Six Ways Cloud Can Increase Your Risk

Every day, more businesses are looking to the cloud because it delivers cost-effective productivity, collaboration, efficiency and more. But, even as its popularity continues to grow, the Cloud Security Alliance warns that businesses that embrace the cloud without fully understanding the environment and its associated risks are more likely to encounter a myriad of commercial, financial, technical, legal and compliance risks.

 

Here are the top six cloud computing threats you could face:

 

Data Breaches

The vast amount of data stored on cloud servers makes for an attractive target. We’ve all heard about personal financial information breaches but those involving health information, trade secrets and intellectual property can be even more devastating.

 

Compromised Credentials and Broken Authentication

Data breaches and other attacks often result from lax authentication, weak passwords and poor key or certificate management. Plus, too often, companies fail to remove user access privileges when job functions change or users leave.

 

Hacked Interfaces and APIs

APIs and interfaces tend to be the most exposed part of a system because they’re usually accessible from the open Internet. This can expose organizations to security issues related to confidentiality, integrity, availability and accountability.

 

Account Hijacking

Cloud services add a new dimension to phishing, fraud and software exploits because attackers can eavesdrop on activities, manipulate transactions, modify data—even use the cloud application to launch other attacks.

 

Malicious Insiders

Insider threats can come from current or former employees, system administrators, a contractor or a business partner. In a cloud scenario, these threats can destroy whole infrastructures or manipulate data.

 

Exploited System Vulnerabilities

With cloud computing, organizations share memory, databases and other resources in close proximity to one another, creating new attack surfaces.

 

 

Stay Safe and Secure in the Cloud

Our cloud computing experts proactively stop these threats before they can cause downtime, loss of data, fines, lawsuits and other damaging consequences. Contact us for your free assessment and get 10% off cloud services through June 30, 2016.