When Cloud Exploitation Becomes a Cloud
Cloud Exploitation Becomes a Cloud
There are a lot of things to like about cloud computing. It’s a hugely popular technology, with businesses shifting their infrastructure, applications and data into the cloud to take advantage of its scalability, flexibility and cost-efficiency. But cloud computing also opens up businesses to new threats and vulnerabilities that must be taken into account.
The concept of cloud exploitation traces back to old telecoms network schematics, in which the connections between servers were represented as clouds of overlapping lines. The metaphor was intended to convey the idea that the location of a service or its hardware didn’t matter – it was all connected in a similar way to the end users. Unfortunately, attackers have adopted the same approach to attacking cloud environments, often targeting the same vulnerabilities as they exploit systems and networks.
Cybercriminals see cloud computing as a goldmine, with access to corporate accounts providing them with a rich vein of information they can sell on the Dark Web or use for blackmail. They can steal sensitive corporate data, including employee records, invoices and receipts, or they can sift through cloud storage looking for intellectual property to steal. The vast majority of cloud spending is on software as a service (SaaS), with everything from natural language processing and AI to standard office apps.
When Cloud Exploitation Becomes a Cloud
There are, however, some nagging concerns about the reliability of cloud services. Even the big vendors are prone to outages, and when they happen it can be game over for work, especially if few companies have backup systems they can turn to in the event of an attack. There are also issues with where and how data is stored in the cloud. Many European companies, for example, are worried that if their data is in US-owned and operated data centres it could be subject to US law enforcement requests.
Understanding Cloud Exploitation and its impact
These factors are likely to drive organisations to spread their cloud workloads across multiple vendors. This is known as multi-cloud and it’s a common strategy for the major players, with each offering a range of compute, storage and other services to help businesses find the best fit. This also gives them the opportunity to diversify their risk and potentially reduce costs if one vendor isn’t offering the best deal.
There are a host of other challenges that will impact cloud adoption, from the difficulty of migrating mission-critical applications to the need for specialised skills in setting up a new environment. But most businesses will have to accept that the future is in the cloud, whether they build their own private cloud or rely on a public platform. In the long run, it’s more cost-effective to switch over than to keep running in-house systems that aren’t as efficient or secure.
Best practices to Prevent Cloud Exploitation
Ultimately, the best approach to cloud security involves a multi-layered defense strategy that combines the efforts of cloud providers, organizations, and individual users. By staying updated with the latest security practices and continually assessing and addressing vulnerabilities, businesses can enhance the security of their cloud infrastructure and minimize the risk of exploitation.