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Security

How To Mitigate the Security Risks of Cloud Computing

Apr 30, 2024

Is your business data safe in the cloud? Here's how to mitigate the top security risks of cloud computing.

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Leaman Crews
How To Mitigate the Security Risks of Cloud Computing

What we'll cover

Cloud computing has been a blessing for small to midsize businesses. The cloud makes it easy for smaller organizations to get up and running with business applications or to store and share large amounts of data. Despite the tremendous benefits, cloud computing has its fair share of vulnerabilities that attackers regularly exploit.

This can leave business owners and their IT teams feeling helpless, as they have limited control over the cloud. A 2023 Gartner survey found that 90% of respondents reported that the inability to monitor governance and compliance is a top security risk in cloud computing. [1] They also worry about the safety of company information, as 80% say data security in the cloud is a top concern.

While cloud security is a very real concern, the situation is not hopeless. For every security risk, there are ways to respond and protect your business data. Here is a look at the security risks of cloud computing and strategies to mitigate them.

What are the most common security risks associated with cloud computing?

The most common cloud security risks associated with cloud computing can be broken down into five major categories.

Unauthorized data access

Unauthorized data access is always a significant security concern, regardless of whether information is stored on-premises or in the cloud. However, it's one of the top cloud security issues because, unlike on-premises systems, businesses are at the mercy of their cloud vendor.

Improper access controls are the primary path to unauthorized users accessing business data, networks and endpoints, or applications. Successful phishing attacks often provide attackers with legitimate user credentials, which are then exploited in the cloud.

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks

DDoS attacks involve flooding an application or service with connection requests, effectively denying legitimate users access.

Network administrators typically have more control over blocking and preventing DDoS attacks with on-premises systems. In the cloud, the vendor is often responsible for protecting its servers from distributed threats. This potentially leaves cloud customers vulnerable if the vendor doesn't provide adequate defenses.

Misconfigurations

Properly configuring a cloud app or service is the best path to security. However, misconfigurations such as leaving default passwords in place, inadequate access controls, and mismanaged permissions can inadvertently create cloud security threats.

Data leaks

Flexibility is one of cloud computing's greatest strengths. In most cases, users can access cloud apps from anywhere, with any device. However, this freedom can sometimes lead to compromises known as data leaks.

For example, a user might access your company's cloud-based document-sharing app from their personal smartphone—a device that could be months or years behind on recommended security updates. If a hacker exploits this vulnerability, a data leak occurs.

Poor security practices, such as storing passwords in plain text files, exacerbate these cloud security issues. Insider threats also lead to data leaks, as unauthorized employees exploit weak security controls to access data they shouldn't be able to access.

Insecure APIs

Application programming interfaces (APIs) make cloud computing fast and efficient. Utilizing these small blocks of code, cloud apps easily exchange data. Developers can even create new apps based on data moving in and out of multiple cloud services.

However, the presence of insecure APIs is one of the most serious risks of cloud computing. An API with insufficient security might grant attackers unfettered access to your company's intellectual property, financial data, and more.

How can businesses mitigate these risks and protect their data?

Here are ways you can mitigate each of the top cloud security risks and protect your business data:

Implement strong access controls

To mitigate the risk of unauthorized access, start by implementing strong access controls. This begins with providing data access privileges on an as-needed basis.

GetApp's 5th Annual Data Security Report shows that businesses recognize the importance of strong access controls. Only 16% of respondents report allowing employees access to all company data—a drop of more than 50% year over year.

Limiting access controls to only what's needed reduces what hackers can access in a successful attack. A rigid access control policy also provides a strong foundation for mitigating other cloud security risks, like insider threats.

You can also limit data lost to phishing by educating your users about the threat. Our data security report noted a positive year-over-year trend, with the percentage of companies reporting at least one employee clicking on a malicious link in a phishing email down from 81% to 61%.

Perform vulnerability testing

DDoS attacks exploit vulnerabilities in cloud systems. To beat attackers at their own game, you can perform vulnerability testing and patch any issues before they're exploited.

Several web application scanning tools are available to help you find vulnerabilities. Tightening security controls is often enough to fix most vulnerabilities. If you use Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), such as a cloud-based firewall, you can configure custom rules that can help prevent threat actors from mounting a DDoS attack.

