The US markets predict that the global market for cloud computing will rise from $272 billion in 2018 to $623.3 billion by 2023. Because of the increasing data breach incidents, more businesses are shifting to cloud storage. The remote working culture during this pandemic shows an increased demand for cloud migration. However, there are certain risks associated with cloud migration. Most of the users aren’t aware of this. But, cloud storage comes with benefits and vulnerabilities at the same time.
Here we’re highlighting seven cloud migration risks along with practices to overcome these security vulnerabilities. Let’s read on.
Cybersecurity Risks Of Cloud Migration
There are several risks associated with cloud migration. All these threats are evolving by each passing. It’s essential to be aware of all cloud migration risks to ensure your online privacy. As we can’t discuss each one of them. Here are seven risks of cloud migration.
Malware
Malware is one of the most significant cloud migration risks. It reaches into the cloud storage by several tactics. One such popular way is by phishing emails and taking the benefit of misconfigured storage servers.
Since data and other valuable information are continuously moving to and from the cloud, malware’s risk to attack the cloud environment and client devices also increases. Experts believe that cloud malware is going to expand and multiply twice than before as cloud adoption increases.
Malicious actors are getting sophisticated and using new techniques to compromise user’s security. For this purpose, they’re developing malware that efficiently disables the cloud security products and can take advantage of the agility by the cloud.
Compliance Of Legal Issues
The introduction of regulations like GDPR and HIPAA makes compliance a tough task. These laws by the government affect the accessibility of data present on the cloud. The business owners worry much about it because it’s quite challenging for them to have records of people who access the information.
Hackers take advantage of this situation by accessing the cloud environment and stealing their valuable data. It does not just cause companies financial loss; their reputation in the market and among clients gets affected too. Secondly, companies also face penalties for not obeying the laws. Thus, it’s essential to stay in the line of industry laws and regulations while you shift your data to the cloud.
More Intricacy And Pressure On The IT Teams
Cloud migration welcomes high complexity to carry out IT functions. The cloud environment needs the IT team to be well-trained to operate this new model. The IT team should be capable and skillful enough to handle and maintain the relocation of data within the cloud.
Complexity within the cloud is because of both encryption and key management services. Different CSPs use different tools and techniques to log in and monitor the cloud, increasing complexity in using the cloud. Because of deployment methods and various policies, the cloud environment is at risk of potential threats. On the one hand, it creates pressure on the IT teams to handle things appropriately, but at the same time, it increases the security gap in the company’s cloud infrastructure that invites cyber invaders.
Data Loss
Bad actors compromising security and stealing valuable data is one way for data loss. In the cloud network, there are other reasons which lead to complete loss of data. Sometimes it’s the mistake of the cloud service provider who unintentionally deletes your data. While in other circumstances, natural calamities like earthquakes, fire, and floods can damage crucial business data.
Preventing data loss is not the only job of the service provider. Users are equally responsible for this stance. For instance, before uploading the data, you encrypt it, but later lost the encryption key then you are behind data loss. Like a VPN is used for anonymous downloading similarly, it’s also used for encrypting your data; you can use one to protect your data. Moreover, it is essential that you have a clear and complete understanding of the storage model you are using because if you don’t, you can suffer from data loss.
Vulnerable Applications
When it comes to security risks, a minor mistake is enough to let you down. No matter if you are using a system with firewalls and updated anti-virus software. If you download any app from external sources, it can cause you a lot of trouble. Third-party applications pose a significant cloud migration risk. Downloading apps from these services invite cyber intruders who install spyware on your system to spy on your activities and gather information.
Ask your security experts to first check the application for security before installation and then decide if it fits in your network. Stop the staff members from downloading any app, and if they need one so, the IT members should approve it first. This step minimizes the risk of vulnerable applications that can affect data migration to the cloud.
However, if any existing app has a flaw then the IT team should not waste any time and fix it soon.
Account Hijacking
One of the most considerable risks associated with cloud migration is of hijacked accounts. If a cybercriminal gains access to your system via an employee account, they can completely access your information on your servers without your knowledge.
Cyber intruders by using the techniques of password cracking and brute force attack get initial access to the cloud. You think that your data is secured on the cloud, but one weak password can turn things in favor of the hijacker.
To minimize this risk of cloud migration, train the staff on reducing the risk of hijacked accounts. One such way is by proper permission management. It means that each staff member has an individual account of their own, and they won’t be allowed to access any unauthorized information. Even when an account is hijacked, less damage is being made.
Poorly Configured Cloud Storage
Misconfigured cloud is a situation for the cloud servers that makes it vulnerable to breaches. This issue mainly arises because of insecure APIs. Cloud misconfiguration comes in three forms:
- By default cloud security setting of the server
- Distorted data access: It happens when crucial data is left open with no authorizations.
- Unmatched access management means when unauthorized persons like a staff member get access to some confidential data unintentionally.
When you set-up a cloud server, cross-check all the cloud security configurations. Use some specialized tools to check the security configurations of the cloud. Several third-party tools are available that efficiently check security settings and detect potential threats before they can cause any harm.
Tips To Reduce Cloud Migration Risk
Cloud services have now become mandatory to carry out business operations. Cloud migration security is now a necessity, as more and more businesses are shifting towards the cloud. Considering the security risks mentioned above, here are some other tips to improve cloud migration security.
- Use secure access management: Use specific access management tools and policies for accessing the cloud environment, such as privileged access management – what is privileged identity management? Learn more from the linked article. It includes enabling multi-factor authentication feature that alerts you when someone attempts to log in to your account. Also, adopt the principle of restricted privileged accounts in which users are given the least privileges to reduce the chances of account hijacking.
- Preset security processes: Deploying an effective security automation process within your system, strengthens your detection and response abilities. It also saves you from depending on manual reactions.
- Using appropriate tools: Not all the tools you use are right for reducing risks associated with cloud migration. Ensure you use the right tools for security monitoring, and they are active on all cloud resources. For greater interoperability among the tools, shift to open technologies.
- Use proactive simulations to practice various attack situations: It helps detect any blind spot and resolves any criminal issue that arises during the attack investigation.
- Take a risk-based view: Review all the data and information you are moving on the cloud. Start with a risk-based evaluation for visibility all across your environment and make a map for securing the cloud adoption.
Final Thoughts
The introduction of cloud technology provides businesses with the flexibility to stay ahead in the competitive business market. However, cloud migration risks business data to possible cyber-attacks. By following the easy practices mentioned above, you can protect your enterprise data and minimizes the risks of cloud migration.
Also Read: Cybersecurity: Protecting Your Business And Yourself
