Cloud security's most critical challenges in 2022

Exactly why do you need security for your cloud services ?

Compared to on-premise options, cloud computing has the potential to be more secure. Businesses aren't necessarily better secured just because the cloud is more secure. This is more about the security, management, and monitoring methods used by companies and organizations. That is to say, your cloud strategy matters, and infrastructure alone will not keep you safe from cyber attacks.

The average cost of a data breach today is $3.86 million ($148 per compromised record), which is a lot of money. In the United States, the average breach costs about $7.9 million. However, what happens if a company responds to a security issue within 30 days? They normally save a million dollars. That's a multimillion-dollar savings if the threat is completely avoided. Although cloud security may appear resource-intensive and expensive at first glance, keep these things in mind. This is a low-risk, high-return investment.

Cloud Security Challenges for 2022, according to Extreme Compute
Businesses must priorities security more than ever before, given the increasing number of threats and novel assaults. The following are some of the most pressing issues we'll be dealing with in 2022, as well as some suggestions on how cloud security solutions might help you meet them.

1. Breach of Information
The most serious concern is the possibility of a data leak. It's a priority for every company. However, only a small number of people are equipped with the tools and know-how necessary to deal with it head on (and something that has to be dealt with in a proactive and preventative way).

You run the danger of violating regulatory requirements, incurring financial penalties and reputational damage if you fail to protect your company's data properly (through deliberate encryption). No matter what SLA you have in place, you are responsible for ensuring the safety of your customers and workers' data.

2. Complying with regulations
Cloud service providers are frequently viewed as a guarantee of security for small organizations. However, there is more to it than that. Additional industry mandates are needed in addition to international and federal prohibitions. EU data protection, FISMA, PCI DSS, HIPAA, and FERPA are a few examples.

You can meet regulatory standards with the right cloud security solutions, but you must keep an eye on everything and pay close attention to the smallest details. End-users are responsible for ensuring the security of their own cloud environment.

3. Deficiency in expertise
According to recent surveys, a significant percent of managers don't believe they have the right expertise to cater to their cloud needs. This is one of the top four cloud security concerns for businesses. For most companies, there are presently three to four cloud services in use, which increases the level of complexity and requires a high level of technological expertise.

This is expected to be a major trend in the months and years ahead. Managers in both IT and business will need to be well-versed in cloud computing technology, as well as managerial experience and a grasp of financial matters. Basic cloud expertise and the capacity to oversee certain projects are all that's necessary; they don't need to be cloud geniuses.

4. Migration to the Cloud: A Problematic Process
Cloud migration is on the rise, but it needs to be properly managed (otherwise, it exposes the business to unnecessary risk). Insufficient understanding of infrastructure security (33%), compliance (28%), the creation of security policies (21%), and security not keeping pace with application development speeds (18%) were identified as the four most significant business challenges . Knowledge pertaining these is a common concern among those in the fields of security and technology.

Businesses will be able to migrate more easily if migration procedures are simplified. Staged migration decreases the risk of catastrophic failures that destroy data or lead to vulnerabilities by not trying to perform everything at once.

5. APIs that are not safe to use
As compared to a surface attack, a cloud attack is more difficult due to the large number of possible entry points and the greater degree of fragmentation. Most clearly seen in the micro-services architecture and the growing popularity of serverless operations today.

APIs are great, but you have to look at the overall picture as a whole. Even if the cloud is supposedly safe, hackers can still take data from it. If an app has a security flaw, cloud security solutions can help you find and fix it.

6. Accidental threats from Insiders
Having faith in your employees is a good thing but do not take it for granted. Even though this trust can be a good thing, it can also be a bad thing if companies don't properly scrutinize its components. According to Intel, 43 percent of all breaches are caused by insider threats. Half of them are on purpose. 

For businesses, regulating who can and can't access information is essential. There should be no more access to cloud apps and data sources than is necessary for employees to do their duties.

7. Using open source applications
A weakness of open-source software is that it's vulnerable to attack. To breach an app, hackers normally poison the Git repo first, waiting for developers to make use of the packages they poisoned. 

Extreme Compute provides cloud native and complete cloud security solutions that safeguard corporate assets, apps, and data by thwarting even the most sophisticated assaults.