Cloud Computing Security Risks
All enterprises across the globe have switched to cloud computing due to the multitude of benefits it offers like faster market time, lower cost, and increased productivity. Cloud security is a major concern for all the firms while they migrate their data to the cloud. The bigger concern is about the use of the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) concept, wherein, the employees tend to use their personal devices for office tasks through unsecured networks. They also download various and sundry cloud apps and services for easing their tasks that are not sanctioned by their IT department; thus, giving rise to Shadow IT challenge. Here, this article tries honestly to make the enterprises aware of cloud computing security risks and their foolproof safety solutions.
Topmost Security Risks in Cloud Computing Faced by Any Enterprise
- Loss of Sensitive Data: When transferring the data to the cloud, enterprises automatically shift some of their intellectual property details to the cloud. But the downfall of this action is that the attackers can easily gain access to this sensitive data when the cloud services get leaked. The solution is the application of a certain set of terms and conditions to the data ownership while uploading them.
- Regulatory Actions and Non-Compliance: Nowadays, it is necessary that enterprises access data under certain regulatory actions like HIPAA for private health records, FERPA for confidential student records, and other regulations of the Government and various industries. All said and done, it is the duty of the enterprises to be aware of where their files are stored, who has access rights, and what policies are implemented for its access control. These are mandatory if the data breach situation has to be averted. With the introduction of the BYOD concept, there are chances that the rules get broken and the firm is in a non-compliant mode, which is risky for the enterprise.
- Loss from End User’s Activities: The enterprises carry certain risks from their employees who have resigned. Take, for instance, a salesman, who is resigning from his current post, may download all the contacts from the customer data book of the enterprise and use it for his personal use in his new company or store it in his personal cloud service for later use. Then there are chances that this data might be shared with the rival by the salesman for some financial gains. These situations are normally not under enterprise control if appropriate security solutions are not implemented.
- Malware Attacks: There are various methods by which malware infect sensitive data. In one technique for data ex-filtration, the attackers gain access to sensitive data through video files that are uploaded on YouTube, etc. In another form, the sensitive files are ex-filtrated through a Twitter account with 140 characters simultaneously.
- Breaches Associated with Business Partners: With business partners, the management of access control becomes all the more tedious. Even though limitations can be applied to how the information is to be accessed and by whom, there arises a situation where an employee may move the restricted files to the cloud intentionally/unintentionally violating the business contract.
Cloud Computing Threats and Vulnerabilities
One of the major effects of a data breach is the breaking of customer trust. The Target data breach is a fine example, where around 40 million credit and debit card information of the customers were stolen and this leakage resulted in customers moving away from target business, badly affecting the revenue and customer base of the firm with the least possibility of recovering from it.
Data Breach Case Scenario
In the case of a data breach, the enterprise needs to reveal all the information to the regulatory board and send messages to the potential victims. Apart from this disclosure, certain regulatory bodies like GDPR and HIPAA impose fines to the tunes of millions. This will also result in legal implications for the firm.
Eliminate Cloud Computing Security Risks through CASB Solutions
Every coin has two sides. Likewise, cloud computing has its own pros and cons. To overcome the cloud computing security risks, it is better if enterprises deploy efficient access control and cloud safety tools like CASB solutions rendered by Cloud Access Security Brokers that ensure the safety of confidential data.