Cloud Computing Security Challenges: Common Risks and Solutions

As cloud adoption continues to grow, organizations are realizing the need for enhanced security to protect their applications and online data. Cloud computing provides accessibility across a wide range of locations, making it essential to overcome various security issues and challenges.

The cloud computing market's total worth was USD 371.4 billion in 2020, and it is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 17.5% (Sumina, 2022). With this growth rate, the market is expected to be worth approximately USD 832.1 billion by 2025, driving demand for cloud computing security professionals.

As a cybersecurity professional, it's crucial to understand the security threats, issues, and challenges that customers' or employers' cloud infrastructure faces. Some of the most common security risks in cloud computing are:

• Security system misconfiguration
• Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks
• Data loss due to cyberattacks
• Unsecure access control points
• Inadequate threat notifications and alerts

Security System Misconfigurations

A security misconfiguration occurs when a security system is not set up correctly, leaving vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit. Between 65 and 70% of all cloud security issues arise from security misconfigurations, according to Trend Micro's analysis of data from AWS and Microsoft Azure (2021).

Cloud infrastructure is designed for accessibility and data sharing, making it challenging for cybersecurity professionals to ensure that only authorized parties can access data. Link-based data sharing, for example, allows anyone with a link to gain access to data, which can create security risks.

Moreover, organizations rely on CSPs for security controls and don't have complete visibility or control over their infrastructure. Using multiple CSPs can also lead to misconfigurations and security oversights, creating weaknesses that attackers can exploit.

Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attacks

DoS attacks can cause a network or machine to crash, making it inaccessible to users. Attackers can either send information to the target that causes it to shut down or flood it with traffic to overwhelm it and cause a crash. A downed network can harm a company's authority, customer relations, and revenue.

Cloud security experts need to know how to implement DoS attack protection and remediation strategies. This requires in-depth knowledge of network security and access controls.

Data Loss Resulting from Cyberattacks

Cybercriminals often target cloud-based networks because they are generally accessible from the public internet. Losing valuable data through human error, natural disasters, or malicious attacks can be disastrous for any company. Moving business-critical data to the cloud can increase these security concerns, as organizations won't be able to access affected servers on site.

To counter this risk, functional and tested disaster recovery and backup processes need to be in place. Security solutions must be built into every network layer to protect against data loss from cyberattacks.

Unsecure Access Control Points

Cloud networks provide accessibility from anywhere, making it essential to secure access control points. Technologies like APIs can be vulnerable to attacks if cloud security is not correctly configured and optimized. These vulnerabilities give hackers an entry point, making it important to use web application firewalls to ensure that all HTTP requests originate from legitimate traffic.

Inadequate Threat Notifications and Alerts

The speed at which threat notifications and alerts can be sent to website or security personnel is essential to any effective security system. Cloud-based systems are no different. Instant notifications and alerts enable proactive threat mitigation, preventing successful hacks and minimizing damages.

Conclusion

The adoption of cloud computing has driven demand for cloud security professionals. Understanding the common security risks in cloud computing is essential for cybersecurity professionals. Cloud security challenges include security misconfigurations, DoS attacks, data loss, unsecure access control points, and inadequate threat notifications and alerts.