Cloud security threats, risks and vulnerabilities
Cloud computing enables new opportunities for businesses willing to make the transition. However, at the same time, cloud computing presents many challenges that must be addressed. Cloud security is always a shared responsibility, so each involved party must know its role.
In this article, we present the biggest cloud security issues. This information should help you better understand the cybersecurity risks associated with cloud computing.
How secure is the cloud?
Questions about cloud security threats are a valid concern, as all your sensitive data is held outside of your company premises. However, in most cases, data will be much safer when stored in the cloud than kept on the user’s device.
Usually, cloud data is stored in an encrypted form, meaning that anyone needing data access needs a digital key. Not to mention that the data itself is stored across a large fleet of servers with multiple backups. This is done to protect the information in case of a server malfunction or a cyberattack.
Cloud security threats and risks
While the cloud is much safer than device storage, it’s important to note that no security system is uncrackable. A broad spectrum of cybersecurity risks applies to cloud infrastructure that could compromise your data. Cloud security threats include external data breaches, misconfigurations, poor authentication controls, phishing attacks, insecure APIs, insider threats, data loss, denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, shadow IT, and vulnerabilities within the infrastructure itself. Being aware of cloud security risks early on can help prevent more severe breaches such as advanced persistent threats later.
External data breaches
Most business owners view data loss as their biggest cloud security concern. Leaking financial or customer data threatens customer trust, which can cause long-lasting revenue loss. As the security responsibilities are shared between a cloud service provider and a client, there’s always a risk of failure to secure the network properly. The servers should also be properly equipped to withstand DDoS attacks.
In addition, a lack of visibility into how and where data is stored can make it harder to detect breaches quickly. Organizations must ensure proper encryption for data in transit and at rest, and regularly audit access logs to detect suspicious activity. Partnering with a provider that offers strong breach notification and incident response support is also crucial.
Misconfigurations
Cloud infrastructure is very complex, so there’s a real risk of missing something when setting it up. Organizations risk misconfiguring their access systems when scaling up or scaling down their operations. Missing important updates or overlooking existing infrastructure shortcomings may also contribute to critical misconfigurations.
Misconfigurations are a common entry point for advanced persistent threats, allowing attackers to move undetected through a system. Examples include publicly exposed storage buckets, overly permissive roles, and forgotten test environments left open to the internet. Regular security assessments, automated configuration checks, and cloud security posture management (CSPM) tools can help reduce these risks significantly. Staying on top of these cloud security risks requires continuous education and robust monitoring.
Poor authentication controls
Your data is as secure as strong is the weakest component within its chain. If the only thing that your employees need is a username and a password, this is something that could be easily exploited. Generally, the rule is to protect sensitive assets with a corresponding level of authentication mechanisms. The more sensitive the data, the more authentication layers it should have.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA), single sign-on (SSO), and role-based access control (RBAC) should be considered standard. Organizations should also review and update user access regularly to ensure that only those who need access have it. Educating users on strong password hygiene further reduces the likelihood of compromise.
Account hijacking via phishing
Hackers don’t need to penetrate your internal networks when the data is hosted in the cloud. This means that hijacking your administrator’s account and posing as one could be enough to gain direct access to the cloud-hosted data. It requires less effort to pull off than bypassing various cybersecurity defenses that could be deployed internally.
Phishing attacks often use social engineering tactics to trick users into clicking malicious links or entering credentials on fake login pages. To protect against this, businesses should train employees to recognize phishing attempts and use email filtering tools that block suspicious messages. Monitoring for abnormal login behavior can also help detect compromised accounts early. This type of cloud security threat is often used as the first step in launching more dangerous attacks, such as advanced persistent threats.
API insecurities
Growing Application Programming Interface (API) usage creates an opportunity for hackers looking for an opening into the network. This area must be thoroughly checked for vulnerabilities, poor coding practices, lack of authentication, and insufficient authorization. These and other similar oversights can help hackers gain access to the system.
Insecure APIs can serve as direct entry points for attackers to manipulate or extract data. API keys should be kept secret, and proper authentication mechanisms should be enforced for all API calls. Regular code reviews, automated testing, and strong API gateways can significantly improve security in this area.
Insider threats
Even if external hackers are kept at bay, rogue or malicious insiders pose a real risk if they have access to sensitive data and systems. Insider threats can come from employees or third-party contractors and involve data theft, sabotage, fraud, and more. Strong access controls and monitoring are needed to mitigate this threat.
Sometimes, insider threats are unintentional, such as an employee accidentally deleting critical data or misconfiguring a system. This makes it essential to follow the principle of least privilege and maintain detailed activity logs. Encouraging a culture of security awareness and enabling anonymous reporting can help detect suspicious behavior early.
Data loss or leakage
When data is moved to the cloud, there is a risk it may inadvertently be shared too broadly if access policies are misconfigured. Even accidental deletion poses a risk if proper backups are not in place. Strict classification and access policies are needed to prevent unauthorized data exposure.
Regular backups, ideally stored across different geographic locations, are vital to ensure quick recovery in the event of loss. Organizations should implement data loss prevention (DLP) tools to monitor and restrict the movement of sensitive information. Encrypting backups and using retention policies also adds a layer of protection.
Denial of service attacks
As cloud infrastructure relies on constant online connectivity, it is susceptible to DDoS attacks which attempt to overload servers and resources with traffic. Protection against these threats requires strategies like traffic filtering, mitigation services, and redundancies.
