An average web-based business uses several cloud applications every day for its operations. It’s easy to understand why, cloud services are great for smooth functioning and seamless user experience. However, the potential risks associated with these services have also surged over recent years. That’s why understanding common risks to cloud network security and how to prevent them is crucial. 

In this article, we’ll go through everything from DDoS attacks to insider threats, unraveling common vulnerabilities, and coming up with ways to mitigate these threats. Join us as we take a look at how cloud network security is targeted by cybercriminals, and what we can do to fight them. 

Common Threats to Cloud Network Security

As businesses continue to implement more and more cloud services, they face various threats that put sensitive data and daily operations at risk. In this section, we’ll see some of these threats since understanding them is the first step in protecting your cloud network. 

• Data Breaches and Unauthorized Access

Data breaches are one of the most common threats to cloud network security that put sensitive data at risk. These attacks usually result from weak passwords, wrong configuration, or unpatched vulnerabilities. Attackers gain access to resources and then steal or manipulate confidential information. Data breaches in cloud networks result in millions of compromised consumer data and can cause financial damage to a company. 

• DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) Attacks

Distributed Denial of Service attacks are a disruptive threat to cloud networks. Since all cloud services have a user ceiling, DDoS attacks overwhelm the service with unprecedented traffic, making it unavailable to legit users. As DDoS attacks directly affect the normal flow of operations, they cause revenue loss and customer dissatisfaction. Not to mention it also impacts the daily tasks of multiple companies by causing cloud application downtime. With the increasing popularity of cloud services, DDoS attacks have become more prevalent and complex, making mitigation strategies a must. 

• Insecure APIs (Application Programming Interfaces)

Cloud services heavily rely on Application Programming Interfaces for integration and interaction with other components. While APIs prove to be highly useful in cloud services, they also create an entry point for cybercriminals when they are insecure. API vulnerabilities such as weak access control or user validation can cause unauthorized access to sensitive data. 

• Insider Threats

While external threats are definitely the prominent ones when it comes to cloud network security, internal threats also pose a considerable risk. These threats happen when contractors, business partners, or simply employees cause damages to the network either knowingly or accidentally. Whether through data theft or accidental exposure of data, internal risks can be significantly harmful due to the challenge of detecting them. Organizations usually use strict access controls and cybersecurity training to mitigate insider threats. 

Mitigation Strategies for Cloud Network Security Threats

Effectively countering the threats we mentioned above is critical to ensure the security of confidential information and business operations in general. In this section, we’ll take a look at some of the best strategies for cloud network security so organizations can reinforce their networks against cyberattacks. 

• Encryption and Data Protection

Encryption serves as a pillar of cloud security by reading the communicated data unreadable to unauthorized parties. Since cloud resources are transmitted to end users and vice versa, encryption becomes a huge deal when securing cloud networks. 

In order to mitigate cloud network security risks, organizations should employ strong encryption algorithms both in transit and at rest. By doing so, they ensure that even if the attackers gain access to resources, they cannot have them as plain text. This minimizes the risk of sensitive data exposure and therefore financial losses. 

• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Weak passwords and authentication mechanisms are the leading causes of several cloud network risks. MFA is the best way to prevent unauthorized access through stolen credentials or devices as it asks for either something they have such as a hardware token or something they are such as a fingerprint. 

As most people go for shorter and more insecure passwords, multi-factor authentication in cloud becomes a critical aspect of security by adding a new layer of the authentication process. Organizations should adopt multi-factor authentication especially to minimize internal threats and unauthorized access to business resources. 

• Network Monitoring and Intrusion Detection

Constant network monitoring helps prevent downtime of critical services, ensures network component performance, and—together with Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS)—assists organizations in identifying suspicious patterns and analyzing their networks.

In addition to these tools, utilizing Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technologies help enhance network security and identify any anomalous user behavior or zero-day attacks. Promptly detecting incidents using these tools can minimize the damage done to cloud networks. 

• Regular Security Audits and Penetration Testing

Understanding the security level of your cloud network and the potential vulnerabilities is a must when improving the overall network security. Regular security audits and penetration tests allow organizations to simulate attacks and get a clear picture of the security status and weak points that need addressing. 

Security audits include testing the overall security posture of the cloud infrastructure, detecting vulnerabilities, and ensuring compliance with security regulations. Penetration tests, on the other hand, involve ethical hacking practices to simulate real attacks and test the effectiveness of implemented security measures. Additionally, it’s important to implement network pen testing with the help of pros, as this is the only way to truly put your precautions through their paces, and be confident in your current setup.

By combining all these four mitigation strategies, organizations can effectively defend their cloud network against common threats and protect sensitive data stored in cloud environments. However, it is good to mention that cloud security is an ongoing effort, and you might need to keep up with emerging threats and adopt new practices as well. 

Conclusion

Cloud network security is a hot topic as cloud computing is becoming more and more popular every passing day, and hackers finding out new ways to exploit these services. Understanding the common threats first and then implementing the best measures to mitigate these risks is crucial to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the information organizations have in cloud services. 

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