Network Security
Vulnerability Management
Privileged Access Management
Endpoint Security
Threat Hunting
Unified Endpoint Management
Email & Collaboration Security
Contents:
Cloud computing security risks are a shared responsibility of both the cloud service provider (CSP) and the organization using the services. It is crucial to assess this from the very beginning to understand the complex topic of cloud security we`re about to dive in.
Cloud computing brought along loads of advantages. Easy access to data from anywhere in the world, quick application deployment, and lower operational costs are just a few of a long list. Therefore, it`s no wonder that the market is currently continuously expanding.
According to the Fortune Business Insights report, the cloud computing market grew by $108.64 billion during the last year and is expected to reach $2,432.87 billion by 2030. Keep in mind that those numbers are just for North America alone.
As always, all good things come with a risk. Or several. Wherever there`s lots of money and sensitive data, hackers gather around, waiting for the best moment to launch an attack. So, let`s move on and see exactly what kind of risks cloud computing involves and how can they be mitigated. For starters, we`ll take a swift look over the most used types of cloud environments.
Public-Private-Hybrid – Which Cloud Is the Safest?
- Public clouds are subject to a large diversity of threats since there are more customers using the same instance of the software. The existence of numerous access points is also a liability. Usually, in this case, the cloud services provider is responsible to maintain a safe infrastructure, while the customer will be responsible for workload security.
- Private clouds should be safer since workloads are supposed to run behind the user`s firewall. Since there are no other users, security risks should be lower. In fact, it all depends on how effective the company`s security strategy is.
- Hybrid cloud combines the best features of the previous two environments. Users and admins can limit data exposure while migrating workloads and data across environments governed by strong security policies.
5 Cloud Computing Security Risks
As useful as cloud computing is, it also comes with some security risks, that can lead to data loss and vulnerability exposure.
Misconfiguration
Settings misconfigurations and improper cloud security strategies are one of the main causes of cloud data breaches. Threat actors use misconfigured cloud assets as a gate to access passwords, financial information, phone numbers, and all kinds of sensitive data.
Companies usually have reduced visibility and control over the cloud infrastructure they use. In this case, it is the cloud service provider (CSP) who is responsible for configuring and securing their cloud deployments. Still, security teams should check and adjust default settings, which are usually too permissive.
Here below is a short list of items that are often misconfigured and pose a risk to the security of the cloud environment:
- cloud access is too permissive
- inbound and outbound ports are not restricted
- Internet Control Message Protocol is left open in most cases
- logging and monitoring are disabled
- access to containers, Virtual Machines, and hosts is too permissive, etc.
Lack of Operation Visibility
Operational visibility refers to the ability to monitor, track, and understand the activities, events, and behaviors within a cloud computing environment. When you migrate workloads to a public cloud, you lose many of the controls you had on-premises.
Lack of visibility into the cloud infrastructure and operations leads to the impossibility to detect and respond effectively to threats. Unfortunately, you cannot access data packets that move through the cloud, so you cannot analyze the information they contain. Lack of operation visibility also impacts Forensic Investigations.
Data Breaches
Poor access control management, compromised credentials, and vulnerabilities in cloud infrastructure or applications can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data. Breaches can result in data theft, financial losses, reputational damage, and non-compliance with data protection regulations.
Personally identifiable information (PII) is especially appealing to threat actors. After collecting them, they will attempt to sell the data on the dark web to other adversaries interested in identity theft and phishing attacks.
Sensitive documents and emails belonging to a famous company are commonly used to damage the enterprise`s reputation or to impact its stock price.
Shared Infrastructure Vulnerabilities
This is a specific risk of the public cloud environment, where multiple organizations share the same underlying infrastructure. If one customer`s system or data is compromised, it can further compromise the security of other customers too. Multi-tenancy basically expands the attack surface. If the CSP fails to ensure proper segregation among tenants, the risk of data leakage grows.
Also, vulnerabilities in the CSP`s infrastructure, such as hypervisor or virtualization vulnerabilities, can pose risks to the security of the whole environment.
Denial of Service Attacks
Many organizations use the cloud for data storage. In addition, it is a common practice to run internal and customer-facing software in the cloud, especially in the remote work era.
Of course, hackers know and want to exploit that. So, they launch Denial of Service (DoS) attacks against cloud infrastructure aiming to impact different companies at once. If they succeed, the next step is to ask for a ransom to stop the attack.
