Understanding Cloud Computing Security Risks in 2024 & Their Solutions

Cloud computing has transformed the way businesses manage and store their data. It has brought numerous benefits like flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness.

However, it has also brought a host of issues with cloud security that businesses need to be aware of. The accessibility, size, and interconnection of data in the cloud have made it more vulnerable to various security threats.

By keeping it in mind, this article is written to share valuable information about cloud security risks in 2024 and their possible solutions. Before getting a deep dive into the blog, first, you need to understand cloud security. So, let’s start with it.

What is Cloud Security?

All businesses have crucial data that can’t be shared with anyone, or at any time, only a few authorized personnel can see it. Data on the cloud may be vulnerable to risks, and hackers can steal it.

So, cloud security is required to safeguard business data. In simplistic terms, the collection of procedures, technologies, policies, and control designed to keep data safe from external and internal threats is called – Cloud Security.

It does not matter what kind of cloud computing you are using, i.e.,

⦁ IaaS: Infrastructure-as-a-service
⦁ PaaS: Platform-as-a-service
⦁ SaaS: Software-as-a-service

Security must be there. On one hand, cloud computing provides advanced capabilities to enterprises; conversely, there may be some unwanted consequences with data without security.

Now, it’s time to move on the risks and solutions. The next section of this blog will take you through the risks and its solutions that you can implement to keep your data safe or have a cloud computing solution with complete data safety.

The Cloud Security Risks & Solutions

You will be surprised to learn that among total cyber security attacks, 45% are cloud-based, and 80% of companies out of the total have experienced at least one attack or incident to date. The better way to refrain from these attacks is awareness and implementing a security mechanism. So, let’s dive in.

1. Misconfiguration

One of the major reasons behind data breaches is misconfiguration. The cloud framework is built so that it is simple to use and speeds up data sharing, ensuring that only authorized partners can access information.

It is simple for a misconfiguration or security oversight to leave an organization’s cloud-based resources exposed to attackers because many businesses are unaccustomed to protecting cloud infrastructure & frequently have multiple cloud arrangements, each having a different set of security controls provided by the vendor.

However, this approach is not foolproof, and a security oversight or misconfiguration can leave an organization’s cloud exposed to hackers.

Solutions:

• Know the services, permissions and settings you use in your cloud services.
• Keep an eye on default credentials and modify them.
• Use multi-factor authentications
• Perform a regular audit and choose a suitable security solution

2. Data breach

Data breaches are another significant security risk in cloud computing. They occur when unauthorized individuals access and extract data from a company’s cloud-based infrastructure without permission.

This can happen due to a variety of factors, including inadequate security measures, misconfigured settings, and compromised credentials.

A data breach results in the loss of sensitive information, such as personal data, or financial information.

In addition to the loss of data, a data breach can also harm a business’s reputation and erode trust with customers and other stakeholders. There are many access levels to data stored in the cloud. Under normal conditions, access to data is restricted, and cryptographic keys are required to access it.

However, if a hacker knows someone who has access to the data, they may be able to gain access to it as well. A common tactic used by cybercriminals to breach cloud security is to find vulnerabilities in an organization’s infrastructure. This may involve using exploits to identify weaknesses in the organization’s technology or social engineering to target individuals with access to the system.

Once a victim has been identified, the attacker may try to gain access to their social media accounts or other information to learn more about the victim’s habits and vulnerabilities.

Once an attacker has enough information about the victim, they may try phishing or other methods to get access to the company’s network.

This can be done through technological means, such as by covertly installing malware on a victim’s computer, or through social engineering by persuading someone to divulge their login information.

Solutions:

• Data encryption is the best solution to data breach. Once your data is encrypted, it can only be accessed by whoever has the key for decryption.
• Multi-factor authentication also plays a key role in preventing a data breach. Unauthorized data access is not possible with it.
• Set permissions to access the data as all levels of employees do not need to access the data.
• Enable your email domain’s security protocols including DMARC policy to help distinguish legitimate and fraudulent emails.

Read More- What is DevOps? Its Benefits and Future Trends

3. Unauthorized Access

Businesses and clients have easier access to cloud-based installations because they are outside the network perimeter and available to everyone.

Yet, this also makes it simpler for an attacker to get unauthorized access to a company’s cloud-based services. With inadequately set security or compromised credentials, an attacker can get direct access, possibly without the organization’s knowledge.

Solutions:

• A data governance framework can help you to avoid it, where all users’ accounts will be on a centralized server, and you can monitor the activities.
• Also, count multi-factor authentication to refrain the data from any unauthorized access.

4. Data Loss

Data loss can be turned into a big disaster, and it is counted as one of the most potential cloud computing security risks.

There may be multiple reasons for this, such as deletion, losing access, open database, absence of appropriate data management or more.

Other reasons may be access to data via personal devices and insider threats. Overall, data loss can lead you to unavoidable circumstances like loss of business or customers.

Solutions:

• One of the best and simplest solutions to prevent data loss is taking a regular backup. You can schedule a time interval where all the data will be backed up at a safe place with authorization.
• Another best practice is using privacy policies to safeguard private and sensitive data. Use sufficient protocols and implement policies to protect the data from unauthorized access, modification, and deletion.

5. Use of APIs

Although the APIs provide additional features and functionalities, these can open backdoors for hackers or many cyber security threats.

The chances increase when you use insecure APIs. Multiple reports have claimed that low API security is one of the biggest reasons for Cloud data breaches.

Solutions:

• Penetration testing is the best way to find out the vulnerabilities with APIs. It will help you to identify the loose points.
• Assess your security system via regular audits and check the strengths of implemented security layers.
• Design APIs with tokens, signatures, and encryptions for their security.

Conclusion

Cloud computing offers many benefits to businesses, but it also comes with its share of security risks. Businesses can mitigate these risks by implementing appropriate security controls and tools, regular auditing and monitoring, access management, data encryption, and disaster recovery and business continuity planning.

By taking these steps, businesses can ensure the security and integrity of their data in the cloud.