Cyber attacks on Cloud Computing are constantly being developed and attempted against cloud users.
But even though Cloud Computing has been around for years, there are still many ways that people might be able to hack into this type of system. With all these potential worries, it would be wise if you took the time to learn about the different types of attacks on Cloud Computing, then take precautionary measures accordingly.
Some of the most common ones can be avoided by being aware of them. Keep in mind that hackers are always looking for ways around security systems, so this is not an exhaustive list.
1. Fake Computer Encoding
One common attack on cloud computing is fake computer encoding. This type of attack involves hackers pretending to be the victim and issuing a request for information or data. In order to fool the server, the hacker will often use a counterfeit computer encoding scheme or a confusingly formatted digital document.
By ensuring that all requests for data are properly encoded, you can help protect yourself from this type of attack. You can also monitor your network for signs that someone is trying to encode data in an unauthorized way. If you suspect an attack, take steps to report it to your security provider and/or the authorities.
2. Denial Of Service Attacks
Denial of service (DoS) attacks are one of the most common types of attack on cloud computing. DoS attacks involve sending so many requests to a website or server that it becomes overloaded and can no longer provide the desired service to its users.
Cloud providers are often the target of DoS attacks because they have large online resources and are easy to attack. Cloud providers may be targeted with DoS attacks in order to prevent users from accessing their services, or to Slow down or stop services altogether.
3. Business Email Compromises
Business email compromises are on the rise. Phishing attacks and malware infection are two of the most common ways criminals gain access to confidential information. In a business email compromise, criminals may exploit an unsecured email account to extract or steal sensitive information.
To protect yourself from business email compromises, always use a strong password, never reuse passwords across different websites and services, and keep your computer and browser up-to-date. Additionally, be aware of the following risks:
Email spoofing: Criminals can alter the look and feel of an email in order to make it seem more like an official message from a trusted source. Be cautious about accepting unsolicited emails, even if they come from well-known companies.
Phishing: Criminals use fake mails to try and trick you into revealing your login information or other personal information. Be especially careful about email requests that seem too good to be true.
Computer Malware: Malicious software can infect your computer through infected emails or website links. Once installed, this type of software can steal your personal information, damage your files, or spy on your activities. Make sure to investigate any suspicious emails or web links before opening them.
4. Social Engineering Attack
One of the most common types of attacks on cloud computing is a social engineering attack. This is when attackers use techniques to gain access to systems or data without having to show evidence of legitimate identity.
For example, an attacker might use a phone number that is associated with a legitimate account in order to trick someone into divulging account information, passwords, or other sensitive information. There are many ways to carry out social engineering attacks, and they can be very successful if the attacker knows enough about the victim and the target system.
This types of attacks on Cloud computing makes it easy for attackers to obtain sensitive information by accessing files or emails stored on a server. If you are working with sensitive information, it is important to safeguard it against unauthorized access.
You can do this by using strong passwords, encrypting files and folders, and installing anti-virus software, firewall on your computer. Check my article on 15 Free And Easy Things You Can Do To Make Your Computer Secure
5. Malware Using Encryption Keys To Steal Data
One of the most common ways that hackers attack on cloud computing is by stealing data. They do this by using malware that infects a user’s computer and then uses that user’s encryption key to decrypt the data. This allows the hacker to steal the data without anyone being able to see it.
Users can protect themselves from this type of attack by using strong passwords and not saving any important information on their computer. They should also keep an eye out for suspicious emails and files, and if they think that something is not right, they should contact someone else for help.
6. Spear Phishing/Pharming/Hacking
Also one of the most common attacks on cloud computing is spear phishing. This is when a hacker sends a fake email to someone with malicious intent.
To protect yourself from spear phishing, you need to be aware of the types of messages you might receive. You should never trust any unsolicited email that asks for personal information, such as your login credentials or credit card numbers.
