Common Cloud Security Risks and Challenges

 

This guest post is written by Jennifer Page
Today, cloud computing has become an integral part of any modern business. May it be real estate, retail, or software development, cloud storage and processing has become more of a necessity than a want. Several organizations across the globe are using cloud-based services to run their daily operations. 

We have several platforms such as, platform-as-a-service (PaaS), software-as-a-service (SaaS) and infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), which are helping multinational brands to expand their capabilities. Such cloud services have greatly minimized costs associated with labor & operations. It has also significantly decreased capital expenses and has brought many other great benefits to the round table.

Even though cloud networking has become an integral part, there are several multinational firms who are struggling with adapting to devsecops. This is because they are constantly experiencing risks and challenges.

It is therefore essential that one must know about these challenges beforehand. Here are some common cloud security risks and challenges which many organizations have to experience.

Challenge # 1: Less Visibility & Control

One of the biggest problems which many cloud customers face when using cloud technologies is lack of visibility and control over server management. Whether you’re choosing a platform, a software or infrastructure to base your organization’s digital presence, there are several instances where you’re greatly struggling with transparency. You aren’t aware of who’s managing your storage and processing at the backend. Having a third-party software vendor control your assets can raise the following concerns.

 

●      Less visibility into the tools used by cloud managers to control business information.

●      Not having transparency in incident response plans which cloud service providers handle.

●      Risk of other third party cloud services analyzing data, services and users to identify patterns.

 

When integrating a cloud based solution at the backend of your business, it is up to you to ensure you have the ultimate transparency. This may include learning what data is being accessed, keeping track of the information, and having security controls to prevent data breaches.

Challenge # 2: Data Privacy Concerns

Here’s a scenario,

Jane is a new employee at XYZ firm who doesn’t know her way around PaaS software. She accidentally started loading up client’s data on one of the third party cloud servers thinking this is where the client’s information was supposed to go. A couple of months later, the cloud provider suffers data breach and all the information on its platform is exposed to the hacker. Apparently, the hacker used all that information and now the XYZ organization is in hot waters. The company is under investigation just because they didn’t have proper security devops who could lay down proper security nets.

 

Only if the cloud service provider had strong cybersecurity measures, the issue wouldn’t have occurred in the first place. Jane is not to be blamed as she was unaware, but if a PaaS had strong security features, it would have identified the anomaly and reported it to the organization firsthand.

 

Not taking care of such things can lead to fines and restrictions, which is what happened with XYZ.

Challenge # 3: Lack of Experience in Cloud Security

Not many individuals are well versed in the concept of cloud computing. There are several personnels who have limited knowledge when it comes to deploying the best security measures in a cloud environment. To find the right personnel to tackle the cloud security risks require extremely talented skill set individuals who have ample knowledge and experience in the cloud space.

It’s one of the reasons why many organizations put their faith in managed security service providers.

These are third party service providers which help you manage your cloud requirements effectively from a remote location. You pay them a monthly subscription and they handle your devop security.

Here are some of the risks and challenges which many organizations are experiencing due to digital shift. Do you want to work with experienced cloud devsecops? Feel free to share & discuss challenges