TECHNOLOGY

Emerging Risks and Threats to Cloud Security

Cloud computing has made the world of work more accessible, allowing for free-flowing information and collaborations that were not previously as easy. It has essentially removed physical borders and allowed us to explore new opportunities.

The integration of AI writing assistants has enabled companies to become more productive and efficient, even in the times of Covid-19. It has enabled businesses to remain operational from a remote setting, ensuring business continuity amidst this pandemic. Cloud computing provides numerous advantages to companies; however, it also exposes them to new security risks. Attackers take advantage of these vulnerabilities and find ways to exploit them. to gain access to sensitive data or disrupt services.

Let’s dive deeper and explore the emerging risks and threats of 2023

Main cloud security issues and threats in 2023 

Cloud security is becoming increasingly important as more businesses move their data and applications to the cloud. Businesses will need to be aware of a number of security risks of cloud computing in order to keep their data safe. Unsecured access control points, insufficient threat notifications and alerts, cloud misconfiguration, and data leaks and breaches are just a few of the major cloud security concerns that enterprises should be aware of. 

Inadequate threat notifications and alarms might result in a lack of insight into harmful activities in a company’s cloud environment. Unauthorised access to sensitive data or systems might come from cloud misconfiguration. Data leaks can arise because of inadequate authentication or authorisation mechanisms. All of these concerns, if not managed effectively, can have major ramifications for any organisation.

1. Unmanaged Attack Surface

An attack surface is the overall exposure of your environment. The use of microservices may result in an increase in publicly available workload. Every burden increases the attack surface. Without tight supervision, your infrastructure may be exposed in ways you are unaware of until an attack occurs. 

Nobody wants that late-night phone call. 

Subtle information leaks can potentially lead to an attack on the attack surface. CrowdStrike’s threat hunters, for example, discovered an attacker who used sampled DNS request data acquired over public WiFi to determine the names of S3 buckets. 

2. Human Error

According to Gartner, human error will account for 99% of all cloud security failures until 2025. When developing business apps, human error is a continual concern. Hosting resources on the public cloud, on the other hand, increases the danger. 

Because of the ease of use of the cloud, users may be using APIs you aren’t aware of, opening potential gaps in your perimeter. Control human mistake by implementing strong controls that assist people in making sound decisions. 

One final rule: don’t blame others for mistakes. The process is to blame. Create protocols and guidelines that assist people in doing the right thing. Pointing fingers will not help your company become more secure.

3. Unsecure Access Control Points

One of the most appealing aspects of cloud networks is their accessibility from anywhere, allowing teams and consumers to interact regardless of location. Unfortunately, if cloud security is not properly configured and optimised, many of the technologies with which users interact, such as application programming interfaces (APIs), are open to assaults. Because these vulnerabilities allow hackers to get access, it is critical to utilise web application firewalls to ensure that all HTTP requests originate from genuine traffic, guaranteeing that online applications and processes that rely on APIs are always protected.

4.Inadequate Threat Notifications and Alerts

The speed with which threat notifications and alarms can be provided to website or security employees is one of the pillars of any good network or computer security system. Cloud-based systems are no exception. Instant warnings and alerts allow for proactive threat mitigation, which can help to prevent successful hacks and reduce damage.

5. Cloud Misconfiguration

Three-quarters of all cloud-based companies suffer from some form of cloud misconfiguration that compromises security. Common flaws include default passwords, insufficient access controls, uncontrolled permission controls, inactive data encryption, and many others. Many of these flaws are caused by insider threats and a lack of security knowledge. 

Another method through which businesses establish vulnerabilities is by attempting to personalise their cloud usage through setting tweaks or plug-ins. These impromptu modifications can lead to configuration drift, which can lead to issues with availability, management, and security.

6. Data Leaks and Data Breaches

The loss of personal and sensitive information and data – both mistakenly and deliberately – is the most significant and critical cloud computing hazard for organisations today. As more firms allow their employees to use personal devices for work without having a robust security policy, the risk of data breaches rises. 

Using personal devices to access storage services such as One Drive or Dropbox raises security concerns, especially when outdated operating systems are used. Insider threats are another source of critical information leakage. Storing sensitive data and passwords in plain text files makes them vulnerable if attackers gain access to them. 

Because the cloud is a shared environment, a single vulnerability on the cloud exposes the entire environment to compromise, resulting in data breaches and loss.

7. Zero-day attacks

Because many organisations use open-source software and invest in popular services like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP), any known vulnerability is practically difficult to go unexploited. 

These flaws provide enough possibilities for hackers to perform zero-day attacks on cloud systems, which target newly discovered vulnerabilities before they are patched. When dealing with these types of assaults, system administrators and developers have a limited amount of time to implement software upgrades and system maintenance tasks before the vulnerabilities are exploited. 

 8. Insider threats

Any trusted, authorised user can quickly become an organisational hazard in the absence of a comprehensive IAM solution that provides granular access control and advanced network security, such as Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA). Because cloud apps and environments do not always necessitate local access, dissatisfied employees and users who were inappropriately off-boarded may steal sensitive data or launch malware assaults from within.

There’s also the negligence aspect of an insider threat to consider. Even employees with the best intentions can inadvertently reveal their credentials, download malware to the network, or share critical files over an insecure channel or without encryption.

Conclusion 

As cloud technology advances and more businesses move to the cloud, security threats become more sophisticated and widespread. In 2023, organizations must be aware of the main cloud security issues and threats that could potentially compromise their data. Unsecure access control points, inadequate threat notifications and alerts, cloud misconfiguration, data leaks and data breaches are some of the biggest concerns for businesses in 2023. 

Companies need to ensure that they have robust security measures in place to protect their sensitive information from malicious actors. They should also invest in technologies and data driven analytics that can detect potential threats before they cause any damage. By taking proactive steps to protect their data from cybercriminals, organizations can safeguard themselves against costly security breaches in the future.

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