Main Cloud Security Risks

With the transition from software- to cloud service provider the responsibilities to our customers change dramatically. As customers move to the cloud, the ownership of many security and compliance controls transfers over to SAP. Since many of our customers are subject to audit attestations, it is imperative that SAP meets ours. SAP Global Security (SGS), the organization that centrally manages security for the company, went through a similar transformation through this time. During the tenure of Chief Security Officer Tim McKnight, the security organization moved under the Chief Financial Officer to ensure that security risks were established as business risks. Among other things, this started the implementation of the NIST Cyber Security Framework (CSF) to structure our security programs and the FAIR quantitative risk management methodology.

David Puzas is a proven cybersecurity, cloud and IT services marketer and business leader with over two decades of experience. Charged with building client value and innovative outcomes for companies such as CrowdStrike, Dell SecureWorks and IBM clients world-wide. He focuses on the optimization of computing innovation, trends, and their business implications for market expansion and growth. David is responsible for strategically bringing to market CrowdStrike’s global cloud security portfolio as well as driving customer retention. A sound strategy takes into consideration any common cloud challenges like the ones we’ve discussed here.

Cloud Compliance

This threat increases as an organization uses more CSP services and is dependent on individual CSPs and their supply chain policies. The impact is most likely worse when using IaaS due to an insider’s ability to provision resources or perform nefarious activities that require forensics for detection. To meet all necessary regulatory compliances, you will need to pay particular attention to the implications of cloud migration and that its architecture keeps your data secure. A. Given its increasing prevalence, understanding the need for greater accountability in cloud usage is crucial. However, before making the switch, companies must think strategically about how they will use this technology and what they hope to accomplish.

• A prolific keynote speaker, he excels in aligning cybersecurity realities with business imperatives.
• Data breaches are one of the most significant threats facing cloud computing today.
• In 2023, it’s expected that these threats will continue to evolve, with hackers using more sophisticated tactics like file-less malware to evade detection.
• Terms laid down in contracts should take into account internal and external attacks as well as human mistakes.
• It can also curtail tech spend and worries about maintaining and updating IT infrastructure.
• One hundred percent uptimes are never a guarantee, though many cloud service providers act like it is.

As enterprises pivot to a cloud-first approach, the backbone supporting this strategy is all about application programming interfaces (APIs). These dynamic interfaces have proliferated at an unprecedented rate, accelerating business processes, fostering innovation, and facilitating numerous forms of communication and data sharing. However, as the cloud horizon expands and the API’s role becomes even more pivotal, the strategies to secure them need to evolve in tandem. Leaning on dozens of products to protect your apps and data makes you even more vulnerable to threats. Get visibility and protection across the application lifecycle to reduce risks and meet compliance.

Misconfiguration in the Cloud Environment

Before cloud computing, companies would need to budget to buy hardware (servers and network equipment) and software (security suites, operating systems, productivity programs). But with cloud computing, businesses can tap into shared resources without extra cost, or the need to free up office space. Gartner predicts that end-user spending on public cloud services hybrid cloud security solutions business will reach $482 billion in 2022 and that public cloud spending will exceed 45% of total IT spending in 2026, up from less than 17% in 2021. The company is required to know who has access to customer information, where this data resides and how it’s protected. As such, they are directly liable if a data breach at the cloud service provider occurs.

With vast experience as a C-level executive in both corporate and startup spheres, Richard is globally renowned for his expertise in cybersecurity, data privacy, identity, and zero trust. A prolific keynote speaker, he excels in aligning cybersecurity realities with business imperatives. As a Senior Fellow at the CyberTheory Zero Trust Institute and a Forbes Tech Council member, Richard’s insights are often featured in top media, including the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and CNN. It can lead to hemorrhaging intellectual property, give competitors an advantage, and land organizations in the quagmire of regulatory breaches.

Accidental Exposure of Credentials

If malware or ransomware attacks cause the theft of customer data, those customers will hold the company responsible, regardless of where their data was stored. Companies that store their data in traditional in-house Server Rooms retain complete control over their security. Transferring this control to third parties risks losing customer trust should the cloud service security fail. This damages a company’s reputation as customers lose faith and take their business elsewhere.

This makes it hard for a hacker to guess and find inroads into a user’s account. Organizations that don’t employ the use of proper authentication also open themselves up to breaches. Identification management ensures that the company allocates the right permissions to the right employees. A multi-factor or even a two-factor authentication system cuts down the chances of breaches. Cybercrime isn’t easier to get away with, but it can take longer to trace because it can happen remotely.

Cybersecurity management refers to the strategic approach that governs the impl…. Never keep racy pictures or intimate interactions with partners in the cloud, and if you are sensitive about items such as diet progress pictures, avoid storing those as well. Application programming interfaces (APIs) allow two software components to communicate with each other without having to know how they’re integrated.

When moving data protected by these and similar regulations to the cloud, achieving and demonstrating regulatory compliance can be more difficult. With a cloud deployment, organizations only have visibility and control into some of the layers of their infrastructure. As a result, legal and regulatory compliance is considered a major cloud security issue by 42% of organizations and requires specialized cloud compliance solutions. This makes it easy for cybercriminals to learn an employee’s credentials for cloud services. As a result, accidental exposure of cloud credentials is a major concern for 44% of organizations since it potentially compromises the privacy and security of their cloud-based data and other resources. However, this creates potential issues if a customer has not properly secured the interfaces for their cloud-based infrastructure.