Dealing with Emerging Threats Related to Increased Cloud Adoption

The COVID-19 epidemic has pushed businesses to implement a hybrid work strategy highlighted by remote connectivity and facilitated by the integration of the internet of things (IoT) and cloud technologies.

While large-scale cloud deployments have many advantages, more IoT devices — and therefore a highly complex ecosystem — also imply higher security risks from the edge to the cloud. While attempting to analyze risks, most businesses emphasize the devices directly rather than the cloud services as potential attack channels.

Businesses prefer an interconnected ecosystem to track, monitor, and protect their confidential data. This relies on cloud-based solutions to integrate servers, analyze data from the sensors, improve computational power, and expand storage capacity.

Here are the top five cloud security threats, as well as what your business should be doing to counter them:

•    Threat #1 – Data Breaches and Data Leaks

Cloud systems are mainly developed to streamline the flow of data across employees and this allows the hackers to intercept loopholes in your system.
One of the most effective methods to combat this issue is to safeguard your data in transit and at rest. This includes encrypting both your email server and the emails. This incorporates the utilization of digital certificates like SSL/TLS website certificates and S/MIME (secure/multipurpose internet mail extension) certificates.

•    Threat #2 – Access Management

Access management is comprised of two key components. The first is a strict access policy, while the second is a collection of authentication and identity verification methods. In most cases, this is implemented without a detailed assessment of access regulations. To improve cloud security the implementation of the separation of duties (SoD) model is important. The model not only offers a greater level of security but also separates the attacker from gaining the database access.

•    Threat #3 – Data Loss

Another challenge that cloud systems encounter is data loss. As a result, an average of 51% of firms have publicly exposed their data at least once, and 84% of enterprises have stated that traditional security techniques do not work in cloud environments. Addressing this type of incident necessitates immediate planning and implementation of a robust backup strategy. To avoid data loss from individual storage area network (SAN) systems harming your business, this should ideally be a decentralized database in which data is backed up in multiple systems and locations.

•    Threat #4 – Cloud Storage Misconfiguration

Misconfiguration is another significant challenge in cloud systems, which can result in data being left unprotected. Some businesses do not modify the default security settings on their cloud storage; others allow business data to be stored in complex structures where files are left unprotected. A professional cloud storage provider will take the time to verify that your cloud infrastructure is properly configured. Furthermore, you must ensure that you understand not only your cloud storage system but also the technologies you run alongside it that might compromise its security.

•    Threat #5 – Insecure APIs

Application user interfaces (APIs) are the key tools for integrating cloud technologies. Unfortunately, many APIs still have security vulnerabilities, most often giving cloud storage providers undue levels of access to your data. Reducing the risks posed by unsecured APIs demands a proper selection of a cloud storage vendor. A good vendor will follow the OWASP API security standards and be ready to offer you statistics on the number of cyber-attacks they have encountered and the number of strikes they have stopped.

Prepare for the Future with Cloud Technologies

Businesses can skillfully manage cloud-related challenges by developing a strong cyber security foundation. This necessitates implementing a sensible strategy, which encompasses determining which resources and data to safeguard, conducting a full risk assessment across all components of the cloud ecosystem, and confirming that security procedures are not just in force but are also systematically executed.

Businesses can prosper from IoT-cloud integration as long as they embrace a strategic security mindset and implement as many best business practices as possible. For more information about cloud computing security, please visit www.vareli.co.in