Taking a closer look at the main cloud security challenges, issues and threats found in 2022
As organisations right around the world switch their operations over to cloud computing, the security implications that come with it intensify. IT teams are now locked in a race to come up with the latest and best cloud security solutions to ensure that their organisations are protected and deter threats.
Cyberattacks and data breaches come in many different guises and on various levels of scope and sophistication, including attacks on cloud services. Let’s take a closer look at the cloud security challenges facing cybersecurity experts in 2022.
Cloud security issues companies face
Misconfigurations
A leading cause of cloud data breaches stems from a misconfiguration of cloud security settings. Most businesses’ cybersecurity management strategies are inadequate for protecting a modern-day cloud-based infrastructure. They need to be brought up to date.
Many organisations today are unfamiliar with how to secure cloud infrastructures. Multi-cloud deployments with different types of vendor-provided security settings make it even more difficult to adopt a robust security oversight which, in turn, could result in cloud-based resources being exposed to hackers.
Unauthorised access
Cloud-based deployments are accessible outside the company’s network perimeter via the internet, creating a bunch of cloud security issues. Misconfigured security settings or credentials that have been compromised will allow an attacker to gain access to your network. This can sometimes occur without the security team’s knowledge or without them being alerted. Unauthorised access is becoming a real problem and security teams should keep on top of it.
Insecure interfaces
Cloud service providers (CSP) supply interfaces for their customers along with application programming interfaces (APIs). These interfaces are well-documented so that they can be easily accessible by the CSP’s customers. However, if a customer has not correctly secured and set up the interfaces for their cloud-based infrastructure, a huge set of problems can occur. The access designed for the customer can be targeted by a malicious actor to extract sensitive data from an organisation’s cloud environment. This is where ensuring cloud security measures are in place and at optimum is key.
Hijacking accounts
Phishing attacks and data breaches can occur when weak passwords or weak password protections are put in place. It takes just one stolen password for a hacker to access multiple accounts and gain access to your network.
Hijacking of accounts is one of the more serious cloud security issues as businesses become more and more reliant on cloud-based infrastructures. Hackers with worker credentials can easily access sensitive data and cause widespread damage across the network. Cloud-focused security tools must be implemented to ensure that the network is protected at all times.
External data sharing
The cloud makes data sharing easy. But the use of link-based sharing can prove problematic when trying to control access to shared resources. The shared link can be accidentally shared with someone or stolen by a hacker, contributing to the growing list of cloud security challenges. It can also prove difficult to revoke access to a shared link.
Insider threats
Malicious insiders are a major security issue for any business. Insiders are already granted access to a network and the sensitive data and resources contained within it. Insider threats can be a surprise and something an organisation is underprepared for. It’s always important to ensure that insider threats are taken seriously, and procedures are put in place if a worker should go rogue.
DDoS attacks
DDoS attacks occur on platforms or machines infected by malware. These malware-infected sites are known as bots, and a network of these devices is known as botnets. Botnets can send requests to a victim’s IP address, overwhelming the address with web traffic, and triggering a denial of service from conventional traffic.
Businesses must monitor their infrastructure in real-time with the option to trace digital footprints to take more robust preventive action. Continuous monitoring can highlight anomalies such as sharp spikes in web traffic, suspicious traffic from a single IP, or unexplained requests from a single page. Tracing footprints, in turn, allows system administrators to trace the actions of various vendors within their infrastructure.
The main cloud security challenges in 2022
Data loss or leakage
Cloud-based infrastructures allow data sharing more easily. They are accessible by the internet, and link sharing is rarely monitored. It’s therefore fundamentally important to limit data loss or leakage by beefing up cybersecurity measures and protecting the cloud.
Data privacy and confidentiality
Securing data privacy and confidentiality is an important part of any organisation today. Regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU, the Health Insurance Portability and Accessibility Act (HIPAA) in the United States, and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) impose rules to protect customer data. Switching over to the cloud only highlights the added importance of bolstering cybersecurity measures and ensuring your organisation’s cybersecurity posture is in good health to minimize cloud security issues.
Incident response
Organisations must devise an incident response plan. Identifying and assessing the risks to your organisation’s operations, assets and individuals is key to mitigating the risks.
Compliance
Compliance is a key part of any cybersecurity program. It is a continuous process used to ensure staff are following procedures and policies put in place to protect company assets. Regulatory compliance monitoring is key to spotting potential issues in any organisation’s function or operations.
Protecting the cloud
A cybersecurity audit conducted by RiskXchange can help you pinpoint exactly where exposure and vulnerabilities exist across your organisation’s entire attack surface. As cloud strategies rapidly evolve, cloud security challenges have become a difficult hurdle to overcome. RiskXchange is able to support this process by continuously monitoring your attack surface and providing a platform to manage your cybersecurity posture in real-time.
Get in touch with RiskXchange to find out more about how to tackle cloud security challenges.