Top security threats organizations face when using cloud services
Enterprises are no longer sitting on their hands, wondering if they should risk migrating applications and data to the cloud. They're doing it -- but security remains a serious concern.
The first step in minimizing risk in the cloud is to identify the top security threats.
The shared, on-demand nature of cloud computing introduces the possibility of new security breaches that can erase any gains made by the switch to cloud technology, the CSA warned. As noted in previous CSA reports, cloud services by nature enable users to bypass organization-wide security policies and set up their own accounts in the service of shadow IT projects. New controls must be put in place.
Threat No. 1: Data breaches
Cloud environments face many of the same threats as traditional corporate networks, but due to the vast amount of data stored on cloud servers, providers become an attractive target. The severity of potential damage tends to depend on the sensitivity of the data exposed. Exposed personal financial information tends to get the headlines, but breaches involving health information, trade secrets, and intellectual property can be more devastating.
When a data breach occurs, companies may incur fines, or they may face lawsuits or criminal charges. Breach investigations and customer notifications can rack up significant costs. Indirect effects, such as brand damage and loss of business, can impact organizations for years.
Cloud providers typically deploy security controls to protect their environments, but ultimately, organizations are responsible for protecting their own data in the cloud. The CSA has recommended organizations use multifactor authentication and encryption to protect against data breaches.
Threat No. 2: Compromised credentials and broken authentication
Data breaches and other attacks frequently result from lax authentication, weak passwords, and poor key or certificate management. Organizations often struggle with identity management as they try to allocate permissions appropriate to the user’s job role. More important, they sometimes forget to remove user access when a job function changes or a user leaves the organization.
Multifactor authentication systems such as one-time passwords, phone-based authentication, and smartcards protect cloud services because they make it harder for attackers to log in with stolen passwords. The Anthem breach, which exposed more than 80 million customer records, was the result of stolen user credentials. Anthem had failed to deploy multifactor authentication, so once the attackers obtained the credentials, it was game over.
Many developers make the mistake of embedding credentials and cryptographic keys in source code and leaving them in public-facing repositories such as GitHub. Keys need to be appropriately protected, and a well-secured public key infrastructure is necessary, the CSA said. They also need to be rotated periodically to make it harder for attackers to use keys they’ve obtained without authorization.
Organizations planning to federate identity with a cloud provider need to understand the security measures the provider uses to protect the identity platform. Centralizing identity into a single repository has its risks. Organizations need to weigh the trade-off of the convenience of centralizing identity against the risk of having that repository become an extremely high-value target for attackers.
Threat No. 3: Hacked interfaces and APIs
Practically every cloud service and application now offers APIs. IT teams use interfaces and APIs to manage and interact with cloud services, including those that offer cloud provisioning, management, orchestration, and monitoring.
The security and availability of cloud services -- from authentication and access control to encryption and activity monitoring -- depend on the security of the API. Risk increases with third parties that rely on APIs and build on these interfaces, as organizations may need to expose more services and credentials, the CSA warned. Weak interfaces and APIs expose organizations to security issues related to confidentiality, integrity, availability, and accountability.
APIs and interfaces tend to be the most exposed part of a system because they're usually accessible from the open Internet. The CSA recommends adequate controls as the “first line of defense and detection.” Threat modeling applications and systems, including data flows and architecture/design, become important parts of the development lifecycle. The CSA also recommends security-focused code reviews and rigorous penetration testing.
No comments:
Post a Comment