What Are The Security Risks Of Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing has now become a staple for businesses as well as for individuals. There are many different cloud services available, and now that companies have moved closer to a complete technology base, they want to move the majority of their operations to the cloud and choose a cloud service provider that will provide them with all the tools they need.
However, despite the high rise of cloud computing, there are still security risks involved that can be a cause for concern, especially for companies who need to protect their data and the confidentiality of their clients.
Data breaches and access to security controls are big worries for people. That is why it is important to note all the security risks that could happen, and properly plan out what to do if their cloud service provider gets hacked. So, what are the security risks of cloud computing you may ask? Read on to find out.
Is Cloud Computing Really Secure?
It’s the right question to ask – it is really as secure as it is made out to be? To put it in basic terms, it is a lot more secure than if the documents were kept offline on a basic computer system.
Security Protocols
There are a lot more security protocols than there used to be, mainly because risks have become greater due to the rise in technology and the fact that hackers are trying to find out information to blackmail or delete data from computers. Protocols such as HIPAA, GDPR, and SOC 2, to name a few, have become increasingly important. Conducting a thorough hipaa risk assessment enables organizations to identify vulnerabilities, implement necessary safeguards, and maintain compliance with data protection regulations, ultimately fostering a secure environment for handling sensitive data and protecting the privacy of their clients.
In addition to HIPAA, other security protocols like GDPR and SOC 2 play a crucial role in safeguarding data and ensuring companies’ adherence to international privacy standards and comprehensive security practices. These measures are put in place to mitigate cybersecurity issues and ensure the safety of individuals and their data online.
Hacker Proficiency
The cloud computing security risks may be minimal, but there is still a possibility. It does depend on the strength of the malware used and the intelligence of the hackers who are trying to breach the cloud services. They know that any sensitive data they get can be used for malicious means, so they will administer brute force attacks to get what they need.
Risks Of Cloud Computing
Whilst many people feel confident in the cloud services they use for their cloud computing needs, it is still important that they take into account the possibility of security risks and what they need to do to protect themselves.
Cloud service providers will do what they can to keep the people that use their services safe, so as long as they have a layer of protection, as well as the businesses that use them, a security risk should hopefully be minimal and non-invasive.
Data Breaches
Cloud security risks like data breaches, happen due to the implementation of poor security measures. The cloud storage provider that businesses use needs to have protection against leakage of sensitive data and do not allow unauthorized access to any data on their systems. If they cannot guarantee this, then businesses will need to move to other cloud services that can supply them with a secure cloud computing system.
Data Leakage
Data leakage can occur when information is open to people who are not authorized to access particular information on servers. This can be caused due to internal errors, which may be a result of poor employee training (human error). Outsiders should not have access to user access controls as this is confidential data that could be passed on to others. Data leakage has been noted as the biggest cloud security concern for businesses.
What Can Be Done?
To reduce this risk, businesses can bolster security if they enforce strong link encryption, upgrade business network infrastructure, and put in restrictive data access to stop any sensitive data from being seen. If this leaked data gets into the wrong hands, security threats by cyber criminals can happen and critical functions can be left open.
Strengthening Security
A holistic defense-in-depth strategy is required when using cloud computing, including tools like data encryption, access controls, firewalls, and intrusion prevention. Security policies must be consistently enforced across on-prem and cloud environments. To that end, Managed SD-WAN services can be a great boon. This is because SD-WAN centralizes network control and security functions like firewalls, which are applied consistently across the entire WAN fabric.
This ensures traffic bound for cloud applications receives the same policy enforcement and segmentation no matter what the underlying transport. In addition to that, a combination of cloud-native and network-based security measures is key for securing the cloud safely and effectively.
Data Loss
Cloud service providers are not exactly the same, and some of them may not be able to have backups for important files. It is important for businesses to find a cloud computing service that can offer a reliable way for businesses to have their data stored tightly to avoid any loss. Securing data is incredibly important, as it will help with keeping critical data safe.
Nowadays, the integration of AI has become a key tool in preventing data loss. Even if your cloud backup faces any issue, AI’s predictive abilities can foresee breaches and offer solutions for better protection. Thankfully, there are companies like Loop Backup that provides AI-assisted cloud-to-cloud backup services to ensure comprehensive data retrieval and continuity.
Limited Visibility
When a business moves its operations, and all its work to the cloud, they are moving everything from its own personal system from inside its organization to new cloud computing services and providers, because of this, changes are bound to happen to its operations.
Due to this change, businesses need to use tools such as cloud security configuration monitoring and network-based monitoring. It can then set up specific protocols with its cloud service provider and work together to acquire the transparency it needs.
Working With Them
Cloud providers will have different ways of managing their systems, so businesses need to understand that and see if they can work with it. Cloud technology is always changing and adapting, just like a business, so picking one that meshes well is essential.
Account Hijacking/Cyber Criminals
A huge risk to cyber security is criminals who focus on hijacking cloud provider accounts. If they are able to get their hands on login data and are able to breach the systems, then they can gain access to a lot of cloud accounts and personal information. They can exploit the vulnerabilities in network infrastructure, which can be detrimental to any and all businesses.
How To Combat Them
Using strong passwords and changing them monthly, or more than that, will help with keeping cyber criminals at bay and mitigating any data security risks. Doing everything possible to keep them away from the security controls is highly important and a priority.
Insider Threats
Whilst many will focus on outside threats from hackers, it is important to note that cloud computing security risks from internal threats are always a possibility, and cloud security can be breached by workers who use the system.
They may do it with malicious intent, or they might accidentally do it without realizing that they have caused an error, and they have potentially opened up vulnerable customer data to others.
Risk Management Practices
To help stop a data breach from happening, businesses need to know what they can do to reduce that risk, by conducting risk assessments on their systems and putting the right practices in place.
Cloud Penetration Testing
This type of testing probes the cloud to see if there are any vulnerabilities and if a hacker would be able to breach their walls and gain access to the controls.
Data Security Audit
Businesses can ask their service provider if they do routine audits of their systems and how they are conducted. Doing an audit like this can help them protect important files and secure data. If they do not do this, then the business will need to check out another cloud computing provider that will offer a security audit and will go over the security measures that are in place.
Security Training
One of the most important things in reducing security risks is to ask providers if they supply security training for people who use their systems and can help them spot if they are being hacked and what the correct steps are to stop this. All employees who use these systems need to know what they have to do and comply with the rules put in place.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article has informed people about what the security risks of cloud computing are and how crucial it is to identify any issues that may come up, as well as how they need to be dealt with to stop the security risk from escalating.
Trevor Norton