What Are Common Security Issues in Cloud Application?

Cloud security can be tricky to grasp because Cloud computing is complex. Many businesses struggle to understand the security challenges that come with Cloud applications, which leaves them risk to various threats.

As the Cloud is highly scalable, it makes people worry more about keeping them safe. The usual ways we protect stuff might not work as well with these Cloud apps.

In a study about Cloud security, many businesses said their biggest concern was unauthorized access.

Businesses need to learn how to keep their data safe as they start using Cloud computing more.

Let’s talk about the problems with securing Cloud apps.

Types Of Cloud Application Security Issues:

Let’s focus on some of the most familiar security issues around Cloud computing applications:

1. Misconfiguration

Misconfiguration in the Cloud simply means that the configuration of the Cloud services or resources is not set up correctly.

One big reason for data breaches is when the Cloud setup isn’t done right. If things aren’t set up properly in the organization’s Cloud, it could make sensitive data and programs easy targets for cybercriminals.

Businesses may struggle to control who can access their Cloud-stored data due to the open nature of infrastructure and focus on data sharing. Poor management of Cloud hosting makes this issue even worse.

Common Types of Cloud Misconfiguration

• Unrestricted inbound and outbound ports.
• Secret-data management failures, such as passwords, encryption keys, API keys, and admin credentials.
• Leaving the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) protocol open.
• Unsecured backups.
• Lack of validation in Cloud security.
• Unblocked non-HTTPS/HTTP ports.
• Excessive access to VMs, containers, and hosts.

How To Prevent Cloud Misconfigurations?

Following are the best practices for organizations that they can implement for better security for Cloud-based assets and prevent a Cloud-misconfiguration breach –

• Implement logging practices, i.e., two-factor authentication, etc.
• Enable encryption
• Check permissions
• Perform consistent misconfiguration audits
• Apply strong security policies.

Misconfiguration threatens Cloud security and may even negatively impact business operations.

So, the people responsible for managing their organization’s Cloud applications should know a lot about security tools to prevent unexpected setup mistakes.

2. Data Loss or Leakage

Data loss refers to the unwanted removal of sensitive information either due to a system error or theft by cybercriminals, Data leakage can occur when unauthorized individuals gain access to data, typically through hacking or malware.

One of Cloud computing’s primary benefits is the simplicity with which data can be collaborated and shared by internal and external parties.

However, there are potential security issues and difficulties in Cloud computing because transmitting data in the Cloud is typically done via

• Direct email invitations
• The distribution of a general link to a specified group of users

One prominent example of a Cloud data breach is Volkswagen Group of America disclosed a data leak in June 2021 — malicious actors exploited an unsecured third-party dealer to acquire data about Canadian and US customers. Between 2014 and 2019, the company gathered data mainly for sales and marketing purposes.

However, Volkswagen failed to protect this database, leaving it exposed from August to May 2021 and allowing the leak of information to roughly around 3.2 million individuals. Driver’s licenses and car numbers were disclosed during the leak, as well as the loan and insurance numbers of a few sets of customers.

How To Prevent Data Loss/ Leakage In Cloud Applications?

Here are some of the data security practices that prevent data leaks and minimize the chances of data breaches –

• Evaluate the third-party risks.
• Monitor all network access.
• Identify all sensitive data.
• Secure all endpoints.
• Implement Data Loss Prevention (DLP) software.
• Encrypt all data.
• Evaluate all permissions.

The biggest worry in Cloud Computing is losing data. This means important information like customer data or new ideas might disappear, get damaged, or become useless because of mistakes or computer actions.

3. Cyber Attack

A cyber attack is a security breach that occurs when a person or group of people attempt to gain unauthorized access to data or systems. The purpose of a cyber attack is to disable a system, steal data, or gain access to sensitive information.

Cyber attackers know how to attack Cloud-based infrastructures that are not securely protected.

A well-known incident occurred in July 2020, when Twitter suffered a cyber attack and its data was breached by a group of attackers who took down many popular Twitter accounts. In addition, they hired social engineering attackers to steal employee credentials and acquire access to the organization’s internal management system.

Many well-known accounts, including that of Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Barack Obama, got hacked. The attackers exploited the stolen accounts to post Bitcoin scams and earned more than $108,000.

Twitter announced it to be a case of phone phishing.

Two weeks after the incident, the US Justice Department charged three suspects, one of them was 17 years old at that time.

The hackers got into many important people’s accounts and posted fake messages, like the ones you see in these pictures.

If businesses are serious about preventing cyber attacks, they need to assess their vulnerabilities and fix them. It can be done by performing various security checks, revealing vulnerabilities in the company’s Cloud system.

