How to Prevent Your Cloud from Threats – A Dive into the Cloud Cybersecurity Remedies
Businesses from all sectors are aggressively investing in cloud services. For example, a major bank in the UK has announced that it will use the cloud to monitor climate risks. Simultaneously, a US-based tech behemoth recently stated its plans to use the cloud to improve application speed and boost company efficiency. Another Indian telecommunications conglomerate has announced the development of a cloud connect service that would make it easier to connect to the cloud. Meanwhile, according to PwC's 2021 Global CEO Survey, cyber security and compliance is something that 47% of executives are "extremely concerned" about.
Though cybersecurity and compliance have always been a cause of concern for organizations of all sizes, it goes to an entirely new level with the cloud. In fact, security is the top concern for 66% of IT professionals when it comes to implementing an enterprise cloud computing strategy. However, there are ways to remediate specific issues of cloud security. Here's how to prevent the most frequent issues:
Misconfiguration
Misconfiguration of an enterprise cloud infrastructure is one of the most significant contributors to data leaks making critical corporate data and apps vulnerable to a cyberattack. To put that into perspective, according to Ermetic Reports, 67% of survey respondents said they experienced a cloud data breach due to misconfiguration of the infrastructure.
Since only 18% of organizations discover and rectify misconfigurations immediately after launch or within minutes, it demonstrates that traditional controls are ineffective in the cloud infrastructure and should be reinforced with cloud-specific control solutions. Companies should also embrace automation, which may aid in a continual check for misconfigured resources and identify a viable remedy, and train personnel in charge of cloud infrastructure deployment on the latest updates.
Cyberattacks
Cybercriminals are continuously honing their hacking skills, and cloud settings are fast becoming one of their most popular targets. In fact, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), global losses due to cybercrime are expected to reach $6 trillion, with the cloud environments being the third most targeted amongst all.
Some of the best practices to avoid a cyberattack could be patching and updating software as soon as choices are available, utilizing high-grade encryption for sensitive data, and replacing equipment when the manufacturer's program is no longer supported. Additionally, enforcing BYOD security standards, such as mandating all devices to utilize a business-grade VPN provider and antivirus protection, and demanding strong passwords and multi-factor authentication to promote improved user cybersecurity habits, may also be highly beneficial. Furthermore, encouraging users to utilize a password manager and training staff on basic security practices and how to prevent socially engineered attacks can be advantageous.
Insider Attacks
According to the 2020 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, inside actors were engaged in 30% of data breaches. Though this report includes on-premises systems as well, the challenge is equal for cloud enterprise cloud computing systems. Due to the nature of the cloud and its availability to all in the enterprise, detecting suspicious activity inside the system becomes even more challenging.
However, insider attacks can be reduced by offering training to your workers on security standards, such as how they might be unknowingly putting their own company's data at risk and how to deal with security threats like phishing. Additionally, strong passwords, frequent password changes, restricting access to all computer servers by default, and granting permission on a case-to-case basis also help.
Lack of Visibility
Only 7% of cybersecurity professionals have excellent visibility into their cloud data. In comparison, 58% have only moderate to slight visibility into how employees use critical business data across the company or employee-owned devices, reports Forcepoint. Whereas, according to the Global Security Insights Report 2021 by VMWare, 76% of global cybersecurity professionals said attacks increased due to employees working remotely.
Since it is critical for businesses to have constant insight into their cloud infrastructure, business executives should get real-time data on network and user behavior from the cloud data management service providers to guarantee rapid identification and reaction in the case of a threat.
Human Error
The Cost of a Data Breach Report 2021 by IBM states that 23% of data leaks are caused due to human error. This is because data sharing in the cloud is generally done using direct email invites or distributing a public link to a specific set of users, which might pose security concerns and problems.
To address this issue, companies must review and update their company's security policy regularly, laying out how to manage sensitive data and passwords, who has access to them, what security and monitoring tools to employ, and so on. Additionally, by default, block all access and only grant privileged access when necessary. You can avoid unintentional data leaks and deletions if users can only access data that they need for their jobs. In addition, employ data monitoring software to identify suspicious behavior and safeguard your system. Most essentially, educate your staff about the security dangers that such errors represent.
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