The Aggressive Growth of Cloud Emanates New Challenges for Cloud Security

2020 will go down in history as the year that digital transformation fully took hold across all industries. The transition to cloud applications was expedited by the COVID 19 pandemic. With a CAGR of 16.3%, the global market for cloud computing is anticipated to reach $947.3 billion by 2026.

These statistics are the corroboration that organizations have benefited from the reliable cloud infrastructure at the core of the digital revolution as they transitioned to remote setup.

In simple terms, cloud computing has been incredibly helpful in lowering operating expenses, boosting speed and scalability, and simplifying simplicity of use. But it also had its own share of threats, security flaws, and complexity.

The Market will Continue to be Dominated by Cloud Computing
Following a significant increase in enterprise cloud usage during the pandemic, companies all around the world are now exploring fresh approaches to harness the power of the cloud. Cloud-native solutions will be at the core of many businesses’ cloud plans in 2022. Industry clouds will grow as a result of the demand for more specialized solutions, and in order for the major cloud providers to continue providing services to their clients on a global basis, they will need to respond and make necessary adjustments to local laws.

More than ever, the world has recently become interested in the possibilities provided by the cloud and its significance to pioneer businesses across all industries. Without cloud services, it is currently difficult to envision remote work or virtual control of company activities. However, as the globe prepares for the post-pandemic future, corporations once more begin to examine their present setups and models more carefully. This will consist of analyzing the possibilities or the necessity to restructure their tactics, as well as utilizing newly available cloud features and technologies.

Surge in Cloud Security Issues
While the world further moves towards digitization with cloud adoption, one cannot simply ignore the negative aspects of cloud growth. Cloud computing security flaws can expose stored data and increase its susceptibility to attackers. In contrast to an on-premise environment, cloud adoption introduces increasingly complex issues as more businesses migrate to the cloud and security risks rise. This is especially true in environments with multi-clouds. Data that is accessible to multiple users are more vulnerable to assaults since multiple users also have access to the data. Some of the notable and significant issues prevailing in the contemporary cloud adoption scenarios include:

Data Breaches: A major security risk in cloud computing is data breaches. To access the system, hackers search for a vulnerability in the security measures and enter through a linked device or cloud server. One of the most frequently attacked industries is the healthcare and medical device sector, which maintains patient data. Government organizations, e-commerce portals, and other industries that use the cloud and keep extremely sensitive data are also frequently targeted by cyberattacks.

Misconfigured Cloud Services: The number of misconfigured cloud services has increased. According to Check Point Software Technologies’ 2022 Cloud Security Report, misconfiguration has affected 23% of enterprises. Insufficient access controls, permissive storage practices, exposing unencrypted data to the public, and using open repositories to store passwords are a few frequent instances. Misconfiguration is a serious security risk because it is one of the simplest vulnerabilities for hackers to exploit in order to launch a ransomware attack on the system.

Poor Access Management: Multiple administrator accounts, inactive assigned users, or even weak passwords might contribute to improper Identity and Access Management (IAM) problems. Given that, all sensitive data is stored in the cloud, allowing everyone access or removing the hierarchy of permissions can raise the risk of compromise during a cyberattack.

Data Loss: A growing security risk is data loss. Numerous factors, including infections, system errors, and ineffective backup procedures, might be responsible. As it can disrupt workflow, impact customer services, or even jeopardize client security, data loss can cause the organization irreparable harm.

Addressing these challenges:
Infrastructure, people, and data are the three main aspects of cloud security. Several precautions must be taken for each of these components to protect the data. While having a robust security strategy is essential, firms can take a few preventative measures.
Create conveniently accessible backups on multiple servers or practise a 3-2-1 backup strategy to prevent a data compromise.
Enable multi-factor authentication so that organizations can verify a user’s identity and provide an extra degree of security.
Plan periodic assessments of cloud configurations and access privileges, as well as security drills, to prevent authorization gaps.
To find security holes that require rapid correction, conduct security drills.

Businesses across the globe have faced difficulties over the last two years. The year 2020 began with COVID-19 and a sudden shift to remote work, and it also led to many catastrophic breaches that sent hundreds of enterprises into a panicked state of assessment and remediation. As organizations head towards the future era of digitization, they must be prepared to establish a thorough cloud security strategy as soon as they move to the cloud. As a next step, they should establish a plan that combines the best technologies, processes, policies, and best practices.