For a system that has been in use for two decades, the use of cloud computing is frequent.

Most corporations are subscribing to this pervasive system of data storage. Such adoption which has increased has brought about an increase in the need for cloud security and the attendant challenges.

Several consumers find cloud security to be more than a handful, at least so says a 2018 Statista Survey on Cloud Security Challenges which showed that 48% of the corporations interviewed found cloud security a challenge.

In the same vein, it is an incontrovertible fact that cloud service vendors bear the brunt of the responsibility for cloud security, although experts believe that in the near future, a major percentage of cloud security failures will end with the customer/consumer taking the blame.

With that said, here are the 5 common issues plaguing cloud security providers.

1. Malware injections 

In situations where there is a high volume of data stored in the cloud of which an Internet connection is a prerequisite for storage, the cloud system is at a vulnerable position, malware injection can erode or weaken cloud security. Most of these are valid SaaS(Software-as-a-Service) programs existing in the cloud. They can contaminate data and disrupt the program to devastating effect.

2. Issue of Visibility

A case of lack of visibility in either public or hybrid cloud environments can bring with it a loss of control, ultimately leading to a failure to pinpoint and tackle potential risks.

This can be a huge problem as it can cause a fall in cloud adoption rates in sectors where cloud security is a necessity.

3. Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)

A DDoS offensive, if launched, may cripple cloud security by inundating the network with traffic, thereby knocking it offline, crashing the servers and ending the web-based application where applicable.

In situations where these occur, the inability of consumers to gain access to applications may bring about unwanted panic, which may be bad for business if you’re looking at it from the angle of the cloud service provider.

Normally, situations like these end up in a cancellation of the service contract by the consumer/client, which obviously will not go down well with the cloud service provider.

4. Account or Service Traffic Hijacking

This breach of cloud security affords the invader access to secure data through the instrumentality of already obtained passwords and necessary access keys. A devastating consequence would be the fact that data integrity may be compromised without alerting the cloud detection system.

5. Insecure Interfaces/APIs

In order to effectively manage the cloud service, the customer is provided with a variety of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) by the cloud service vendors.

Ordinarily, not all APIs are secure. In situations where the consumer/customer adds an extra layer of application atop the APIs in a case of a VPN suitable for torrenting, the vulnerabilities and the frailties of the APIs are doubled and compounded. Such will take place in the application belonging to the customer, as not every API is deemed secure.

As such, there could arise an exposure of private and/or confidential data which most likely will not augur well for both the customer/consumer and the cloud service provider/vendor.

Surveys have posited that around 75% of IT managers who are consumers are only marginally confident that their data is stored securely by their cloud vendor/provider. Cloud security thus has a role to play in bridging the gulf in trust between both parties.

In cases where a third party intercepts a relay of data between a source and a destination, such data, whether public or private, run the risk of being altered or compromised.

Cloud service providers/vendors need to step up and pay close attention to its data security footprint and put up procedures to deal with any frailties if and when unearthed.

Cloud security failures have been on a steady increase as 19 billion records containing personal and other sensitive data have been compromised between 2017 and 2018, according to a Techbeacon report.

These data breaches occur due to application vulnerabilities, poor security standards, errors or targeted attacks. Misconfigurations are also another source of data loss as a consumer may configure his APIs negligently.

As such, API connections as a matter of procedure and urgency, must be handled very carefully during its incipient stages and during cloud adoption as well, taking into full consideration the architectural blueprint which must contain Identity and Access Management (IAM), Workload Protection, Virtualization, Network Security and Encryption.

It also merits positing that the categories of risk against cloud security are way too numerous to mention, however, they can be subsumed into these five main problems.

Negligence /Security Lapses by Personnel as aforementioned is not within the ambit of these five risks as their existence can be engineered albeit inadvertently by the very individuals who seek to protect the cloud computing system.

In summary

Cloud service providers need to come to the realization that network security is most paramount, as the network is deemed a wide gateway through which threats can make an entrance.

Data Integrity cannot be negotiable as more sturdy encryption should be put in place by the cloud service provider in order to ensure adequate protection of data traveling to and fro, all over the length and breadth of the internet.