Many modern businesses are moving their data to the cloud. By the end of 2022, it is expected that the market for public cloud services will reach a record high of $420 billion.
Cybercriminals will target companies using the cloud due to the enormous rise in cloud adoption. While several security mechanisms protect cloud environments, an improper configuration can still make them vulnerable. Nearly 98% of the firms suffered at least one cloud security breach by the middle of 2021, according to a poll by the International Data Corporation.
An appropriate security plan is, therefore, essential for better cloud security. Monitoring emerging trends in cloud security can help protect the cloud environment against data breaches.
Rapid Growth In Cloud Adoption
Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in cloud usage. The COVID-19 outbreak hastened the transfer to the cloud, which was already happening in many enterprises. Companies needed to be able to support and offer essential services to their off-site workers as remote work became more common.
Because of this, more than 98% of businesses employ some cloud-based infrastructure, and 76% have multi-cloud installations that combine services from two or more different cloud providers. Critical business applications are hosted in these cloud environments containing private consumer and business data.
The shift to the cloud necessitates the implementation of cloud security. These cloud-based apps need to be secured from attacks, and any data stored in the cloud must be secured from unauthorized access in compliance with applicable laws.
But because cloud environments are very different from on-premises infrastructure, conventional security tools and methods don’t necessarily function well there. Because of this, many companies struggle to defend their brand-new cloud infrastructure.
The Most Serious Threats To Cloud Security In 2022
The following are some of the top cloud vulnerabilities to watch out for in 2022:
Loss of Data
Data loss is a significant issue that cloud systems deal with. After moving your business operations to the cloud, the amount of data you retain remotely may quickly become unmanageable, making backups challenging and expensive.
As a result, according to research, 84% of corporations say that traditional security measures are inadequate in cloud environments, and an average of 51% of businesses have made at least one cloud storage option publicly available.
Lack of routine, thorough backups poses a significant risk due to the rise in ransomware attacks, in which hackers encrypt your online storage and demand payment to decrypt it.
Access Management/Control
Instead of being a feature of those services, one of the primary hazards to cloud storage systems is how organizations use them.
Even small organizations are being encouraged to move all of their data to the cloud by the growth of cloud service providers who give copious quantities of free service. This typically occurs without giving access rules any thought.
Data Leaks and Data Breaches
Internal systems are less susceptible to data leaks and breaches than cloud-based solutions. The enormous volumes of data sent back and forth between staff members and cloud-based services can be collected by hackers looking for flaws in your systems.
A trustworthy virtual private network should be used to safeguard data transmission between Wi-Fi access points and your company’s network and ensure that every staff member has secure access to your cloud from anywhere.
Misconfigured Cloud Storage
Some companies leave the default security settings for cloud storage unaltered. In contrast, others allow their data to be stored in voluminous, confusing structures where it is simple to leave specific files unlocked. The mistake made by the National Security Agency (NSA), which led to some top-secret documents becoming viewable by anybody using an external browser, is an excellent example of the dangers of poorly designed cloud storage.
Insecure APIs
The main tools for communicating with cloud storage systems are application user interfaces.
Unfortunately, many APIs still have security holes that commonly permit cloud storage firms to access your data without your permission. For instance, it was recently uncovered that employees of both Google and Facebook have access to user passwords maintained in plaintext.
Conclusion
A wide range of attack surfaces is present in cloud infrastructures. Therefore, the requirement for cloud security procedures is considerably more significant to protect the cloud environment from outside attacks. Even a minor storage bucket configuration error could result in catastrophic data leaks.
You can automate security, stop internal threats, and reduce breach risks with the appropriate cloud security tools.
