Is Cloud Computing The Answer To Increasing Cyber Attack Risks?

Thanks to cloud computing the days of running applications and programs from software that you've downloaded onto your physical computer are now over. Many businesses are now using cloud computing instead. This allows them to access these same applications through the internet. Throughout this year many believe that we'll see a growing number of businesses and IT executives turn their attention in this direction. However, it's important to understand that this doesn't mean you won't encounter something like a zero day vulnerability along the way.

How Cloud Computing is Trending Today

Before taking a look at the latest security threats, it's important to understand the rising popularity of cloud computing. According to Medium, the use of clouds to store data has skyrocketed in some very interesting ways. These include:

Between 2015 – 2020 we'll see a 22% increase in the number of businesses using the cloud
People will spend 16% more of their software budget on cloud-based strategies between 2016 – 2026
By 2020 60% of all IT infrastructure and 60 – 70% of all software, services, and technology will be cloud-based
Since 2009 companies are spending 4.5x more on cloud computing than on IT spending – a number that's expected to grow to 6x by 2020
In 2020 we're expected to see $390 billion spend on global cloud IT

Trends to Watch for in 2018

All of these numbers have businesses rushing towards the cloud today. As such, it should come as no surprise that Network World believes we'll see some interesting trends throughout 2018. What they're predicting we'll see includes:

Major growth in cloud services solutions thanks to infrastructure and platform as a service (Iaas and PaaS). Many new companies in both the public and the private sectors will take advantage of the simplicity and high-performance guaranteed by the cloud. Cisco believes that SaaS will significantly grow in the amount of cloud-based workloads it handles.
Data storage will grow exponentially as more data centers come online with larger-capacity storage equipment. This will allow forward-thinking businesses to store large data sets, perform analytics on them, and harvest valuable insights into areas such as customer behavior, human systems, and strategic financial investments.

The Internet of Everything (IoE) will take center stage thanks to continuous innovations in real-time data analytics as well as cloud computing. This will help with the development of complex systems that simplify all of your interactions. For instance, you'll be able to interact intelligently with every device in a network and this will also improve human-to-human communications. An example of this is Google’s Pixel Buds headset that recognizes and translates 40 languages in real-time for users.
Network providers will offer faster and better connections. This means that businesses will need to upgrade their SaaS, PaaS, and website platforms so they're more responsive as well. The IoT and IoE industries will also benefit here because they can deliver and receive data more efficiently in real-time.

Things to Watch for as More Businesses Move to the Cloud

As companies rush to the cloud it's important for them to understand how vulnerabilities exploit systems.

Some of these ways include:

Data breaches resulting from targeted attacks or human error, application vulnerabilities or poor security practices involving any data that wasn't intended to be released to the public (e.g. personal health information, financial information, personally identifiable information, trade secrets, intellectual property).
Insufficient identity, credential, and access management caused by bad actors pretending to be legitimate users, operators, or developers. When this happens data can be read, modified, or deleted causing control issues.

Malicious software may be released from what appears to be a legitimate source. This can cause catastrophic damage to businesses and their customers.
Insecure interfaces and APIs (application programming interfaces) exposed through the cloud can cause security issues since these things are used to manage and monitor services. Whether these are accidental or malicious in nature, they exist in an attempt to circumvent policy.
System vulnerabilities are bugs that attackers can exploit in a program. Once they do so the bugs infiltrate systems, steal ideas, take control of the system, and disrupt service operations. This puts all the cloud's services and data at significant risk, especially since various organizations are working close by each other in the cloud. The new way in which they share their memory and resources creates a new way for attackers to cause them significant problems.

Hijacking accounts and services by gaining access to a user's credentials allows hackers to eavesdrop on activities and transactions, manipulate data, return falsified information and redirect clients to illegitimate sites. Although this isn't something new, it's still important to remember that this could happen because it can lead to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of those services being compromised.
Malicious insiders including system administrators gaining access to potentially sensitive information can lead them to access more critical systems until they eventually work their way into your data. Any system that's solely dependent on cloud service providers is at a greater risk here.

Advanced persistent threats (APTs) are a parasitical attack. They infiltrate your system and once they establish a foothold there they can start stealing your data. These work in a stealth fashion over an extended period because they can adapt to any security measure you create to defend against them. Once they're there they can move laterally throughout the data center's networks because they blend in so well.

Permanent data loss for reasons other than malicious attacks include accidental deletion by the cloud service provider or through a physical catastrophe (e.g. fire, earthquake). Hopefully, the cloud provider has taken adequate measures to back up the data before this happens.
Nefarious uses of cloud services or simply abusing them is also problematic. This typically occurs when the servers are poorly secured, allow for a free trial, or someone finds a way to fraudulently sign up for an account. Oftentimes this results in denial-of-service attacks, email spam, and phishing campaigns.

Although the cloud is safe, as with anything else online, it's important to use your head. You can't simply forego thinking about the safety of yourself and your company just because you're using the cloud today. Instead, take a little time to learn about these things and how they could have a negative impact on your company. Make sure that your employees also have this same understanding. Knowledge empowers you to not live in fear, so start appreciating it today.