With more organizations shifting toward cloud solutions, CIOs need to reassess their practices to monitor cloud vulnerabilities and adopt updated security postures against modern threats.
Since much of the responsibility of a secure infrastructure is outsourced to cloud providers, CIOs need to ensure that legitimate configurations are put into place. This will avoid inadvertent data exposure. As the CIOs assess the operations for vulnerabilities, here are a few factors that can lead to compromised cloud security.
Rushing Out New Code and Features
Aggressively pushing out new code and features can lead to an inadvertent drift in the configuration. Developers are under constant pressure to create new codes that create more opportunities for errors. Developers who constantly make changes to the production code often create workarounds to avoid time staking process of procuring admin privileges whenever there are changes to be done.
Extensive Interconnectivity of Applications
Increased connectivity among applications increases the chances of a problematic misconfiguration. Common API errors consist of broken authorizations at the user level, function level, and object level leading to the exposure of information from the APIs which the hacker leverages to crack the code. Cloud-native containerized apps can cause serious threats since a single vulnerability in a single container can allow the hacker to access the entire software network.
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Intricacy in Cloud Infrastructure
Complex cloud architecture has a significant impact on misconfiguration risks. A single-tenant cloud possesses limited risk because no one has the code on the same machine. However, a multi-tenant environment possesses a higher risk volume since the environment needs to be configured in a way to make sure a hacker is not running a code on VM on the same machine. The risk gets exponentially higher in multi-cloud or hybrid architectures since the code and data are stored in different places. Organizations need to create a network of complex connections across the web to handle intensive threats caused due to complexity in the cloud infrastructure.
External Data Sharing
Cloud design makes data sharing very easy as many clouds provide the option to invite a collaborator via email. This enables anyone with that URL link to explicitly access the data on the cloud. At the same time, the link can be stolen as a part of the cyberattack or can be hacked by a cybercriminal which leads to unauthorized access to the shared data. Additionally, link-based sharing makes it impossible for cybersecurity to revoke access to a single recipient.
Internal Attacks
Internal sources in the organization have the access to sensitive information which can destruct the entire IT infrastructure if the data is manipulated.
Encryption systems deployed for cyber threats are vulnerable to insider attacks as they depend on cloud services for security measures. One of the effective ways to reduce internal attacks is to limit access to users.
A robust process for monitoring, logging, and regular audits should be established to detect the threats in the infrastructure. Appropriate training should be given to the system admins to respond to internal breaches appropriately.
Also Read: Cloud Data Breach – Most CISOs Indicate Security Misconfiguration as a Critical Challenge
These factors can be leveraged to plan an effective strategy to improve cloud security. Vendors are offering platforms to organizations to monitor their errors in misconfigurations however these platforms do not function well with hybrid or multi-cloud architectures. Organizations can utilize a third-party solution that can effectively monitor multiple clouds. Businesses adopting modern infrastructure should make sure that necessary measures are being taken to protect the cloud from threats and vulnerabilities. At the same time, intensive security postures need to be placed.
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