Threats to Cloud-Based Systems' Security
Threats to on-site and cloud-based solutions should be evaluated, with cloud services-specific security concerns getting additional attention. Threats to cloud security can originate as human or software-based attacks and can come from either internal or external sources. The following are threat agents: malicious insiders, trusted attackers, anonymous attackers, and malicious service agents. A list of the most common security threats to cloud-based environments and the ways to mitigate them is provided below.
- Traffic listening. When data is transferred between clients and cloud services, this is a passive attack that can occur. This includes things like packet sniffing, which looks at data in transmission packets, and Man-In-The-Middle (MITM) attacks, which let an attacker get into transmission packets and change messages before sending them to their intended destination. ARP spoofing is a common method used in MITM attacks. For instance, fool user 1's computer into thinking it is communicating with user 2's computer. When at all possible, virtual private networks (VPNs) should be used for machine-to-machine communications in order to avert attacks of this kind. Using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocols for communications is an additional mitigation strategy. For instance, web traffic that uses HTTPS rather than HTTP.
- Service Denial. When an attacker uses one or more computers to send a flood of message traffic to a system in an effort to use up its resources and cause a denial of service (DDoS) or distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, these attacks occur. Common strategies to mitigate DoS and DDoS attacks typically only apply after the attack has begun and caused issues, making it difficult to defend against them. Using a variety of reverse proxy mechanisms and specialized network firewalls that are made to track and identify DoS attacks are the best ways to defend against these kinds of attacks. Reverse proxies either allow or reject incoming packets based on the legitimacy of the traffic.
- Lack of authorization. When an attacker is granted access or unauthorized levels of access by mistake, this attack takes place. This can happen as a result of weak authentication flaws caused by shared accounts or weak passwords. Both logical and physical security controls provide the best defense against this threat. Administrative policies like password policies, firewall usage and maintenance, and system auditing are all examples of logical controls. System equipment can be kept in locked areas with controlled access as part of physical controls.
- Attacks on Virtualization. Virtualized resources may also be used to attack underlying IT resources because cloud service providers frequently grant customers administrative rights to those resources. Hyperjacking is the common name for this attack, which focuses on the software layer of the virtualization hypervisor and aims to steal control of the hypervisor and gain access to the underlying hardware. The best ways to stop hyperjacking attacks are to use separate management networks and separate Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) connections for each service. As an illustration, keep web-facing traffic distinct from internal traffic and network management interfaces distinct from all other services.
- Boundaries of trust that overlap. Cloud services frequently share resources with many different customers, necessitating careful boundary-setting. The underlying infrastructure can be used by attackers to gain access to the resources of other customers, or shared resources can be targeted with the intention of compromising other customers. Guest-hopping can also be part of this attack. This is an attack in which an attacker may gain access to one operating system (OS) and attempt to compromise another OS within the same cloud system using that OS's access. The best way to mitigate this threat is to create secondary private VLANs for each entity, which isolate traffic.
- Employees who do wrong. Software developers often have a lot of access to systems, which can be used in bad ways by unhappy or fired employees. With local employees, moving services to the cloud reduces this risk, but cloud service employees still need to be thoroughly screened. Using access controls, policies and enforcement, and layered security can reduce malicious insider threats. Examples; Employees and third parties should only be able to access specific systems and information when access controls are in place. a policy that would explain that, depending on how the information was misused, employees and contractors who fail to comply could have their employment or contractual relationship terminated and face lawsuits. Layered security is created when these methods are combined.
- Injection of SQL. Database servers and databases are the targets of this kind of attack, which aims to compromise them or take control of them .It typically makes use of form-type data sent from a client to an application database server by a web browser. In order to take control of the server or force the server to reveal database data, the attacker inserts their own SQL commands into the data that is being sent to it. Controls to reduce the risk of SQL injection include: utilize stored procedures, parameterized queries, code that obfuscates all user-provided input, the principle of least privilege for user access, and white lists to validate user input.
- APIs and interfaces that are compromised. Because they are typically accessible from the free Internet, APIs and interfaces typically constitute the component of a system that is the most exposed. The best way to deal with this threat is to use separate VLANs for API and management traffic.
- Loss of data. Most cloud providers offer extensive data replication and multiple layers of redundancy. Data loss as a result of provider error or system issues can still occur, though it is extremely uncommon. As an additional measure of protection against this threat, cloud service providers advise distributing applications and data across multiple zones.
- Service agreements with no defined terms. Many commercial, financial, technical, legal, and compliance risks arise when businesses fail to fully comprehend cloud provider contracts and environments. According to the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the primary risk mitigation strategy for an organization's subscription to a cloud service is extensive due diligence to comprehend the risks they assume.
Conclusions
Services that are hosted in the cloud face many of the same threats as on-premise services. Utilizing tried-and-true mitigation strategies is the best way to defend against these threats. However, it is essential to acknowledge that virtualization attacks and other additional threats pose additional security risks in cloud-based environments, necessitating additional assessments and controls. Cloud-based services should be just as safe to use as on-site services if the specific and common security risks are properly mitigated.