Following Are the Tips to Prevent Cyber Attacks in Cloud Applications

• Keep your operating system and software up to date with the latest security patches.
• Use a firewall to block unwanted network traffic.
• Install and use antivirus and anti-malware software, and keep it up to date.
• Don’t open email attachments from unknown senders.
• Educate your employees.
• Secure a data backup plan.
• Who has access to the data?
• Encryption is key.
• Take passwords seriously.

4. Insider Threats

Insider threats in Cloud applications are a serious security concern. Threats can come from employees, contractors, or anyone with access to an organization’s data. It occurs when malicious or unauthorized users gain access to sensitive data or systems.

Do you know that Cloud isn’t the only zone where an organization’s network is vulnerable to threats? There’s also an “insider threat” that is present within many organizations; 25-30% of data breaches are caused by insiders.

It’s more challenging to spot suspect threats if insiders are involved. Therefore, every company needs effective security mechanisms to detect harmful insider behavior before it affects business processes.

There are mainly two types of insider threats:

• Those that are desperate, such as a disgruntled employee seeking revenge.
• Those who are ignorant or make unintentional mistakes, such as an employee who clicks on a malicious email link.

Here Are Some Ways to Minimize the Risk of Insider Threats in Cloud Applications

• Implement least privilege access controls.
• Use activity monitoring and logging for suspicious behavior.
• Educate your users on security risks.
• Keep your applications up to date.
• Restrictions on access to sensitive data.

Other insiders can also put the company’s data and crucial information in jeopardy. For example, the data might be improperly accessed, stolen, or exposed by vendors, partners, and contractors.

5. DDoS Attacks

DDoS attacks happen when an attacker attempts to make a Cloud application unavailable by flooding it with traffic from multiple sources. The main purpose of a DDoS attack is to shut down and disrupt the targeted infrastructure

The Cloud is vital to many organizations’ capability to do business and manage their activities;  So, they utilize the Cloud to store business-critical data.

Malicious attacks against Cloud service providers are rising as more companies and operations transition to the Cloud. Nowadays, DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks are more widespread in which the DDoS attackers aim at causing disruption.

The objective of a DDoS attack is to flood a website with so many fake requests that it can’t handle the real ones. As a result, DDoS attacks can make a website inaccessible for many days.

Mostly DDoS attacks are executed against the web servers of big organizations such as:

• Banks
• Media outlets
• Government agencies

How To Know If You’re Under Ddos Attack

The most obvious symptom of a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is a site or server suddenly becoming slow or inaccessible.

• Traffic coming from one specific IP address or blocked IP.
• Traffic from devices sharing a common behavior profile, such as a certain type of smartphone or tablet.
• Multiple requests are sent to a single URL or resource on your site.

How To Stop a DDoS Attack?

• Identify the source of the attack
• Monitor your logs
• Use security tools
• Implement a firewall
• Install anti-malware software
• Update your operating system
• Avoid opening attachments
• Be careful what link you click
• Backup your data

6. Insecure APIs/ Interfaces

Cloud-based systems and application programming interfaces (APIs) are often used for both internal and external data exchange. The problem is that hackers love to target APIs because they provide valuable features and data to use.

Cloud service providers often provide several APIs and interfaces to their customers. These interfaces are generally well-documented to make them easily usable for a CSP’s customers.

But, What is an API?

In a Cloud setup, the Application User Interface (API) is an important tool for managing the system. But because it’s so commonly used, it can be a big threat to Cloud security.

Here are the most familiar issues with application-level security in Cloud computing

• Insufficient monitoring
• Free and secret access with no authentication required
• Passwords and tokens can be reused
• The use of direct messages for authentication

Thus, hackers will disclose these loopholes and utilize them to bypass authentication processes via APIs.

Hence, it is important to pay extra attention to application-level security in Cloud computing. Protecting APIs and guarding API gateways should be a component of any risk-managing plan.

Conclusion

The Cloud provides several benefits to enterprises; however, it also comes with security crises and threats. Cloud-based infrastructure is extremely different from an on-premises data center and traditional security tools and strategies as it cannot provide effective security.

However, providing high-grade Cloud security to compete with typical Cloud security threats is vital to avoid security breaches and data loss.

Security risks can be significantly minimized with the proper methods and practices. However, safeguards can’t be installed quickly. So, implementing them properly calls for a well-thought-out strategy and expertise.

We hope this article has been useful for you!

If you have any questions or comments, share them with us here.

If you are looking forward to creating a robust Cloud security plan, you can get in touch with our team.