Benefits like scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency are undeniable once businesses migrate to cloud computing, but these benefits also come with various disadvantages.
In early 2024, critical vulnerabilities were discovered in Ivanti’s Connect Secure VPN, impacting all the supporting versions. It becomes critical to safeguard sensitive data, manage access control, ensure regulatory compliance & mitigate ever-evolving cyber threats for organizations that have to face the complexities of the cloud using cybersecurity services.
In this article, we will understand various risk and challenges of cloud computing & its counter-attacking strategies that will protect assets and increase your trust in the cloud.
So without further adieu, let’s get started!
Cloud security can be defined as a set of measures, policies, technologies, and security controls such as access control, encryption & cloud compliance to protect data, cloud applications & infrastructure from dangerous cyber threats like unauthorized access, cloud data breaches, etc.
Below are the 10 major types of security:
It plays a crucial role in maintaining confidentiality, integrity, availability of resources, and compliance with regulations. In addition, it also increases the user’s trust regarding the safety of the information stored and processed in the cloud.
Below, we have listed some of the typical public cloud computing security challenges!
A data breach occurs when sensitive information gets exposed to Unauthorized access, due to vulnerabilities or inadequate security measures.
Looking after user identities, roles, and permissions across cloud environments, which if not properly managed can lead to unauthorized access.
Managing the vulnerabilities in application programming interfaces (APIs), and protecting them from access or data manipulation.
Deletion or Loss of data stored in the cloud storage, which can be accidental and intentional usually caused due to human error, hardware failures, or cyberattacks.
Managing gaps in protection and accountability that can occur due to Misalignment or misunderstandings regarding security responsibilities between cloud service providers and users.
Complying with all the regulatory requirements like PCI DSS, HIPAA, following data-protection laws, and adhering to industrial standards across different jurisdictions where data resides or is accessed.
Taking care of potential blind spots in security caused as the result of difficulty in monitoring and managing security incidents, configurations, and activities across complex cloud environments.
Detecting and patching out exploitable weaknesses in cloud infrastructure, applications, or underlying technologies, which otherwise can be exploited by the attackers to compromise security or gain unauthorized access.
Stopping cybercriminals from gaining access to cloud user accounts and impersonating legitimate users through phishing attacks, weak credentials, or compromised devices.
Stopping staff or employees within an organization from carrying Malicious or negligent actions such as data theft, sabotage, or misuse of privileges, posing significant security risks to cloud assets.
This is one of the cloud security threats where cybercriminals take advantage of the Vulnerabilities in the software or hardware of a data center before the vendor can release any patch fix, causing significant damage to cloud environments due to unpatched systems.
These are sophisticated and well-targeted attacks launched by adversaries to infiltrate cloud networks, disrupt operations, and steal data without being noticed.
Several malicious activities like distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, phishing, ransomware, or man-in-the-middle attacks are done especially to compromise security and disrupt operations by targeting cloud infrastructure or services.
This is one of the most common cloud computing security threats. Errors in configuring the cloud systems, such as insecure settings or providing wrong permissions, invite data breaches.
Malicious software disguised as a file or an app normally spreads through emails or compromised applications.
Stealing someone’s personally identifiable information, such as their name, number, and Social Security number with the motive to commit fraud.
How the data gets stored, processed, and transferred in the cloud platform across various jurisdictions, impacts compliance with local laws and regulations governing data protection and data privacy.
Amongst the second most common security concerns of cloud computing. Insufficient mechanisms lead to failure of timely detection, investigation, and response to security incidents, exposing cloud environments to dangerous threats.
This is one of the most dangerous Cloud security issues. DDoS attacks disrupt cloud services by flooding them with illegitimate requests or traffic service downtime or degradation.
This is one of the Cloud security risks where cloud service providers often gather information from customers in a misleading way resulting in the lack of transparency regarding security practices, data handling procedures, and compliance certifications.
In this security strategy, you need to implement strong policies that should contain restrictions based on roles and least privilege principles so that the cloud based resources are only available to authorized users.
Continuously monitor and log all activities to detect any suspicious behavior.
Fixing security patches and updates will protect your systems from known vulnerabilities and exploits.
Select a reputable cloud service provider (CSP) that meets stringent security standards, provides transparency, and has the required certifications.
Use strong encryption to protect your data from exposure during rest and transit.
Regular security audits and assessments will help you to identify, and resolve weaknesses and meet the security policies and regulations.
Educate employees on data handling procedures and how they can detect and respond to various security issues.
This will help you isolate critical assets by creating different network zones and restricting potential breaches.
Proper planning can help you quickly identify and respond to security threats and restore operations before they cause significant damage.
Discuss all the security responsibilities between you and Cloud providers, which will help you to know if all the essential aspects are covered.
Using CSPM tools will help you improve your cloud security posture by helping you identify a misconfiguration & resolve compliance issues.
Consider regular backups and recovery options for business continuity and data integrity.
Having endpoint protection solutions will help update, patch, and protect your devices from threats.
Store less data in the cloud and regularly review and purge unnecessary information to avoid data exposure incidents.
Our expertise in penetration testing services & SIEM as a service will help you identify pitfalls, enhance monitoring, and provide ultimate protection from the ever-increasing attack surface.
Along with fortifying your hybrid cloud infrastructure of your data centers, we will safeguard your digital assets efficiently and effectively.
