Cyberattacks in the Cloud
Companies and cloud service providers are constantly exchanging data, which opens the door to accidental or malicious data leaks by third parties. Most cloud service data breaches are caused by a combination of these causes. Cloud service security issues can be exploited by malicious actors, notably state-sponsored hackers, to steal data from a victim organization's network.
The same features that make cloud services readily accessible to employees and IT systems make it difficult to prevent unauthorised access. Despite cloud security issues, cloud growth and the collapse of on-premise data centres have not been impeded by them. Businesses of all sizes must reevaluate their network security measures to prevent unwanted data transfers, service outages, and damage to their brand.
The use of public APIs and cloud-based services exposes organisations to new security loopholes. In order to gain access, skilled hackers launch attacks against cloud systems. There are many ways to stay on an organization's network, including social engineering, account takeover, lateral movement, and detection avoidance. They are tasked with transferring sensitive information to their systems.
Risks of Cloud Computing
Cloud services have transformed the way corporations store data and host apps due to increased security concerns.
- Misconfigured access points and insecure passwords are just a few of the reasons why multi-factor authentication isn't being used more widely.
- APIs must be guarded against both accidental and malicious efforts to obtain access to sensitive data.
- Assailants may try to steal user information, alter data so that it returns false results, or redirect users to dangerous websites.
- Insiders who are shady: Workers or contractors who have been granted access to a company's network, systems, and data may willfully abuse that privilege and compromise the organization's security and availability of its information systems.
- Increasing the attack surface for hackers is made easier by the fact that many cloud services are designed to enable data exchange between businesses.
- Denial-of-service attacks: By disrupting cloud infrastructure, hackers can harm organisations without gaining access to their cloud services accounts or internal networks.
The threat cycle
Cloud resources are vulnerable to two types of attacks:
- Getting into a company's network perimeter is the first step. From there, reconnaissance and privilege escalation to an administrative account with access to cloud services are the next steps.
- Compromise of administrator credentials or access to a cloud service provider is required for the second method (through CSP).
The cloud network's security is threatened by the loss of the primary administrator account. If the attacker has access to an administrator account, they do not need to elevate their privileges or maintain access to the firm network.
So, how can the company ensure that CSPs aren't abusing their administrative powers?
There are many ways to protect your cloud network from hackers. Social engineering flaws like phishing allow modern hackers to get access to accounts, therefore it's vital to keep an eye on any accounts that are currently logged in for any unusual behaviour.
Related queries
What can you do to improve cloud safety?
The following are the top five cloud security best practises:
- TLS encrypts data.
- Plan for the safekeeping and restoration of data.
- Continuous monitoring by a cloud
- Monitor account activity to ensure the safety of a user's account.
- The administration of the cloud's security posture
That which distinguishes cloud threats from the others is...
The following characteristics set conventional network risk apart from it:
- Cyber criminals are drawn to cloud computing because of the shared infrastructure and easy access to data it provides.
- The ability to access and control a host's resources is greatly augmented by the use of cloud computing.
- The creation of new virtual machines (VMs) and private networks is now both inexpensive and simple thanks to cloud computing.
What exactly is compliance in cloud security?
Complying with cloud security regulations and industry standards ensures that cloud services are safe and secure. It is imperative that you adhere to all applicable rules and guidelines.
Extreme Compute can help you learn more about industry norms and regulations.