Top 10 Cloud Vulnerabilities to Watch Out for in 2022

Are you wondering why you should watch out for the Top 10 cloud vulnerabilities when we already keep track of OWASP Top 10 web application vulnerabilities? Well… both sets of vulnerabilities are different and lead to equally damaging consequences if left unsecured. 

Further, data suggest that over the past 18 months, 79% of organizations experienced at least 1 cloud data breach, and 43% faced over 10 cloud data breaches! These numbers are alarming.

The haphazard shift from on-premises environments to cloud environments is the top reason for the growing number of sophisticated cloud computing threats and vulnerabilities causing widespread damage. 

In this article we will discuss the top 10 cloud vulnerabilities you must watch out for in 2022. 

Top 10 Cloud Vulnerabilities to Watch Out in 2022

1. Inadequate Identity and Access management 

One of the top cloud security vulnerabilities in 2022 is poor identity and access management. This typically results from: 

• Use of weak/ default passwords
• Lack of multi-factor authentication 
• Improper access controls 
• Lack of user segmentation 
• Unchecked user privileges, etc. 

By exploiting this vulnerability, attackers gain unauthorized access to privileged accounts, user accounts, login credentials, permissions, sensitive information, trade secrets, financial resources, etc.

They could further create backdoors and continue exploiting them persistently, modify/delete/add records, spread malware, or commit identity and financial frauds. 

2. Lack of Accountability 

With traditional data centers and on-premise infrastructure, organizations had complete control over security. However, when they move to the cloud, they lose control over security.

There is a lack of accountability on the security front with questions of who handles security at the different layers. And this weakens overall cloud security and makes organizations vulnerable to top cloud threats such as data breaches, account hijacking, insider attacks, etc. 

3. Insecure APIs

APIs are widely leveraged to streamline cloud computing and enable easier information sharing and communication between applications.

However, insecure APIs are big sources of cloud vulnerabilities that enable attackers to orchestrate sophisticated DDoS attacks, access attacks, data breaches, etc. 

The main reasons for such vulnerabilities include improper authorization and authentication of APIs, no or insecure encryption, improper/ inconsistent logging and monitoring, lack of security reviews, lack of visibility, etc. 

4. Lack of Visibility 

Another Top 10 cloud vulnerability to watch for in 2022 is the lack of visibility into the IT infrastructure.

When organizations don’t know which systems and networks are connecting to your services or modifying them, they will not be able to proactively identify, report, and stop the exploitation of vulnerabilities and misconfigurations.

5. External Sharing and Secondary Usage of Data 

When they move to the cloud, organizations lose partial or complete control over their data. Their business and customer data, including personal information, will be stored in the cloud data centers; third-party cloud service providers may have access to this information. 

And the cloud service providers could be using their data, with or without their knowledge and permission. This predisposes the organization to a high risk of data loss, tampering, and breaches, unless it has strong data governance and privacy policies. 

6. Insecure Data Transmission 

Another cloud vulnerability that puts the organization’s data at high risk is insecure data transmission. This happens when data in the transmission is not encrypted or is protected with weak encryption protocols, hashing protocols, older encryption protocols, etc.

By exploiting this vulnerability, attackers can intercept or eavesdrop on corporate communications, orchestrate impersonations, phishing and man-in-the-middle attacks, and compromise/ tamper with data in transmission between the cloud data center and the end-user.  

7. System Vulnerabilities 

This is one of the most common among the top 10 cloud vulnerabilities in 2022. System misconfigurations come in different forms. Here are some examples: 

• Integration of insecure third-party services/ software/ application 
• Poorly configured tools
• Lack of user input validation 
• Improper error handling
• Insufficient logging and monitoring, etc. 

These system vulnerabilities significantly erode the organization’s security posture. 

8. Misconfigurations 

When organizations onboard cloud services, they are responsible for correctly configuring the settings, workflows, options, and so on, even when cloud vendors offer different configuration options and parameters.

Errors and oversights in the configuration of cloud services leave data at a high risk of exposure. 

Some of the common misconfigurations are: 

• Leaving unnecessary ports open
• Unnecessary services or features left on
• Retaining default usernames, passwords, settings, etc. 

9. Failure of Separation Among Multiple Tenants

In the cloud environment, multiple users reside within the same space. When the service providers do not provide proper separation among the multiple tenants, there is a high chance that others can access/view/modify the organization’s data or other resources. Or, if one of the tenants is faced with an attack, the other tenants may be affected. 

10. Non-Production Environment Exposure 

Non-production environments are leveraged for internal testing purposes. However, leaving non-production environments unprotected or using real/ sensitive data in these environments leaves the organization vulnerable to data breaches and attacks.

Conclusion 

Proactively detecting and securing these Top 10 cloud vulnerabilities will help avert damaging consequences while hardening the security posture.  

By offering access to cloud security experts like Indusface, you can ensure proactive protection against emerging cloud threats and attacks.