Top Challenges in Cloud Security and How to Overcome Them?

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Cloud computing offers many benefits compared to typical data centers, including better data backup and restoration, collaboration, cost savings, and accessibility. However, it's crucial to acknowledge that the primary hurdle to fully embracing the advantages of the cloud lies in the notable security challenges it brings.

A survey conducted in 2023 among cybersecurity specialists globally found that the largest security issue in public clouds was misconfigured cloud platforms, cited by 65% of respondents.

The faith and dependability that both companies and customers place in cloud technologies can be undermined if these problems are not resolved efficiently. They could result in data breaches, illegal access, service interruptions, and the possible loss of confidential data.

This post will examine companies' cloud security challenges and discuss workable solutions.

6 Common Cloud Security Challenges

Cloud security can be complicated for many companies. However, recognizing cloud security challenges can help your company overcome them. Here are the top 6 cloud security challenges your company must anticipate and resolve at all costs.

1. Lack of visibility

Cloud environments combining IaaS, SaaS, and PaaS components can be complicated ecosystems involving external applications, digital identities, and sensitive data. Cloud sprawl can overwhelm organizations and make cloud security a nightmare.

Centralized visibility is vital for identifying cloud security challenges as new assets and dependencies rapidly expand across multi-cloud environments. A lack of centralized visibility can lead to security disasters and delayed incident response.

2. Misconfiguration

A significant cause of cloud security breaches is incorrectly configured security settings. Gartner expects that customers’ faults will cause 99% of cloud security failures by 2025.

Depending on the security controls offered by your cloud service provider (CSP) becomes essential when you don't have sight or control over your cloud infrastructure.

An organization's lack of knowledge of cloud architecture and multi-cloud deployments might make cloud-based resources even more susceptible to security misconfigurations in these situations.

3. Multi-Cloud Security

Security challenges in cloud computing include compliance, IAM complexities, visibility, data governance, workload misconfigurations, and the ever-present threat of malware. Security becomes an enormous task when multi-cloud strategies are implemented, intensifying these problems.

Two of the most important security considerations in multi-cloud settings are managing the identity and access management system and ensuring that access control is effective.

Businesses must ascertain who can access resources to pinpoint vulnerabilities and anticipate potential security threats.

4. Insecure Interfaces and APIs

To provide users more freedom, CSPs provide application programming interfaces (APIs)that are well-documented. Still, challenges can occur if you don't safeguard your cloud-based infrastructure's interfaces.

If you're not cautious, hackers could find vulnerabilities in your cloud environment's security measures by scouring customer documentation.

5. Cloud Migration Issues

Businesses face challenges managing cloud migration, including security visibility, compliance, policy setting, and application change.

To ensure a smooth transition, businesses should adopt simpler strategies and break down the process into stages, reducing the risk of critical errors and vulnerabilities and ensuring security for their infrastructure and applications.

6. Legal and Regulatory Compliance

Data protection and privacy rules require you to restrict access to regulated information like users’ personal information, healthcare records, and credit card numbers. Demonstrating compliance with regulations such as the GDPR, PCI DSS, etc., after storing that data in the cloud may be more challenging.

You can only see a portion of your infrastructure and have limited control when you deploy to the cloud. You need to implement cloud compliance solutions to ensure your cloud security meets all the law requirements.

How to Overcome Cloud Security Challenges?

While no IT system is completely safe, some measures can be taken to reduce the impact of cloud security challenges.

Strong Encryption Practices

Cloud security relies on data encryption to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access. Encrypting data in transit and at rest in collaborative cloud systems adds security.

Strong encryption, such as AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), poses a challenge for hackers attempting to steal data. Key management protects encryption key development, distribution, and storage, ensuring cloud data integrity and accessibility.

Verify Security SLAs

If you want your cloud computing security procedures to be strong and effective, check the security service level agreements (SLAs). When it comes to data and system security, security SLAs lay out the roles and duties of the customer and the cloud service provider (CSP).

Authentication with Multiple Factors (MFA)

There is no way to improve the security of a cloud environment using conventional security measures like passwords and fingerprints. For 81% of security breaches, the culprit is weak passwords. An additional safeguard that helps reduce illegal access is multi-factor authentication (MFA).

Organizations may make their users more vigilant and less vulnerable to phishing attempts by including multi-factor authentication in their authentication workflows.

Employee Training and Awareness

Security, a fundamental part of every company, requires employee training and awareness. In their 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report, Verizon found that human error causes 85% of incidents.

Employee education on password management, phishing detection, and resource responsibility can foster a security culture and encourage proactive reporting.

The workforce's knowledge and participation in reducing risks and safeguarding digital assets is further enhanced through ongoing training programs, frequent updates, and simulated exercises.

Cloud Security Monitoring

Constant security monitoring is crucial for proactive risk management, compliance, and threat detection in cloud-based systems. The cloud security landscape is always changing, so organizations should examine their monitoring strategies often and make adjustments.

Deploy CSPM

You can monitor your cloud infrastructure's settings to ensure they follow security best practices with the help of CSPM technology. By implementing a CSPM system, you can guarantee your cloud environments' safety, conformity, and robustness.

T12 is changing the game regarding cloud security by implementing CSPM solutions on the most popular cloud platforms: AWS, Azure, and GCP.

Overcome Cloud Security Challenges with T12 Cloud Security

T12 enables enterprises with thorough Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), advanced drift detection, and continuous monitoring across major cloud platforms.

Consider deploying T12 as a preventative measure to strengthen your company's cloud security and maintain resilience in the face of emerging threats. T12 is here to help you overcome cloud security obstacles, so take the next step toward a safe cloud environment with them.