The Exploitation of Cloud Security Risks
Exploitation of Cloud Security Risks
Cloud technologies have transformed the way companies store data and run applications. While the technology has many advantages, it also introduces new security challenges. In fact, the majority of businesses say they are concerned about security in the cloud.
This is not surprising, considering that cyberattacks are on the rise and threats are evolving. As a result, organizations must take steps to protect their cloud assets and secure sensitive data.
While the benefits of cloud computing are numerous, it has also opened new avenues for attackers to access and compromise host systems. The shared infrastructure and availability of data in cloud-based facilities attract cybercriminals who are interested in the potential return on their investment.
A recent global threat report by CrowdStrike reveals that cloud exploitation cases have grown by 95% while incidents involving “cloud-conscious” actors nearly tripled year-over-year. In addition, the number of attacks using re-weaponized exploits and malware-free attack methods has increased.
The most common cloud-based security risks are unauthorized access, data loss, denial of service and overall system vulnerabilities. As more companies adopt the cloud, they must work to address these risks in order to ensure the integrity of their data and the security of their applications.
The Exploitation of Cloud Security Risks
Malicious actors tend to opportunistically exploit known remote code execution vulnerabilities in server software, searching for vulnerable servers without targeting specific industries or geographical regions. Once an actor has gained initial access, they can deploy a range of tools for persistence and further escalation. These include cloud account exploitation, exploitation of file transfer application vulnerabilities and exploitation of other services in the cloud environment such as storage buckets and virtual machine instances.
Understanding Cloud Exploitation and its impact
In addition to securing data stored in the cloud, organizations must make sure their hardware is protected against DDoS attacks. A successful DoS assault can severely impact business operations and cost organizations large amounts of money in lost revenue and reputation. A DoS attack can occur when an attacker intentionally floods a website with fake requests, causing it to slow down or stop responding altogether. This makes it difficult for legitimate users to access the site and can also make the site unavailable to others.
Another big concern is the risk of internal threats. These are employees who have legitimate access to a company’s cloud assets but may misuse or abuse them for their own gain. They may use privileged accounts to move data from one cloud platform to another or steal confidential information. This can also lead to a significant data breach that impacts customers.
Best practices to Prevent Cloud Exploitation
Finally, organizations must ensure their Internet bandwidth is adequate to transfer data to and from cloud servers. This is especially important for business-critical services that require high performance to avoid outages or downtime.
Another common technique employed by attackers is to leverage side-channel attacks, which can reveal information about the physical implementation of a system rather than its logical interfaces. This allows hackers to glean sensitive data from the victim machine without having the passwords or encryption keys required to access it.