How to overcome Security Challenges in the Cloud ?

Do you know it takes on an average of 280 days (about 9 months) to detect and neutralize a cyber-attack and demands an overall operational cost of $3.86 million? Cloud computing holds the potential to benefit businesses of all sizes. Moving towards cloud technology is among the top business objectives and an essential element that helps in accomplishing an organization's mission. Cloud solutions allow enterprises to expand their capabilities while lowering the workforce and capital costs involved in the implementation of modern technologies. 

It also enables businesses to be more flexible by enabling them to obtain infrastructure resources and services as required. Sometimes big, successful companies struggle while working with cloud infrastructures and are often victims of cyberattacks. 

Cybersecurity is commonly an obstacle to cloud services, and it continues to be one of the top concerns for professionals around the world. Before choosing a cloud solution, you must control the uncertainties and risks associated with cloud security. 

Cloud security risks can expose your data and business to cyberattacks with long-term and serious impacts. Although most business owners believe cloud computing is advantageous for their on-premise network, there are multiple cloud security challenges to overcome. 

Check out some of the most important cloud security challenges 

Challenge #1: Inadequate Cloud Security Awareness & Understanding 

As infrastructures are expanding rapidly to integrate cloud technologies, the rising cybersecurity expertise gap becomes more noticeable by the day. There is a huge shortage of cloud security professionals, which creates a big challenge for firms trying to integrate cloud services. 

It may be difficult to get a security specialist with cloud security experience. As a result, most cloud computing infrastructure systems are vulnerable to cyberattacks. The shortage of qualified security professionals in cloud computing security might be a challenge for businesses looking to adopt the technology. 

Solution: To address the issue businesses should outsource Managed security service providers or cyber security firms equipped with the best tools and professionals to manage cloud security hassles. Moreover, you can also collaborate with an MSSP and deploy your internal security team to develop customized cloud security algorithms and processes to secure all your business data as per requirements. 

Challenge #2: Vulnerable APIs (Application user interfaces) Integration 

API (Application user interfaces) security is increasingly becoming one of the most serious challenges for cloud computing systems. APIs are a group of protocols and specifications that allow different cloud-based apps to communicate with one another. APIs include a serious security risk to cloud settings as they demand credential authorization and direct access to every app with which they communicate. As the number of APIs increases, so do the possible security challenges. 

Solution: SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption should be used to enable encrypted communication links depending on factors such as incoming device identity, IP address, and geographic details. 

Challenge #3: Data Privacy & Loss 

Many businesses are unaware of what happens to their data when it is stored on the cloud. When countless end users operate in the cloud at the same time, data loss is common. As a result, the primary benefits of sharing and collaborating become a source of pain for cloud admins. The most common reasons for cloud data loss include unexpected file deletion, credential sharing, and the misuse of personal gadgets without proper security protocols. 

Solution: Businesses must invest in a cloud data loss prevention solution to ensure that cybercriminals do not gain access to or manipulate important data. To avoid malicious attacks, businesses can utilize DLP solutions, disaster recovery tools, and specialized infrastructure. Safeguard your network layer as well as the application layer. 

Challenge #4: Cloud Service Data Breach 

IT (Information Technology) security experts have authority over the physical hardware and network infrastructure in on-premise settings. However, part of those controls is transferred to a third-party service provider in cloud-based setups, making the infrastructure vulnerable to assaults. Cybercriminals can use misconfigured cloud infrastructures to capture sensitive data from businesses. 

Solution: To secure your data, invest in data encryption, tokenization, and threat detection solutions. Early warning and threat intelligence solutions can effectively detect and neutralize a threat. 

Challenge #5: Unmanaged Disaster Recovery Strategy 

Power failures or natural catastrophes might restrict connectivity to an organization's infrastructure. The above scenario can last anywhere between a minute to several hours. A business has no command over its most important data during such situations. During downtime, users are unable to access systems and tools. Furthermore, there will be no data transfer until connectivity is restored. 

Solution: Develop a disaster and business continuity recovery plan for cloud workloads and apps. Evaluate the data security solutions provided by your cloud provider and request continuous assessment reports. Consider disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) services provided by major cloud providers. 

Discover how VTPL can assist your business in overcoming cloud security challenges 

Acknowledging and resolving the core issues that facilitate the cloud security vulnerabilities listed in the blog post is the first step toward eliminating them. It demands a partnership with proven competence in vulnerability monitoring, misconfiguration analysis, risk assessment, and a variety of other cloud-based security solutions. 

VTPL's cloud security solutions support Azure, AWS, GCP, and other leading cloud integration technologies. Contact us today to overcome all your cloud security challenges with detailed reporting and traffic monitoring.