Securing the most vulnerable targets in cybersecurity - Cloud, Mobile & IoT

With more and more escalating hacks, lapses and vulnerabilities worldwide, people are waking up to the importance of cybersecurity, on their smartphones, mobile devices, cloud storage, personal computers, and more. 

Cloud is the weakest link

The cloud has become the cornerstone of many businesses' IT infrastructure. However, like any technology, the cloud can be abused. The main security challenges include:

• External Exposure - Cloud services are typically accessed from any location and any device with an internet connection. While ease of access can boost company agility, services running in the cloud versus those on premise are more likely to be breached. 
• Only Default Security - Typically, cloud services have only basic security. This vulnerability can open the door to any number of malware attacks.

Cloud services are vulnerable across three main attack vectors:

1. Account Hijacks - Gaining unauthorized access to an individual or organization's email or computer account for malicious purposes. 
2. Malware Delivery - Propagation, especially through in-app file sharing services, such as Box or One Drive cloud apps, in order to commit a variety of cyber crimes. 
3. Data Leaks - Whether intentionally or unintentionally, data leakage occurs with the seamlessness of sharing information with cloud services.

The rate of cyber attacks against cloud-based targets is growing fast and not slowing down. Many IT professionals still believe security is the responsibility of the cloud service provider. This negates recommendations that cloud security follow the Mutual Responsibility model shared by the cloud provider and the customer.

New Threats Transition to the Cloud

Several cloud-based attacks, mainly those involving data exfiltration and information disclosure, derived from poor security practices such as leaving credentials on public source code repositories or using weak passwords.

Another rising threat taking the cloud environment by storm are cryptominers, targeting the cloud infrastructure in order to exploit the vast computational power it presents and generate huge profits for criminals. Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that are used to manage, interact and extract information from services have also been a target for threat actors. 

Required Prevention Solutions

Deploy an in-depth security solution to prevent such phishing attacks. A trusted prevention solution can scan the content of emails (including internal emails), evaluate the trustworthiness of the sender, and maintain specially researched keywords and a list of other such variables.

A solution that performs internal scans must also work in harmony with the existing security of the cloud provider and perform security checks from within the email cloud service. And ensure your IT environment is clean. To prevent account takeovers, any device granted access to the SaaS platform must be clean and compliant with the security policy of the company.

Mobile weak spot

The proliferation of personal smartphones and tablets in the workplace exposes your company to increased risks. There are risks other than breaches of personally identifiable information that organizations need to consider, such as the cost of breaches and responding to incidents, the potential damage to brand reputation, and a loss of competitive advantage if valuable trade secrets or intellectual property become public knowledge.Let us take a closer look at the four major threats to mobile security in today's corporate environment.

1. Trojans and Malware - Social engineering scams remain astonishingly effective. In fact, trickery is just as troubling on the mobile front as it is on desktops. Many mobile users are unaware of the dangers and they are far too trusting when clicking on links they receive via SMS or social media apps such as WhatsApp. This can often lead to the device getting infected by malware or trojans.
2. Fake Apps - Malicious apps can take control of mobile devices and although the app may not appear to be malicious, users may not notice or understand the permissions they grant during installation. What's more, even popular apps can be reverse-engineered and injected with malicious code, and then uploaded to an app store under a different name. Criminals can also create seemingly authentic copies of apps that include similar icons, descriptions, screenshots, and even user reviews, but hiding a malicious payload. 
3. Man-in-the-Middle Attacks - Man-in-the-Middle attacks can eavesdrop, intercept and alter traffic between two devices. You believe you're interacting with a known and trusted entity, but in fact an attacker is copying credentials, snooping on instant messages, or stealing sensitive information. Public Wi-Fi hotspots, which are convenient for internet access, are easy to fake. An attacker can create a spoofed Wi-Fi network, or eavesdrop and alter a legitimate network's encrypted communications by using spoofed certificates or downgrading the communication link so that it is no longer encrypted. The attacker can then intercept communications, alter data in transit or install a Trojan.
4. System Vulnerabilities - Each version of an operating system for a mobile device offers vulnerabilities that cyber criminals can use to launch attacks. Android is particularly vulnerable. The thousands of different types of Android smartphones and tablets are not updated consistently and at the same time. Most devices are still using older Android versions in which vulnerabilities have not been patched. Apple's iOS, on the other hand, is less vulnerable because Apple makes only a handful of different devices and consistently prompts users to update them. However, the number of attacks carried out on Apple's iOS is increasing as well.

IoT'S Weak Spot

IoT devices make our lives easier. Smart home technology, for example, can help users improve energy efficiency by enabling them to turn on (and off) lights and appliances with the tap of a touchscreen. Some connected devices, such as smart medical equipment and alarm systems, can even help save lives.

Networked medical devices give healthcare professionals the ability to be more accurate with their treatment regimens, more efficient in administering care, and quicker collecting and responding to biomedical information.

There are also serious security risks associated with IoT technology. As the IoT ecosystem expands, so does the attack surface for cyber criminals. This presents a daunting challenge for cybersecurity professionals. 

The Security Issues

While the concerns regarding medical IoT devices may be more particular, the major malfunction with IoT device security as a whole lies in the fact that they are usually poorly coded. This is mainly due to the device manufacturers' pursuit of profitability over user security. 

IoT devices themselves can be exploited to give threat actors unauthorized entry, including the data IoT devices delegate to the cloud. 

Another hurdle IT professionals face with regard to network compliance is the sheer lack of regulation surrounding the entire IoT ecosystem. 

Next steps

The cloud environment has changed the way companies manage, store and share their data, applications, and workloads. Along with a wide range of benefits, though, the cloud infrastructure also introduces a new, fertile and attractive environment for attackers who crave the enormous amount of available computing resources and sensitive data it holds. While we consider the cloud to be an organization's weakest link, threats posed to them via their employee's mobile and IoT devices are also to be taken seriously as one of many attack vectors from which sensitive data can be stolen or leveraged to launch an attack.