Table of contents
1.
Introduction
2.
Cloud Security
2.1.
Need Of Cloud Security 
2.2.
Considerations 
3.
Threats to Cloud Security
3.1.
More threats to Cloud Security
4.
Different ways of Securing Cloud
5.
FAQs
6.
Key Takeaways
Last Updated: Mar 27, 2024
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Introduction to Cloud Security

Author Aditya Singh
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Introduction

The meaning of "SECURITY" is the state of being safe. Security refers to the form of protection given from the outside threats and from inside too. In IT, cloud security relates to the processes, gadgets, and personnel used to protect the company from inside and outside threats. Nowadays, cloud security is used in many areas. The fundamentals of cloud computing we can observe in our nearby areas as it is used in many IoT devices. And in many areas, it is helping in faster data access using the cloud.

The fundamentals of cloud security protect the data centers in the neighborhood areas where these IoT devices are stored. So hackers will not be able to access the records. 

Source: Hexaware

Cloud Security

Cloud Security is sometimes also known as "Cloud Computing Security." Cloud security involves the processes, technologies, security devices, etc., to protect the client's data and warehouses, networks, and environments from malicious activities. These things are sent to protect cloud services across the world or your cloud data. It simply means covering the virtual servers and the cloud data from any threats.

It's a strange way. The security duty gets shared between the providers, consumers, and the servers and applications that start this. In some ways, it is the duty of service providers as they are responsible for the infrastructure of the cloud services. In other ways, it is the duty of the customers or the arrangement of servers and software used. Different cloud providers are Amazon Web Services(AWS), Google Cloud, IBM Cloud Services, Microsoft Azure. It includes topics related to data security and the confidentiality of data. 

Now we will see the benefits/needs of cloud computing. We will also see the cloud security consideration and the threats of cloud fundamentals. What is the meaning of Threats to cloud services/fundamentals, and how to protect them?

Need Of Cloud Security 

The meaning of Cloud Computing Security is the same as any other regular IT area company security. Instead, it leads to some new tasks and methods. As more work increases, data moves to the Cloud from the traditional computing environments, becoming more necessary to secure your data. It is censorious as cyber attackers are making strategies to mark the Cloud especially. There is confusion, a lack of knowledge and training when protecting the area of cloud fundamentals.

Earlier, many hackers had successfully marked the cloud services. In 2012, Dropbox, one cloud storage provider, compromised with the attackers and collected unauthorized access to their data. Unfortunately, both the company and the customers didn't know about it. After four years, when the company noticed, it changed the massive resets to users' accounts. Many people were astonished that the company exposed their data for nearly five years. These harms started increasing day by day; hence, paying close attention to cloud services is vital.

Considerations 

Some of the enormous security challenges for the customers are as follows:

  • Cloud Computing is more under attack than Data Centre:- Many people believe that cloud storages are more secure as people think the provider is watching their data. But actually, the provider's duty ends at the virtual server's system. Inappropriate firewalls and databases badly used patches and exploit data and software that are still at risk for customer address.
  • Sharing data resources also increases the risk:-  In the data warehouses, it is simple to divide the network to improve security. Sharing is very complicated in a cloud system with the infrastructure of both public and private and data fundamentals stored in the standard area/environment. Protecting some servers from using one piece of data, whereas allowing other servers to complete can be difficult.
  • It creates a disorganized security area:- Cloud computing is dynamic, which means its servers are sometimes down at the moment but can often work for a long time without hiding. This type of inconsistency should not be present in the security environment. It should be designed to protect all the data before uploading it on the internet.

Threats to Cloud Security

Cloud Security is more difficult to secure than on-premises networks and servers. Some of the difficulties which make it more challenging to ensure are:-

  • Different cloud providers use other security options.
  • Cloud befog the position of the data and services.
  • The cloud security and features are usually unpredictable.
  • Cloud operations that are shared increase the risk of latency and data stolen from cloud storage.
  • Cloud providers limit their loss for the harms done due to attacks, particularly if the user has misconfigured the system. 

