6 Critical Challenges to Cloud Security

How much of your data is still stored and accessed entirely on your own hardware? If you’re like most users or organizations, probably not much.  Sensitive information is often hosted throughout many different cloud providers and services with varying levels of security. From personal customer information to confidential financial reports, how do you make sure it’s all being kept safely?

That’s a problem that more and more organizations are having to face.  The benefits of Cloud architecture, with the ability to evolve and scale rapidly, are too big to ignore. But as we increasingly entrust our data and operations to the cloud, we also open the door to a complex labyrinth of security challenges. Whether you’re a seasoned IT professional or navigating the cloud landscape for the first time, understanding these challenges is key to protecting your organization’s most valuable assets. 

Today we’re examining six common points of failure of cloud security. Cloud environments are constantly changing with new threats and higher stakes, from data breaches to compliance demands.

Data Breaches and Unauthorized Access

Data breaches and unauthorized access are significant concerns in cloud security. The cloud’s accessibility, while a strength, can also be a vulnerability.

Data breaches can have far-reaching impacts in cloud environments due to the vast amount of data stored and the interconnected nature of cloud services. Cybercriminals target sensitive data for financial gain or espionage, using sophisticated techniques to exploit weaknesses in cloud security. 

Unauthorized access often occurs due to weak authentication, inadequate password management, or compromised user credentials. Organizations must implement robust authentication protocols, such as multi-factor authentication, to mitigate these risks and maintain strict access controls. Regular audits and monitoring of user activities can help in early detection of unauthorized access. 

Furthermore, encrypting data at rest and in transit ensures that the compromised data remains unintelligible to unauthorized users if a breach occurs. However, “Harvest Now, Decrypt Later” attacks and anticipated advances in Quantum Computing mean organizations should not depend on encryption. 

Compliance and Regulatory Challenges

Organizations increasingly must comply with legal regulations, industry standards, and insurance requirements about handling their cybersecurity program.

These regulations dictate how data is handled, processed, and stored in the cloud. For example, US based hospitals and other organizations must follow HIPAA regulations that require specific controls to protect patient information. Similarly, financial institutions are bound by GDPR in the EU or GLBA in the U.S., focusing on data privacy and consumer rights. 

Compliance becomes increasingly complex when dealing with cloud or multi-cloud environments, especially when data is stored across jurisdictions with varying legal requirements. Non-compliance can result in hefty fines, legal consequences, and reputational damage. 

Organizations should conduct regular compliance audits to address these challenges and engage with cloud providers that offer compliance-ready solutions. Keeping abreast of changes in regulations and adapting cloud security strategies accordingly is essential. Clear visibility and control over where data resides and how it is accessed and used is also crucial.

Lack of Cloud Experience

Many organizations simply lack the experience of how to handle Cloud environments securely. Cloud is still a relatively new technology.  People with decades of experience securing cloud environments are hard to find, and the tools, solutions, and best practices are still in flux year over year.

As cloud computing requires a different set of skills than traditional IT, a gap in cloud-specific knowledge can lead to misconfigured cloud services, inadequate security controls, and increased vulnerability to attacks. This lack of expertise often makes security an afterthought rather than an integral part of the cloud adoption process. 

To bridge this skills gap, organizations must invest in training their IT staff in cloud architecture, security best practices, and the specific technologies used in their cloud environment. Hiring or consulting with cloud security experts provides valuable insights into effective security strategies. Additionally, organizations can leverage automated tools for security management to reduce the reliance on manual configurations, which are prone to human error. 

Building a culture that prioritizes security and encourages continuous learning can significantly mitigate the risks associated with a lack of cloud experience.

Rapidly Evolving Threat Landscape  

The relative novelty of cloud architecture also means that new threats and attacks are also frequently emerging.  This rapid threat landscape evolution is a significant challenge in cloud security. Cybercriminals continuously update their tactics and techniques to be more effective as technology advances. Cloud services are widely used and contain valuable data, so they are often lucrative targets for sophisticated cyber attackers leveraging Ransomware, phishing, and advanced persistent threats (APTs). 

 These threats continually evolve, exploiting new vulnerabilities and adapting to security measures. The dynamic nature of cloud computing, with its frequent updates and changes, can also introduce new zero-day vulnerabilities. Organizations need to keep up with emerging threats and proactively update their security measures. 

Regular vulnerability assessments, threat intelligence gathering, and advanced security solutions like intrusion detection systems, AI-based threat detection, or automated response mechanisms are all essential components of a mature cybersecurity posture.

Collaboration within the cybersecurity community can also be valuable, as sharing information about threats and defenses can benefit all parties. Regular cybersecurity training for employees is also crucial, as social engineering attacks often exploit human error.

Vulnerability Exploitation

Vulnerability exploitation in cloud environments is a critical issue that can render minor low-priority applications or systems into launching points for devastating threat attacks. Vulnerabilities can exist due to software bugs, misconfigurations, or insecure APIs. 

Cybercriminals exploit these vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access, extract sensitive data, or disrupt services. Common exploits include SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and privilege escalation attacks.

To mitigate these risks, organizations should adopt a robust vulnerability management program that includes regular scanning for vulnerabilities, timely patching of software, and implementing security best practices. 

Employing intrusion detection and prevention systems can also help identify and block exploit attempts. Additionally, regular penetration tests can provide insights into potential security gaps and the effectiveness of current security measures.

Cloud Infrastructure Complexity

As if all the threats and challenges of securing cloud environments weren’t already daunting enough, Cloud infrastructure is often uniquely complex and fluid. This all makes it particularly challenging for Cybersecurity teams.  

As cloud environments grow, they become more intricate, integrating various services, platforms, and architectures. This complexity can lead to configuration errors, inconsistent security policies, and difficulty monitoring and managing security across the entire cloud ecosystem. 

Complex environments also make maintaining visibility over data flow and user activities hard, increasing the risk of data leaks and breaches. 

To address these issues, organizations need a security strategy that is unified and cohesive. This typically involves centralizing security monitoring and management to gain a comprehensive view of the cloud environment and implementing consistent security policies and practices across all cloud services and platforms. 

Automation and orchestration tools are increasingly essential to manage the complexity by streamlining security processes and ensuring consistent enforcement of security policies. 

What can be done?

The challenges of Cloud Security are undeniably daunting.  However, the business benefits of Cloud are too great for many organizations to ignore and maintain entirely on-prem environments. 

At Atlantic Data Security, we have over 25 years of experience helping organizations of all sizes stay at the forefront of cybersecurity. We are here to help you and teams like you navigate the shifting technological landscape and get the most out of your cloud infrastructure without exposing you to threat actors. 

If you’d like to learn more, consider checking out our recent webinar on the topic of Cloud Security.  In it, we break down these challenges a bit further and discuss how modern cybersecurity solutions can enable security teams to stay a step ahead of threat actors easily, proactively, and effectively, keeping their sensitive information safe.