Cloud Security Challenges That Need Strict Attention

With the world taking the path of digitization, cloud testing services have gained massive momentum. Despite so much popularity, organizations continuously confront significant security challenges that need strict attention.

Do experts believe that if proper safety mechanisms are not implemented well in time, these challenges might escalate into crucial issues in the upcoming years

This article sheds on some significant cloud security challenges that organizations need to consider when implementing cloud systems.
 

Introduction to Cloud Computing

Cloud computing can be described as the process of delivering computing services, including networking, servers, databases, storage, intelligence, analytics, and software on the Cloud platform for faster innovations, scale economies, and flexible resources. 

In response to the advancement of technology, the demand for cloud services has accounted for the largest market; to get assistance with that, start by contacting cloud based network security Orlando professionals.

Today, organizations of all geographies and sizes are considering employing cloud computing services for improved results. Some of the industry's leaders who have already employed Cloud Computing Services include Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, Oracle, and IBM Cloud.
 

Here are some other examples of Cloud Computing: 

• Software-as-a-service - SaaS - Salesforce
• Infrastructure-as-a-service - IaaS - DigitalOcean
• File sharing + Data storage - Dropbox
• Data Governance - Carbonite 
• Big data analytics - Civis Analytics
• Platform-as-a-service - Paas - AWS 
• Cybersecurity - Forcepoint
   

Here is the list of the biggest giants in the cloud computing industry: 

Although most companies have successfully implemented the cloud platform, they face security challenges. As a result, adopting Cloud Security Testing practices has become essential to minimize the risk factors.
 

Top Cloud Security Challenges that Need Strict Attention 

According to a 2021 IBM Security X-Force Cloud Threat Landscape report, cloud application vulnerabilities multiply with each passing day. The significant threat causes include RDP, weak authentication, misconfigurations, and shadow IT use. 

Here is the complete list of challenges that companies face regularly:
 

1. Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) 

The remote desktop protocol is used to access on-prises and cloud resources. However, weak authentication may pose a severe security risk. Devices that can be accessed easily through the internet generally have one-step authentication, usually including a password. The problem arises when the same password is used for the device and RDP access. As per the report released by Cloudflare, organizations fail to set up a strong password resulting in weak authentication.
 

2. Misconfigurations 

Another significant challenge faced by Cloud users is a misconfiguration. According to Devin Partida's reports, misconfiguration is believed to be the third most commonly found attack vector after compromised credentials and phishing. Here are some expected Misconfigurations outcomes listed by Jen Knobel: 

• Exposing data to the internet without any authentication 
• Improper development of the network functionality 
• Granting easy access to the storage bucket
• Exposing keys and passwords
   

3. Unsecured APIs 

Application program interfaces or APIs are an integral part of cloud services. These are documented safely for all customers. However, misconfigurations open doors to unnecessary security breaches. Additionally, all APIs can be used by attackers to access all sensitive data from any organization's cloud environment. Hence, practicing API's proper standards and hygiene is crucial.
 

4. Shadow IT 

Cloud shadow IT is a combination of all applications or cloud services installed by an organization, individual employee, or any department that falls outside the change management processes and standard IT security. The concept of shadow IT has gained significant importance because procedures, monitoring, and policy controls are not effective, nor do they exist to manage it. However, it poses a severe cyber security risk to the organization. 
 

5. Data breaches 

Data breaches have always been one of the most concerning points when it comes to cloud security challenges. Knowingly or unknowingly, data breaches have always been a part of the cloud platform. To escape data breaches, it is crucial to understand that data plays a significant role, and its unwanted exposure can lead to countless consequences. Hence, it is best always to employ encryption. 

Organizations should consciously take steps toward adequate security control measures to minimize risk factors. Companies that face data breaches may not lose a lot of wealth, but it can havoc on a company's reputation. These companies also get into the eyes of regulators. Attackers accessing your organization's personal information might also sell it on the black market, causing a significant lack of trust among the users.
 

6. Lack of internal expertise 

The last major cloud security challenge faced massively is an organization's lack of internal expertise. On the one hand, where APIs and misconfigurations result in data vulnerabilities, the inappropriate understanding of concepts and lack of internal knowledge may also question an organization's reputation.
 

Final thoughts

Today, organizations that have employed cloud platforms are continuously facing security challenges. To avoid all these, they are spending a large amount of money and adequate efforts to add a shield to protect all on-premises networks by incorporating security testing services.

While shifting to the cloud platform has proven fruitful to most organizations, reports show that around 60% have faced added security concerns. As a result, it is imperative to employ the best security and development practices for an improved cloud platform.