Cloud computing revealed itself to be a major trend in the post-pandemic era.
Panic-stricken, a lot of institutions all over the world moved their essential workload to the cloud during the pandemic to see to it that organisational continuity remained possible as events unfolded. Nevertheless, inadequate contemplation about security matters in terms of moving to the cloud increased the chance of threat events.
Notably, research suggests that roughly 63% of IT professionals surveyed, pinpointed cyber threats designed to target cloud services as the leading hurdle when it comes to organisational cloud strategies. Institutions intending to migrate to the cloud therefore need to comprehend its weak spots and vulnerabilities in order to formulate a suitable security strategy.
All in all, comprehending noteworthy threats posed to a cloud-based environment is an essential part of the process needed to avert them. Through thoroughly grasping the issue in question, organisations can figure out the most suitable, strategic and appropriate defence and plan of action called for in order to circumvent cyber-assaults, especially if they ultimately want to be able to function in a safe, well-protected and ideal version of the cloud environment.
Cloud security threats which must be thoroughly contemplated include:
Data Breaches: A huge advantage that the cloud provides includes the capacity to access organisational information/data at any given moment. This makes instant sharing easier and consequently elevates efforts where employees need to work together across the board. Nevertheless, this can turn out to be a disadvantage in some cases as the cloud makes it extremely simple for users to share organisational information/data – e.g. with a wide range of other team members, as well as external third parties. Moreover, when business move their data to cloud storage, they commonly experience difficulties in terms of performing ordinary data backups as backing up a huge volume of organisational data/information can turn out to be expensive and usually ends up taking a lot of time. Notably, each and every element mentioned makes organisational data/information breaches possible, as well as the misplacement or leakages of the classified organisational data/information in question.
API Vulnerabilities: Cloud software engages with one another through APIs (application programming interfaces), and they are positioned as a key aspect of the cloud environment. Sadly, a lot of institutions are unsuccessful when it comes to matters geared towards securing their APIs. When developers establish APIs with insufficient authentication, they open up security loopholes that can make unauthorized access to corporate data possible. Most research suggests that APIs is on track to evolve into the most targeted manifestation of cyber-assaults across the board.
Cloud Malware: Cloud malware entails the cyber-assault which takes place on the cloud-based system – in this case with a harmful code or service. Usually security teams take it as given that malware isn’t a problem when it comes to the cloud – particularly, after putting into effect endpoint security solutions. Nevertheless, malware is actually a noteworthy problem in the cloud, and security teams should put in place multiple security measures in order to ensure they have the capacity to discern it. Malware in the cloud includes various kinds of cyber-attacks: DDoS, hyper-jacking, and hypervisor infections. As soon as it manages to penetrate a business’s IT entry points, it is able to spread swiftly and sometimes leads to more momentous threats and issues.
Lack of Identity and Access Management Solutions: Straightforward data accessibility is a huge advantage of the cloud. Nevertheless, this advantage is able to rapidly become a disadvantage. When the organisational information/data is accessible without difficulty, it presents several identify and access management predicaments. As a result, it is sensible to put into effect state-of-the-art access management solutions to see to it that workers have access solely to the organisational data/information which is crucial and relevant to their function and role within the organisation.
Cloud Misconfigurations: Cloud misconfigurations is a major threat that organisations are confronted with when they operate within a cloud-based environment. Misconfiguration takes place when an institution has not configured its cloud-based system accurately, which ultimately leaves it exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed by hackers. The trend to keep organisational data/information in the cloud has led to more and more situations involving misconfigurations. Due to these misconfigurations, entities that pose threats can effortlessly access and exploit the cloud-based organisational information/data. They are also able to set in motion several cyber-attacks – e.g. DDoS, ransomware, malware, or digital skimming, to name only a few. Nevertheless, there are various cybersecurity best practices that are widely encouraged – e.g. encrypting cloud-based data, securing entry-points through identity and access management solutions, conducting security audits at fixed intervals, which organisations can use to secure their cloud-based assets – in this case in order to avert a misconfiguration breach.