More threats to Cloud Security

There are some more threats to cloud-computing operations. Given below are the fundamentals which show the dangers in the area of cloud security:

Source: Symassets.com

  1. Data Breaches: Data breaches refer to the loss of data. It can be financial or customer-related. The breach is an issue that can be augmented by expanding cloud environments. Violations did due to providers' failure to protect the network, or it is due to customer failure to patch its system and software correctly.
  2. Misconfigured Cloud Storage: There is the risk of customizing cloud security storage, which is highly complex. It generally happens when a company tries to expand, or there is a new provider. 
  3. Insufficient Access Management: Access to the resources of the Cloud is more complex than any internal network. It will create many more opportunities for the misconfiguration of cloud storage.
  4. Hijacking: The meaning of hijacking refers to data stolen from a phishing attack of usernames and passwords of cloud software.
  5. Data Loss: An event in which the data is deleted or corrupted by the user or through the software applications is known as Data Loss. It is also known as Data Leakage. The user or owner cannot use this data.
  6. DoS Attacks: DoS refers to the “Denial of Service.” It represents the closing of the network or machine, causing it not to be accessed by the users. 
  7. Shared Technology Weakness: Shared Technology Weakness means that data is accessed by unauthorized users or management when the same technology is used for storage and internet protocol vulnerabilities.
  8. Lack of Research: It occurs when less research is done before using any technology. And when it is applied, hackers and other enemies use it to their advantage.
  9. Insider Threats: Security risks that originate from inside an organization and harm the system are known as Insider Threats.

Different ways of Securing Cloud

Fundamentals of securing the cloud are given below, and these fundamentals steps are some of the best efforts to ensure the Cloud. It's a way of enhancing and building a security framework:

Source: PublicTech

  • Evaluate your risk: Documenting the cloud applications used by your company, its data items, and IP is stored in the cloud. Use data encryption for all customers, and sensitive data is stored in the cloud.
  • Evaluate controls to different cloud resources: Check who has access to data and its services—looking for a cloud access security broker and solid identity and access management solution of cloud data protection.
  • Read and understand the Shared Model of Cloud resources: Carefully read the terms and conditions to understand the security policy. Confusing questions should be clear and prepared for a straightforward interpretation of responsibility.
  • Continuously change the technology with the new one: Firstly become sure of the new cloud service offerings on your company and then disseminate that information to the workers. People may also need training for it.
  • Apply the cloud-based security check: Checking the security operations from the dashboard, if it is invaluable in management simplification of complex security.
  • Ensure that the providers follow up on the security protocols: Follow the security protocols sincerely. If a third party uses the cloud-based application, they need to be trained first and told about the security policies.

Check out this article - Components Of IOT

FAQs

  1. What is Cloud Computing?
    Cloud Computing is the way of providing computing services like servers, storage, networking, software, design of analytics through the internet to offer faster modernization, flexible resources, and economies of scale.
  2. Name the different server computers of cloud computing?
    The essential server components of cloud computing are Video, Network, hard drives, power supply, etc.
  3. Name the different security aspects of cloud computing?
    These are of two types:-
    Control of Access
    Authentication and Authorization
  4. What are the different layers of cloud computing?
    There are three layers:-
    1- SaaS
    2-PaaS
    3-IaaS
  5. What is cloud migration?
    The meaning of Cloud Migration is how the company moves all of its data to a cloud service platform to run its system on a cloud-based infrastructure.

Key Takeaways

In this article, we discussed the meaning of Cloud Security. Things to be considered in cloud security. The different types of threats to cloud security and to secure it.

We hope that this blog has helped you enhance your knowledge regarding Cloud Security. To improve your understanding, please check out these articles: Introduction to Cloud ComputingIaaS vs SaaS vs PaaS.

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