Are you aware of the risks with cloud computing?
It’s true that the cloud has revolutionized how we work and store data online. But it isn’t immune to breaches and data theft, so it’s important you know what security risks you may face.
Read on for 9 security risks of cloud computing you need to know so you can keep safe.
1. Reduced Control and Visibility
When moving operations/assets to the cloud, you’ll lose some visibility and control over them. With some external cloud services, the responsibility for infrastructure and policies goes to the CSP.
The extent of this responsibility shift will depend on what cloud service model you use. But it can lead to a shift for agencies when it comes to logging and monitoring security.
You need to perform analysis and monitoring for applications, data, users, and services. But you’ll have to do it without the network-based monitoring that you’re used to in-house.
2. Increased Strains on IT From Complexity
Moving to the cloud can increase the complexity of your IT functions. Your IT staff may need to learn a whole new model to manage, integrate, and operate from the cloud.
Your IT staff must have the ability and capacity to do this. All while managing their current on-site IT responsibilities.
Encryption and key management get more complicated in the cloud. The techniques, services, and tools to log and track them vary for different CPSs. So, this only complicates things further.
There is a risk of emergent risks/threats for hybrid cloud implementation. Implementation methods, policies, and technology all pose a risk.
This extra complexity can strain your IT staff. It can also lead to security gaps not only in your cloud space but your on-site infrastructure as well.
3. Misconfigured Cloud Storage
Moving to the cloud creates new vulnerabilities, but most stem from human error. Most vulnerabilities are the result of simple oversights. These problems have a habit of slipping through the cracks during audits.
The possibilities for oversights are almost unending, but most fall into three categories:
- Failing to change settings from their default values.
- Incorrect levels of user access.
- Leaving confidential data accessible.
Thankfully, fixes for these issues are relatively simple.
Always make sure to double check your security settings before and after you move a system to the cloud. This will limit the possibility of mistakes.
You also need to foster a company culture where IT audits are considered an important task, rather than an annoyance. These audits are your best tool to ensure your systems remain secure in an ever-changing security landscape.
This doesn’t need to be an entirely manual process. There are third-party tools that will help to assess your configurations, find potential security holes, and help fix them. Many can be set up on your systems and run weekly or even daily.
4. Shared Vulnerabilities
When it comes to cloud security, it’s a shared responsibility between you and the provider. This partnership means you need preventative measures in place to protect your data.
Big providers like Google, Microsoft, and Dropbox have procedures to protect their end. But the fine-tuning and control is down to you.
For example, with Office 365, key security protocols are down to you to secure. This includes user password protection, multi-factor authentication, and user access controls.
The point is, you can’t leave the security side of things to the provider. If you do, you’re leaving yourself open and vulnerable. You need to recognize what your responsibilities are on your end and make sure you’re doing it.
5. Loss of Data
Data loss is one of the biggest risks of cloud computing because once it’s gone, it’s gone. And what makes it worse is it’s not only hard to handle, it’s also hard to predict.
There are 4 most common reasons behind data, which are:
Data Alteration
This is when information has changed and can’t go back to the previous version/state. It’s common for dynamic databases.
Unreliable Storage Medium Failure
This is when data gets lost due to issues that are on the cloud provider’s end.
Deletion of Data
Accidental or incorrect deletion of data from the system. No backups are in place to restore it. This is usually human error, a glitch, issues with a messy database, or malicious.
Access Loss
When you still have the information in the system but can’t access it. This is due to a lack of encryption keys, or other login information/permissions.
Frequent backups are your best bet for avoiding this. Have several backup copies in different places.
Also, put in place a clear backup schedule, and decide which data to backup and what doesn’t need it. You can use data loss prevention programs to automate it, so it doesn’t have to be another job for IT.
6. Data Leaks and Breaches
Data breaches on the cloud are usually cause and effect. If you get a data breach, it’s because you haven’t plugged some holes in your security protocol.
Users without permission can access data (on accident or on purpose) and extract it. This leads to a data leak, and data is now where it shouldn’t be.
Information can go out to the public. Usually, it’s either sold on the black market or held for blackmail/ransom.
The extent of the damage will depend on your crisis management plan. But, it will be a black mark against your reputation. People need to know their data is safe in your hands and may view it as a breach of trust.
How data breaches occur?
Whether you are in a public or private cloud, data is under several layers of access. It’s not possible to access it in normal situations. But, from different devices and accounts, if you have the right cryptographic key, you can. If a hacker knows someone has access to something, they can get access too.
Here’s how it can happen:
- A hacker studies the company for exploits and weaknesses (people and tech).
- With a victim picked, the hacker approaches them (via social media, interests, flaws, etc.).
- They trick the victim into giving them access to the company network by either:
- Sneaking malware onto the victim’s device.
