Keeping Track of Threat Strategies for Better Security

While threat actors continue to take advantage of disorganised systems within organizations, experts suggest the C suite to understand the ways of threat actors before deploying better security

The rise of cloud computing across industries and use cases has opened several new opportunities for threat actors. With complex environments, the cloud systems include thousands of assets from several vendors with varying methods of authorization that create confusion about the borders of security within organizations. Taking advantage of the confusion and the disorganized system, threat actors easily permeate security defences.

A McAfee research study reports a 630 percent increase in cyber-attacks on cloud services since last year. The dynamic cloud environment requires the CISO to create different defence strategies. Security experts state that defending on-premise setups will require the detection of apprehensive communications. Additionally, the cloud security strategy must revolve around the delicate authorizations and misconfigurations. While experts provide certain insights into the defence of on-premise and cloud security, they reckon it is important to learn the ways of threat groups.

Most common on-premise threats begin with a phishing attack. When an employee opens the malicious email, a reverse shell is instigated from the hacker’s server and downloaded into the company server. The hacker then dumps the LSASS.exe to pull NTLM protocols that help them gain access without the need for any password.

The cybercriminal then transfers the spoofed Address Resolution Protocols messages into a LAN to link their MAC address with the IP address of another source. As a result, any data traffic sent to the organization’s IP address will be redirected to the threat actor who can now orchestrate the Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack and mimic employees or clients to dupe the organization. The organization loses the privacy of massive data and helplessly watches unapproved fund transfers take place.

For such attacks, IT Security experts suggest an on-premise endpoint detection and response security system. It will enable organizations to monitor and detect communication anomalies, continuously.

Meanwhile, a MitM attack and an ARP spoofing threat are not possible on the cloud. There is a different ball game in play with different rules, goals, and methods. Moreover, failing to provide strong security to the cloud data in the dynamic cloud environment is risky.

For instance, some attacks target micro services and other cloud-based applications to achieve resource utilization that is much more than the allocated budget. Experts claim that there is hardly any standardization between platforms and unintentional permission errors after the system goes into production. It marks an easy entry point for threat actors. Misconfigurations and less powerful permissions are the most dangerous threats in the cloud. Exposing a GitOps continuous delivery tool to the internet can allow easy access for attackers.

Also Read: Artificial intelligence: The Next Big Thing in Security

While a loose cloud security system can cause a cyber-hijack of the company’s cloud platform, the less than committed attitude of the firm towards default settings can cost them severely. Experts strongly suggest the customization of default settings for UAA from the Cloud Foundry Foundation.

Monitoring authorizations and minimizing misconfigurations is always second to a complete understanding of company risks and cybersecurity understanding. IT experts urge organizations to indulge in cyber-attacks and cybersecurity educations along with on-premise security inspection.