Cloud misconfiguration risks are a real and growing concern for organizations of all sizes. A recent study found that 93% of public cloud users have experienced a cloud security incident in the past year, and 43% say they don’t know how to fix cloud misconfiguration issues.
The following article provides an overview of cloud misconfiguration risks to help you understand why organizations face this threat vector. You can learn how automated configuration management solutions like Cloud Security Posture Management
can help mitigate the risk.
What are Cloud Misconfiguration Risks?
A significant cause of cloud security incidents is the improper configuration of both systems and infrastructure in the cloud. These misconfigurations can open up avenues for attack, allow unauthorized access to data and systems, and cause other security issues.
Cloud misconfiguration risks include:
Lack of Visibility and Control in Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Systems
COTS is a term used to refer to the cloud or other software that has been pre-built by another organization for use by anyone.
An example would be Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure, or IBM Cloud. These are cloud environments that the vendor has preconfigured for general use.
Using this type of system requires a significant amount of expertise to configure correctly because it’s not built specifically to meet your needs—and even experienced engineers lack comprehensive knowledge about these systems. It can lead to vulnerabilities caused by misconfigurations.
Automation can help overcome this by providing a repeatable process that consistently sets up the environment the way you need it while also providing visibility into what’s been changed.
Incorrectly Configured Security Controls
Security controls are an important part of protecting your cloud infrastructure. However, they can also be difficult and time-consuming to set up and manage.
Automation can help to ensure that your security controls are correctly configured and consistently enforced.
Lack of Governance over User Activity
Many cloud applications allow users to access data in ways not possible in traditional on-premises systems.
It can lead to un-tracked or audited user activity, putting your organization at increased risk. Automation can help you track and monitor user activity to give you a complete view of what’s happening in your environment.
Unsupported Infrastructure
Managing infrastructure that cloud vendors no longer support can occur due to manual configuration or improper setup automation. It can open up even more security vulnerabilities.
These risks are growing due to several factors. For one, cloud adoption is on the rise across all industry sectors, but many organizations lack the expertise and scale to effectively manage infrastructure in the cloud.
What’s more, without proper tools or training, it can be difficult for organizations to monitor and manage cloud environments across multiple providers.
The combination of a growing number of use cases, a lack of relevant expertise, and the difficulty in monitoring all systems from a single dashboard is what makes cloud misconfiguration such an attractive vector for attackers.
How Can CSPM Mitigate These Risks?
According to a news report, the global cloud computing in industrial IOT market size is estimated to reach $8,159 million by 2026.
CSPM can help mitigate cloud misconfiguration risks by providing the following solutions.
Continuous Configuration
CSPM’s continuous configuration feature provides visibility and control of all cloud-based systems by scanning continuously for misconfigurations.
Centralized Control
The solution offers a single pane of glass to monitor and manage all cloud infrastructure configuration status from one dashboard, gaining insight into changes made across different infrastructures.
Rapid Remediation
Cloud Security Posture Management can recommend a solution to fix the misconfiguration vulnerability it discovered, helping ensure that any change made is consistent with organizational security policies.
Configuration Auditing
CSPM audits and controls access to the configuration of all cloud components and provides a consolidated view of your entire cloud infrastructure.
Role-Based Policy Management
You can create policies governing specific users or user groups across different systems and tools. It reduces your attack surface by locking down what sen
Monitoring and Alerting
CSPM can automatically monitor your cloud infrastructure for configuration changes, detect deviations from previously approved policies, and notify you of issues in real-time.
Focused Security
CSPM is designed to give you complete visibility into the configuration status of your cloud infrastructure without requiring access to each system.
CSPM provides all these capabilities in a single platform, giving you the visibility and control you need to effectively manage your cloud environment and mitigate cloud misconfiguration risks.
As the recent study found, many organizations lack the expertise and scale to effectively manage infrastructure in the cloud.
Automation involves using scripts or tools that help manage cloud infrastructure and automate tasks such as deploying applications, setting up security controls, and managing resources.
Automation can help to ensure that the cloud vendor appropriately supports your infrastructure.