- Gaining trust and persuading them to give them their login details.
- Once in, they have everything they need to exploit the cloud system and extract your data.
Your cloud security must be a multi-layer approach. You need to check users’ activity at every step and stay on top of access permissions.
Use multi-factor authentication so that users have to provide extra identity confirmation. For example, typing their password then getting a code by email or phone that’s active for a short time span.
Data-at-rest is any data that you store in the system but isn’t accessed a lot from different devices. Make sure you don’t forget to use encryption here. And have a perimeter firewall between public and private networks. This will control traffic in and out.
7. DoS (Denial of Service) Attack
The cloud is able to carry a heavy workload and will scale with your needs. That’s one of the features that makes it so attractive, especially to growing firms.
But this doesn’t mean it can handle an unexpected surge. The cloud can still stop working if it’s overloaded. And this is a huge threat.
Sometimes, the aim isn’t to access your system, but to stop customers from accessing it. Or to disrupt company workflow. This is a denial of service attack or DoS. To break it down, it’s a system overload on steroids.
DoS messes with your SLA (service level agreement) with customers. This can damage trust and credibility and take a huge hit to your reputation.
One of the SLA requirements is quality and availability of service. And a DoS attack blows that out of the water. There are two types of DoS attack to watch out for:
- A brute force approach from many different sources (DDoS).
- A more elaborate attack that will target a set function or exploit (like order placing or content delivery).
When a DoS attack happens, it stretches your system to the max. Without the resources to handle a sudden traffic influx, speed, and stability drop. This can mean an app or website won’t load, or is so slow it’s timing out.
Your users are getting stuck in a traffic pile up. You’re scrambling to work out where it’s coming from and try to cut off the source. You’re going to need to spend more on resources to fix it.
To help prevent them, make sure your intrusion detection system is up to date at all times. You need to be able to single out anomalous traffic which will be your early warning sign. It detects via behavior and credential factors. Think of it as your cloud system’s burglar alarm.
Make sure you’ve got traffic type inspection features on your firewall. This checks destination and sources of incoming traffic. IDS tools will also assess the nature of this traffic too. It helps you sift the good from the bad, and remove any bad intentions.
Put in place source rate limiting, as a key goal of DoS attacks is to eat up bandwidth. You can also block IP addresses that you consider the source of an attack, to gain quick control in an attack.
8. Shoddy Access Management
Access management (or a lack of it) is up there with the most common risks of cloud computing. Access and who has it is the key to everything. This is why it’s a top priority for hackers to target so much.
Hackers are cunning and creative, but you should be doing everything you can to make it harder for them. If you’re not managing your access levels, you’re making it easier for them. Paired with ineffective crisis management and poor information distribution, you may as well do the job for them.
Again, we’ve said it before but multi-factor authentication is a must here. If you do one thing, it should be to set this up. The extra complexity and layers it adds will help keep you safe.
A disposable key will only last for a set amount of time, then be invalid. If an account is subject to a hacking attempt, it will lock down and send the user a notification.
It’s also worth putting in place an automated, regular password changing protocol. After every 30-60 days, users should be changing their password. Encourage the use of passphrases, not words as these are harder to guess.
Put in place a clear access hierarchy server side. This will determine the level of access each tier gets and what information they can see. For example, marketing doesn’t need to see finance protocols and vice versa. Keep information user-relevant, and remove permissions with staff turnover promptly.
9. API Breaches
One of the main advantages of using cloud-based systems is the ability to access them from anywhere and link them together. Your single master data source can be accessed by your employees, customers, other in-house systems to save time and effort.
However, this huge advantage also presents a major security risk. The ability to externally read and write data in your cloud creates a new vulnerability. If your API access isn’t configured correctly, hackers could find ways into your system, or access data their security level should not allow.
The most common causes of this are reusable tokens and passwords, which are a godsend for brute force attacks, and a lack of access monitoring, which allows hackers to probe for holes without your knowledge.
One of the largest examples of an API breach is the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal. Cambridge Analytics used its API access to harvest Facebook data well beyond their access limits. Over 87 million Facebook users’ accounts were compromised.
Penetration testing is always recommended when you have externally accessible systems. If ethical hackers are able to gain access to your systems, you know exactly which holes you need to plug to stop anyone doing it again. Pen tests should be included in your regular security audits.
Enforcing multi-factor authentication also goes a long way to make sure only the right people are accessing your data via the API.
As with any external system, dangers are always there, but these steps will go a long way to reducing the danger.
Security Risks of Cloud Computing
As you can see, moving to the cloud exposes your business to the security risks of cloud computing. But it isn’t all doom and gloom. With sensible management and security testing, you can keep your data safe, and gain all the benefits that cloud computing brings.
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