5 Cloud Security Threats To Look Out For In 2023

Manoj Kanodia Dec 24, 2022

How we live, work and operate today has evolved tremendously over time. What earlier seemed to be a time-consuming troublesome task for humans can now be accomplished within a snap, thanks to technological advancements. In fact, customers in the digital age now have access to various products and services that were previously thought to exist only in science fiction.

The Internet is hands down the most valuable contribution of technology to humankind. It has completely changed the way that people communicate to the point where it is now the favoured method for casual contact. India has the second-largest internet population in the world, according to a Statista report. While the internet's increased connection offers widespread advancement, it also exposes our digital society to new threats.

Moreover, with the internet and technology in the picture, the way businesses function today has changed to a great extent. The advent of artificial intelligence, cloud computing and blockchain technology has made it easier for firms to manage internal as well as external operations smoothly.

Especially Cloud computing has proved to be a significant boon for organisations since it allows them to shift their mission-critical workloads to the cloud while maintaining business continuity. In fact, according to a report by Statista, by 2022, more than 60 per cent of all corporate data will be kept in the cloud. But cloud technology also comes with its fair share of risks which puts the data of businesses at threat.

Below given are five cloud security threats to look out for in 2023:

API shortcomings: Cloud software and application programming interfaces interact with one another to form a vital component of the cloud environment. Though organisations make it a point to secure their data on the cloud but do not consider safeguarding their API, which as a result, acts as a gateway for data thefts. Moreover, by creating APIs with insufficient authentication, developers wind up creating security gaps that allow unwanted access to corporate data. Thus, it is imperative for businesses to secure their API in order to ensure the safety of their data. In fact, a survey by MarketsandMarkets estimates that the API management market will increase from 4.5 billion dollars in 2022 to 13.7 billion dollars by 2027, with a CAGR of 25.1 per cent over the course of the projected period.

Data theft: Cloud access allows organisations to access their data around the clock, which enables instant sharing and improves collaboration. But on the other side, this also poses a threat to data, considering it can be easily shared with internal as well as external parties. Additionally, because backing up such a large amount of data is expensive and time-consuming, corporations prevent it when transferring their data to the cloud. This, as a result, exposes data to certain risks and leads to data breaches or loss of critical business information.

Open access: There is no denying the fact the cloud makes it easy to access data. But because data is so readily accessible, issues about identity and access management are raised, which might provide a challenge for organisations. Thus, in order to avoid such a situation, it becomes crucial for companies to employ advanced identity and access management solutions in order to make sure that only necessary people have access to your data.

Cloud malware: Security teams often assume that implementing endpoint security solutions on their cloud malware attack is no longer a matter of concern. However, malware is a real-time threat in the cloud, and it can appear in several forms of attacks, such as DoS, hyperjacking and hypervisor infections. In fact, there were 2.8 billion malware attacks worldwide in the first half of 2022, as per Statista analysis. The moment it penetrates an organisation's IT entrance points, it acquires the ability to spread quickly and opens the leeway for more serious threats. Therefore, applying the Zero Trust principle in security architecture and installing numerous layers of security is essential for security professionals in order to identify malware threats and respond promptly.

Configuration errors: Misconfigurations have definitely increased as more businesses store their data in the cloud. They take place when a company does not correctly configure its cloud-based system, leaving it open to hackers. These configuration errors make it simple for attackers to conduct various cyber-attacks, including DDoS, ransomware, malware or digital skimming. In order to avoid such attacks, the best way is to adopt certain cyber security practices such as encrypting cloud-based data, securing entry points, performing security audits and backups, amongst others. In fact, mis-configurations in the cloud are the biggest risk from a cloud security standpoint and its imperative that enterprises have reliable Cloud Security Posture Management Systems to get continuous visibility for cloud environments.

The road ahead

Data is the most crucial asset for a business and the advent of cloud technology has made it easy and simple for enterprises to manage, store and easily access their data. On the other hand, it has also opened the door for numerous data breaches and threats, making it crucial for businesses to comprehend these dangers, be on the lookout for them, and act quickly to prevent them. Here, the ideal course of action for organisations is to install multiple layers of security to detect these threats in time, practice regular audits and backups and manage data access in order to ensure the absolute safety of their data and function in a secure and smooth cloud environment.