this infrastructure. Unfortunately, it also makes it simpler for an attacker to obtain unauthorized access to an organization's cloud-based resources. If the security configurations are not set up properly or have compromised credentials might allow an attacker to get direct access, perhaps without the knowledge of the organization.
Insecure Interfaces/APIs
Customers are frequently given various application programming interfaces (APIs) and interfaces by CSPs. In general, these APIs are well-documented in order to make them accessible to CSP clients.
However, if the interfaces for the cloud-based infrastructure are not adequately secured by the client, this might lead to security issues. A cybercriminal can leverage the documentation created for the client to find and exploit potential methods for accessing and exfiltrating sensitive data from an organization's cloud infrastructure.
Hijacking of Accounts
The use of stolen credentials for different objectives, such as gaining access to sensitive data, is known as account hijacking. The usage of weak passwords and the reuse of the same password for many accounts allows a single stolen password to be used on several accounts, this issue exacerbates the effect of phishing attempts and data breaches.
As organizations depend heavily on cloud-based infrastructure and applications for important business functions, account hijacking is one of the most significant cloud security challenges. An attacker having access to an employee's credentials can get into sensitive information or functionality, and compromised customer credentials will allow complete control over their online account. Furthermore, organizations in the cloud usually lack the ability to detect and respond to these risks as effectively as on-premises infrastructure.
External Sharing of Data
The cloud is intended to make data sharing simple. Many cloud providers allow you to invite a collaborator directly through email or provide a link that allows anybody with the URL to view the shared resource.
While this ease of data exchange is beneficial, it may also pose a significant cloud security risk. The usage of link-based sharing, which is a popular approach since it is easier than individually inviting each intended collaborator, makes controlling access to the shared resource more challenging. The shared URL can be forwarded, or stolen as part of a cyberattack allowing unauthorized access to the shared resource. Furthermore, link-based sharing makes it hard to deny access to a single recipient.
Denial of Service Attacks
A denial of service (DoS) attack attempts to make service delivery impossible. A DoS assault occurs when one system attacks, but a DDoS (distributed denial of service) attack occurs when multiple systems strike. Advanced persistent denial of service (APDoS) attacks target the application layer, where hackers can attack databases or servers directly.
A denial of service attack floods a system with requests, overflowing its bandwidth, CPU, or RAM capacity, preventing other users from accessing it. Botnets are frequently used to launch large-scale DDoS assaults capable of exceeding 1,000 Gbps. Hackers are increasingly renting botnets from their developers.
As a result, a successful Denial of Service (DoS) assault on cloud infrastructure is likely to have a significant impact on many different companies. As a result of DoS attacks, the attacker demands a ransom to cease a significant danger to the organization's cloud-based resources.
While the amount of DDoS attacks has decreased, new types of DoS attacks that include AI and machine learning are being uncovered.
Malware
Malware affects cloud provider's servers in the same way as it does on-premises systems: The attacker persuades a user to open a malicious email attachment or social media link, allowing them to download malware intended to eavesdrop, steal information stored in cloud service programs, or otherwise breach data security.
Detecting a malicious insider on the cloud is much more complex. Companies lose control over their underlying infrastructure with cloud deployments, turning many traditional security solutions ineffective. This, along with the fact that cloud-based infrastructure is immediately accessible from the public Internet and frequently suffers from security misconfigurations, makes detecting malicious insiders much more challenging.
Mitigating Cloud Computing Threats
Use Data Encrypt
Although your cloud service provider (CSP) may already provide data encryption, it is suggested that you apply additional encryption methods to provide an additional level of security for your data. Encryption protects data from hackers, even those who use advanced techniques. Encrypt data stored in the cloud as well as data that is transported from your site to the cloud provider.
Keep the keys that encrypt and decrypt your data once it has been encrypted. With both of them, even if the information is maintained by a third-party source, all information requests must include the owner. Do not keep encryption keys in the program that stores your data. IT teams must maintain physical possession of encryption keys while also testing the strength of the encryption techniques used.
Use Multifactor Authentication For Extra Security
In multifactor authentication (MFA), in addition to the traditional username and password, you add an extra user verification method (e.g., OTP texted to your mobile device or biometric verification) to access your cloud account. This extra step can assist prevent hacking attempts if your staff accidentally exposes their credentials or if a hacker guesses their password.
Train Your Employees on Security
The next step in mitigating cloud security risk in your firm is to train your staff, careless activities by your staff might result in the accidental deletion or loss of data from the cloud. Furthermore, untrained employees may be unable to detect phishing emails, making them ideal targets for account takeover attacks. Therefore, establish and enforce security risk mitigation policies, and implement these policies. This method ensures that your staff is well-informed and aware of the potential threats that may compromise your cloud infrastructure.
Back up Your Data
The risk of irreversible data loss is rising as the cloud matures. Backups of data are important in the event of data loss due to DDoS attacks or other related risks. Your CSP may already be backing up data in the cloud, but you should do so as well. Choose a backup frequency and a disaster recovery strategy that meets your needs. For enhanced security, IT managers should distribute data and applications over multiple zones, as well as follow best practices for daily data backup, offsite storage, and disaster recovery.
Monitor Third Parties
Monitoring third parties who have access to your infrastructure, whether they have full or limited access, is another effective technique to manage cloud security threats. These third parties, which your company may use to assist you to optimize your procedures, are also known as vendors. This may even include your cloud service providers.
It is critical to ensure that these third parties will not damage your cloud infrastructure or the data stored on it.
As more organizations implement innovative solutions to improve productivity and collaboration, it's important to recognize the risk related to these technologies. And imagine your company is considering or is currently using cloud computing. It's important to comprehend the potential security threats since they can put your company's data, cloud infrastructure, and customers' and clients' data in danger of theft or loss. However, the significance of cloud security cannot be neglected.
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