Learn about cloud configurations

While misconfigurations open the door to cloud attacks, proper configurations can stop many issues before they start.

Spend some time learning all the settings, services, and permissions applicable to your cloud apps and services. Proper and secure configurations can significantly reduce the potential for attacks.

Strengthen your data policies

Default passwords and lax security policies lead to data leaks, but strong policies can easily mitigate these risks.

For instance, you can make data encryption (when possible) a part of your policy. Sensitive data is then protected, even when accessed from personal devices. More frequent password changes also reduce cloud security risks. Also, make sure to educate your employees on how to avoid causing data leaks.

Robust policies can also help combat insider threats. GetApp's 2023 Insider Threats Survey shows that companies that limit data access only to what employees need for their role report far fewer insider attacks, compared to those that allow excessive data access.*

Implement API best practices

API security is enhanced by using authentication and authorization mechanisms, such as tokens, encryption, and signatures. Selecting a standard API framework allows your development team to design APIs with security in mind from the very beginning, reducing potential security risks when integrating third-party applications.

What specific vulnerabilities should organizations be most concerned about?

While all cloud security threats are serious, unauthorized data access may be the one to be most concerned about. If you can implement the necessary access controls to combat this issue, you will have a good foundation for mitigating other risks.

That's because access control policies also reduce the risk of insider threats and can even help stop DDoS attacks. An appropriate access control policy also leads you to proper configurations, which helps keep hackers out of your systems.

However, every company's cloud footprint is different. You should evaluate your security posture against all of the issues discussed above and then determine which vulnerabilities are most critical to your organization.

Are there industry-specific considerations for cloud security?

Some organizations face industry-specific cloud security requirements. For instance, healthcare organizations in the United States must comply with the provisions of the HITECH Act and the HIPAA privacy regulation. If your business has any government contracts, those agreements likely feature specific cloud security considerations.

To ensure compliance with regulations in your industry, consult your company's legal counsel.

What are the best practices for securing cloud workloads and applications?

Here are some of the best practices and strategies for securing your cloud environment:

  • Understand the shared responsibility model: Your cloud vendor is responsible for some aspects of security, while you are responsible for others. Generally, the vendor takes care of hardware security and you tend to application security. However, every situation is different, so check with your vendor.

  • Properly configure your cloud apps: Misconfigurations create unnecessary security risks. Learning proper configurations helps secure your environment.

  • Establish and enforce policies: Cloud usage, device access, data security, and API development are all candidates for robust policies. Establish and enforce the right policies for your organization.

  • Encrypt data when possible: Encrypted data is useless to attackers, and encryption neutralizes the threat of data leaks.

What resources and tools are available to help businesses address cloud security risks?

Every business should utilize security tools to help mitigate cloud security risks. That includes scanning tools to help you identify vulnerabilities. An identity and access management (IAM) tool simplifies the management of users and passwords in a centralized location.

Cloud monitoring tools are also effective for detecting potential issues before they evolve into a full-scale breach. You should also have a file backup solution so that your data isn't lost in the event of a breach.

Build a cloud strategy to secure your data

Security breaches and data loss will always be cloud security threats, but they shouldn't stop you from building a cloud strategy. For small to midsize businesses, the cloud has too many benefits to ignore. The wide array of applications and services available to your organization helps you compete in the marketplace without the expense and maintenance of on-premises systems. Thanks to how the cloud enables remote work, you can also build a global workforce.

Instead of worrying about the risks of cloud computing, make robust policies the central component of your cloud strategy. Learn about the proper configurations that secure your data, follow the best practices, and take advantage of all this modern technology has to offer.

To further your cloud knowledge, visit these GetApp resources:

Sources

  1. Security Risks in Cloud Computing, Gartner​

Survey methodology

*GetApp's 2023 Insider Threats Survey was conducted in March 2023 among 400 respondents to learn more about insider threats at U.S. businesses. All respondents were screened for leadership positions within their company.

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About the author

Leaman Crews

Leaman Crews is a writer and technology consultant specializing in finance, HR, and enterprise IT topics. A former newspaper publisher and editor, his work has appeared in publications across the United States, and he is a frequent contributor to GetApp.
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