Cloud Computing Security Risks Prevention Measures
While we agree CSPs are in charge to secure the underlying infrastructure, organizations also have their specific part in cloud computing cybersecurity. The company’s responsible for securing its applications, data, and access controls within the cloud environment.
SecOps teams play a crucial role in assessing risks, implementing security controls, monitoring for threats, and responding to incidents. Take a look at our cloud computing security risks prevention measures checklist.
Enforce Identity and Access Management (IAM)
IAM practices enable you to control access to cloud resources. Strong password policies, multi-factor authentication (MFA), regular evaluation of user access privileges, and enforcing the least privilege principle can and will save the security team a lot of time and energy.
Implement Data Encryption
Sensitive data should be protected through encryption. If a threat actor gains access to your data, he will not be able to use it, if it`s encrypted. So, make sure your digital data’s confidentiality is safe, wherever you store them.
Discuss Shared Responsibilities with Your Cloud Provider
Who should secure what? Knowing the answer to this question is the key to a safe cloud environment. It is common that the customer always secures information, data, devices and accounts, and identities. But the responsibilities regarding who secures the applications, network controls, OSs, physical hosts, or network could vary.
Make sure you put all the important questions from the very beginning of your collaboration with the cloud provider:
- What authentication methods does the provider support?
- Does the provider encrypt data both in transit and at rest?
- Who exactly has access to the data stored in the cloud?
- How are the various access components protected?
Check for Misconfigurations
Misconfiguration and improper deployment turn 4.55% of applications vulnerable to attacks, although they were otherwise secure, claims OWASP.
On the long list of common misconfigurations are:
- Enabling or installing unessential features.
- Keeping default accounts enabled and passwords unchanged.
- Using out-of-date, unpatched, or vulnerable software
- Improper management of security settings in the application servers, frameworks, libraries, databases, etc.
Enforce clear, easy-to-follow policies and check regularly that the team complies to them every single time.
Educate the Employees
In an accelerating digitalized world, all workers should follow proper training on why it`s important to use strong and different passwords, how to spot a phishing email or a malicious link, and how to respond to them.
Beyond basic cybersecurity training, the team should be aware of and understand the risk of shadow IT. Make it clear why it`s important that the IT department knows all about the tools or systems that any member of the team would want to implement. In order to be able to evaluate vulnerabilities and protect the company`s data, the SecOps team should have full visibility top-to-bottom over the systems.
Since the threat landscape changes daily, the security staff should also have access to specialized training.
Heimdal® DNS Security Solution
- Machine learning powered scans for all incoming online traffic;
- Stops data breaches before sensitive info can be exposed to the outside;
- Advanced DNS, HTTP and HTTPS filtering for all your endpoints;
- Protection against data leakage, APTs, ransomware and exploits;
How Can Heimdal® Help Maintain Cloud Security?
Heimdal offers a range of products and solutions to help mitigate security risks both on-premises and in cloud computing environments. In a WFH era, our Threat Prevention Endpoint solution is available for all devices accessing cloud services and can literally be deployed anytime, anywhere.
Heimdal`s traffic filtering engine enables SecOps teams to monitor all activity going on to and from the cloud infrastructure. Whenever the DNS filtering tool detects a malicious link, it blocks communication on the spot. It all happens in seconds, so the security team gains a lot of time to focus on other important tasks.
While threat actors will keep coming up with new types of malware and attack methods, Heimdal offers a precise and effective tool that simply shuts the door for all kinds of threats that may rise.
In addition, our Privileged Access Management and Ransomware Encryption Protection will help bolster security for all kinds of cloud environments.
Wrapping Up
Our society is becoming more and more digitalized. As a result, remote work or a hybrid work environment is not as uncommon as it used to be before the pandemic. So, we heavily rely on a cloud environment for almost everything we do: work, fun, socializing, and even choosing, and getting the food we eat. Therefore, companies should focus more on understanding how the cloud environment works.
Acknowledging what are the risks in cloud computing security and how you can prevent them is as important as keeping your computer malware-free. As we pointed out above, blindly relying on cloud service providers to keep your data safe is not an option. Misconfigurations, human errors, and unpredictable vulnerabilities will always show up. Choose the right cybersecurity solutions to keep your company`s cloud assets safe.
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