Modern DDoS attacks can be multi-vector, targeting different layers of the network stack simultaneously. Partnering with a cloud provider that includes built-in DDoS protection and auto-scaling features helps ensure service continuity. It's also wise to have an incident response plan specifically for DoS scenarios. When left unchecked, these cloud security threats can cause severe downtime, loss of customer trust, and financial loss.
Infrastructure vulnerabilities
Despite best efforts, newly discovered software or hardware vulnerabilities may still affect cloud platforms. Providers need responsive processes to patch flaws, and customers need diligence in applying updates. Continuous monitoring assists with rapidly identifying and fixing issues.
Organizations should stay informed about common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs) and subscribe to vendor alerts. Vulnerability scanning tools can help identify potential weak spots, while automated patch management can reduce the window of exposure. Collaboration with providers is key for coordinated and timely mitigation.
Shadow IT
Shadow IT refers to the use of unauthorized cloud services or applications within an organization. Employees might use third-party tools or storage platforms without IT approval, often in an attempt to improve productivity or convenience.
These unmonitored tools often lack proper security controls and can create significant data security risks, especially if sensitive information is uploaded. Organizations should implement policies that define acceptable tool usage, monitor for unknown services in network traffic, and educate users about the dangers of unsanctioned cloud tools.
Cloud security vulnerabilities
Cloud vulnerabilities are a sensitive subject because cloud services are used for development, analytics, machine learning, and other tasks. There are multiple weak points that hackers will check first when attempting to penetrate a network. Here’s the list of the top cloud vulnerabilities.
Open S3 bucket
An Amazon S3 bucket is a public cloud storage resource used within Amazon Web Services. Buckets are similar to folders as they consist of data and descriptive metadata. According to various reports, poorly configured S3 buckets contribute to a significant portion of cloud security data breaches. Some of the companies that were recently affected by these misconfigurations that resulted in a data breach were Netflix and Capital One. This allowed some of the private buckets to be accessible to anyone interested. Therefore, when using cloud services, it’s critical to implement proper access rules.
Incomplete data deletion
One of the trickiest parts of cloud data management is data deletion. On the one hand, it’s a process that should be done irreversibly. On the other hand, an administrator must ensure that there are no backups left.
In cases when multiple tenants are sharing the infrastructure, data should be deleted without the possibility of retrieving it. It’s not enough to wipe the hard drive and hope for the best. The data should be overwritten with blank tables and then deleted again.
As for the data backups, this requires full visibility of where they are kept. There shouldn’t be any unsupervised copies lying in the cloud as, over time, this data could find its way to hackers. That said, in most cases, data deletion must follow the cloud provider’s procedures, so it will likely be a joint effort. Although some cloud service providers may have different requirements.
Lambda command injection
Lambda function is an AWS computing service that allows running code without provisioning or managing servers. It can execute code when needed, ranging from a few daily requests to thousands per second. The service model allows using this tool per the computed time only. It’s a convenient tool that tests any application or backend service.
As the user function is serverless, this greatly increases the potential attack surface. The function can be launched from various events like database changes, code modifications, notifications, and other events. This means that a hacker can try to inject an unexpected event into the vulnerable function, which is then passed down to the OS-level application. It’s potentially devastating to the stored data as the hacker could obtain direct access to the cloud using this vulnerability.
Failure of separation among multiple tenants
The multitenancy model helps drive costs low — multiple customers are using the same software instance, which is installed on multiple servers. User data and resources are located in the same computing cloud, controlled and distinguished by various unique identifiers. Naturally, the risks associated with this model arise from the shared model itself, as the used computer hardware is the same for multiple clients.
Data isolation is paramount in such scenarios as multitenancy would, by definition, be one of the best attack vectors at a hacker’s disposal. Not to mention that successfully breaching one of the tenants makes it easier to infiltrate co-residents within the cloud. Since the only boundary between them is individual user IDs, this gives plenty of leverage for malicious individuals.
Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)
SSRF vulnerabilities occur when an application exposes internal endpoints or resources that should not be directly accessible. For example, an attacker could craft requests that get the server to connect to internal systems and expose sensitive data which is then returned to the attacker. This can give an attacker insight into the cloud infrastructure setup and potentially access to other systems. Careful input validation is needed to prevent SSRF.
Lateral movement
Once a bad actor has gained any level of access to a cloud system, they may be able to move laterally or “hop” from one instance or service to another to expand their reach. With privileges, they could access compute resources like containers or VMs, unauthorized systems with insecure configurations, backup instances for data extraction, and more. Compartmentalization and least privilege access models are key to containing lateral movement. Monitoring for anomalous account activity also helps.
Summary
While cloud computing is an incredible opportunity for most businesses to reorganize their infrastructure flexibly, this doesn’t come without a price. While, by default, cloud security provides much more safety than locally hosted data, there’s much that an organization should keep in consideration when setting it up.
Like most systems, cloud computing isn’t without its weak points. The majority of data breaches result from misconfigurations and poor authentication controls. It’s important to emphasize that cloud security isn’t given. The high status of security has to be maintained.
Then, there are quite many vulnerabilities that a hacker could exploit when planning an attack on your cloud. Network administrators should be in the loop about the latest developments regarding S3 bucket exploits and be very cautious regarding the deletion of backups and other data. Only by timely addressing various cloud risks can it be possible to create a secure model that helps businesses achieve their goals.