Cloud computing has become a necessity for businesses and consumers. Along with this technology come security challenges that must be considered and overcome, such as loss of data, APIs, and user account management.
The cloud.
Two decades ago, it was an enigma. Many didn't quite understand what it was, what it promised or what it would become. Today, however, the cloud is everywhere. Consumers and businesses are so entrenched in the cloud that running out of it would become a new kind of problem.
But adopting it presents its own problems, especially in the realm of security. Unlike traditional file storage and sharing methods, the cloud requires a third party, which often means you don't have full control over every aspect of the system.
And that's just looking at it from the consumer's perspective. The biggest complications arise when a company relies on the cloud for almost every aspect of its business workflow. Not only are you employing multiple services, but your developers may have to spend time and effort linking internal applications to third-party APIs.
Research carried out in seven countries with more than 2,500 cloud security and DevOps professionals. Source: Palo Alto Networks
Complications arise from there, many of which carry special cybersecurity implications. But with almost every enterprise business around the world relying on the cloud, it is important that they take into consideration the security issues that have been, are and always will be associated with the technology. According to Palo Alto Networks , “72% of organizations report an above-average turnover rate in cloud security roles.” At the same time, “78% of respondents want better security from day one” in the tools they use.
Clearly, the challenges are considerable. Let's examine these challenges so you know what's in store for your business and the teams/organizations that keep it running.
How to deal with data loss and security?
This question should be at the heart of your company every day. There is a good chance that you store data in the cloud. This data could be company information, customer details, consumer records, banking information, product details, plans, contacts or tax records. Some of this information may be common knowledge, while others may be highly confidential.
Imagine if there was a breach at your third-party cloud provider and all this data was leaked to the public. This could be disastrous for your business.
The challenge here is that you are not in control of the security of, say, Google Cloud, AWS, or Azure. Instead, you should leave it in the hands of the respective teams. The good news is that all of these third-party cloud hosts are very good at keeping your data safe. This does not mean, however, that there is a 100% guarantee that nothing will happen. Because of this, you might consider keeping your most sensitive data in-house.
Of course, even then, there's no guarantee that your company's LAN won't get hacked.
There are ways to help prevent such a breach. Let's look at some best practices.
Pay attention to insecure APIs
One of the many ways hackers are able to breach companies like Google Cloud is through insecure APIs. If your company relies on multiple APIs to link your internal systems to a third-party cloud, it's critical that you use a known and trusted API or that your developers create custom APIs with security at the heart of the software.
This may mean that your company would have to hire a security organization (or internal team) to examine the API code. It may be tempting to use the API as soon as your developers finish creating it, but giving that code a good review will go a long way toward preventing data breaches. If every company carefully scrutinized its custom API code, the chances of hackers accessing these third-party clouds would drop considerably.
Keep your API code clean, free of bugs and vulnerabilities, and always up to date.
At the same time, it's critical that your developers don't save passwords or account keys in the API code. Make sure you use a secret manager so these keys are not only stored outside of the API, but also encrypted.
Update user accounts
Chances are your developers and DevOps teams aren't the only ones using your company's cloud accounts. You probably have hundreds (or maybe thousands) of users with accounts that you use daily.
Now, imagine that one of these user accounts is hacked, giving the threat actor access to the products contained therein.
This is one of the biggest security threats you will encounter when dealing with the cloud. Because of this, you must employ strict password policies as well as usage policies. Unless an employee has a reason to connect to their cloud accounts outside of your company's LAN, you should avoid this. The only reason to allow external access would be for remote employees. Even so, you must adopt strict password, usage, hardware, and access policies. This is especially true for those users who are allowed to access data stored in your cloud.
It would be a good idea to require regular password changes (along with requiring strong/unique passwords). Additionally, ensure that users regularly delete data from their accounts that they no longer need or use.
You need trained and qualified professionals
You must have a development team with the skills to write secure code. The need for highly qualified employees should not stop there. You need managers who can successfully work with the dashboards offered by your cloud provider, as well as know all the security tools available.
If you have employees who are not highly trained on the cloud platform of your choice, you run the risk of someone misconfiguring an option, leaving your company open to intrusion. Once you've decided on a cloud provider (or even once you've decided), the next step should be to properly train those involved in developing, managing, and using the cloud platform to mitigate errors.
Keep an eye on DoS
Denial of service attacks are the most common problem businesses face. These attacks can render your network unusable, meaning you won't be able to work with your cloud. While this may not lead to direct intrusions into your systems, DoS attacks can be used to demand ransom from your network.
Therefore, it is essential that you focus enough efforts to keep not only your cloud secure but also your LAN. And DoS attacks aren't the only problem. You should also be on the lookout for intrusions that could lead to hackers discovering user credentials for cloud accounts or accessing your proprietary API code.
If you're interested in tackling cybersecurity challenges at your company, learn more about our cybersecurity expertise, technical skills, and certifications .
Conclusion: Tackle security challenges head on
You might think that since you're paying for a third-party cloud, you can foist all your security concerns on the provider. The truth is that you are just as responsible for the security of your cloud accounts as the provider.
Consider these challenges and face them head on. Don't be ill-prepared for the ongoing security challenges you face when adopting the cloud as part of your infrastructure.
As they always say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
