The Cloud system’s interconnectedness and the high availability and scope of data leave it vulnerable to numerous risks and threats. Many new security challenges have popped up in cloud technology, as all the services are made available online. Cloud Security Statistics say, 49% of businesses still don’t have their cloud databases encrypted with their information left vulnerable.
There is a need for businesses to understand the various consequences of making their information vulnerable and out there without a proper cloud security platform. Data without protection will attract hackers to study the system, find a break in them, and use the flaw for their benefit.
Major Security Threats to a Cloud System
Data Breach
One of the main cause and effect issues in the cloud security risk is a data breach. The only reason for a data breach can be negligence. It means that the concerned company neglected cloud security flaws, and the breach was a natural result.
What is Data Breach?
A data breach occurs when by accident or intentionally, essential data and information are accessed and extracted by parties without authorization. This leads to data leak. Consequences include confidential information spreading out there to the public. But the majority of the time this information is prone to be sold on the black market or held for ransom illegally.
Though the extent of the consequence depends on how the company’s crisis management skills are, a single event like this can tarnish the reputation of the company.
How It Occurs?
Usually, any data or information in the cloud storage is stored under multiple levels of access. No one without knowing about the cryptographic keys can access it easily. But a hacker can get into it easily if he knows any person who has access to it.
A hacker first studies the structure of the company for its weakness and exploits. It can be either people or technology. Once they find a victim, they will find their social media account, interests, and weaknesses that will be easy to exploit.
Once the hacker gains access to the company’s network, they can either technically breach the data or gain trust and get the employee’s login credentials. A reliable cloud security platform can close the doors for any loose end, which can be exploited.
Ways to Avoid Data Breaches
The platform should have a multi-layered approach to cover all aspects of the user activity in every step of the process.
Data-at-Rest Encryption
This type of data is stored only in the system but not actively used in other devices. It includes datasets, logs, and databases.
Multi-factor Authentication
Any user can access the system only when they present details that are not limited to evidence of identity and access credentials. One example is that a notification will be sent to the user’s mobile phone once the password is entered.
This will contain a single-use series of randomly generated numbers that will be active for a short span. Nowadays, this is a sought after security standard in many Cloud Security Platforms.
Internal Firewalls and Perimeter Firewalls can be put up between private and public networks to detect anomalies and monitor traffic.
Data Loss
Data Loss is a bigger security threat compared to a data breach. It is hard to predict, handle, and recover from it.
Access Loss: Information present in the system becomes inaccessible. This can be because of lost credentials like personal account data or lack of credential keys.
Data Alteration: The information in the system is changed and cannot be reverted to the old state.
Data Deletion: When accidentally, any information from the system gets deleted with any proper backup. It can be because of human error, system issues, and wrongful intention, or unclear database structure.
Ways to Avoid Data Loss
Backups are one of the best and the safest ways to avoid data loss. Make use of any data loss prevention software to delineate what data needs to be backed up. Data loss prevention software can automate the complete process and help avoid major data loss.
Think about Geodiversity. This is the process in which the physical location of the cloud server is scattered and not put in a particular spot. It helps to protect data when there is a bad case of a power outage or big natural disasters.
With so many companies adopting cloud technologies for their businesses, the opportunities for hackers have also grown. Many new security risks have risen, which has created various cloud security issues.
Make use of the various standards provided by multiple cloud security platforms to avoid such losses and save your business’s reputation.