You can also protect yourself from phishing by using two-factor authentication (2FA). This means that you need to enter your password plus another code, such as a PIN number, to log in to your account. 2FA makes it more difficult for attackers to take advantage of your account.
Another common attacks on cloud computing is hacking. Attackers can leak sensitive data, attack your computer system, or steal your passwords. To prevent this type of attack, you need to keep your software up-to-date and use strong passwords. You also need to security embed your company data in the cloud so that it cannot be accessed by anyone who does not have authorization from you.
By taking these steps, you can protect yourself against the most common attacks on cloud computing.
7. Infrastructure Attacks
One of the main ways that attackers can access and attack your data is through infrastructure attacks. This type of attack involves attacking the systems that are used to support the cloud computing infrastructure.
An infrastructure attack can take many forms, including but not limited to:
- Penetrative attacks: These attacks try to gain unauthorized access to systems or data by exploiting weaknesses in the systems themselves.
- Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks: These attacks flood a system with requests so that it can’t handle legitimate requests, resulting in a degradation of performance for everyone using that system.
- Malware attacks: These attacks try to infect systems with malicious software or viruses in order to hijack or steal data.
There are a number of things you can do to protect yourself from these types of attacks:
- Have a strong security strategy in place: Make sure you have a good security policy in place and put in place measures to protect your systems from vulnerabilities.
- Keep up to date with industry best practices: Keep up to date with industry best practices so you’re aware of any new security threats.
- Use certified and validated technology: use technology that has been certified and validated as being safe and effective
8. Attacking Components With Remote Access And Cross Site Scripting Attacks
Attackers can use remote access and cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks to access your data and steal your passwords. They can also gain access to your system and carry out other malicious actions.
To protect yourself from these types of attacks, you need to be aware of the risks and take steps to protect yourself. You should always use strong passwords and update them regularly. You should also keep an eye on your systems for signs of attack, and take prompt action if you see them.
9. Cloud malware injection attacks
Another common type of attacks on cloud computing is malware injection attacks. In this type of attack, malicious code is injected into a website or application running in a cloud environment. This code then accesses sensitive information or commands the computer used to run the cloud application.
This kind of attack is very difficult to prevent and can result in serious damage to your computer and data.
To protect yourself from malware injection attacks, you should always use a safe online security tool and avoid clicking on links in email messages. You can also install antivirus software on your computer and keep it up-to-date. You can also protect your computer by setting a password and restricting access to devices unknown websites that you do not trust.
10. Cloud Services Abuse
There are several ways that someone can abuse a cloud service. For example, Hackers can use cloud services to apply malicious DDoS and brute force attacks at others. For example, security experts Bryan and Anderson used Amazon’s EC2 cloud infrastructure to perform a DDoS attack that made their client temporarily unavailable for $6 in 2010
As a result, they managed to make their client unavailable on the internet by spending only $6 to rent virtual services.
Thomas Roth demonstrated a brute force attack at the 2011 Black Hat Technical Security Conference. He used servers from cloud providers to send thousands of possible passwords to a target user’s account.
11. Side Channel Attacks
Side channel attacks involve exploiting unknown information that can be gathered about a system through indirect means. This information can then be used to attack the system or access sensitive data.
There are several ways to exploit a side channel. One way is to use a physical medium, such as a keyboard or a USB stick, to track the activities of the user. By monitoring these activities, an attacker can potentially learn confidential information or unauthorized actions that were taken on the system.
Another way to exploit a side channel is to monitor the behavior of the system using continuous monitoring tools. These tools allow attackers to collect detailed information about how the system is being used. This information can then be used to attack the system or access sensitive data.
To protect yourself from side channel attacks, you need to take measures that prevent unauthorized access to your computer. You can do this by installing a security suite and encrypting your data. You should also avoid using shared computers and refrain from downloading software from untrusted sources.
12. Wrapping Attacks
One way attackers can get access to your data is by wrapping an attack around a legitimate request from your application. For example,
- Malicious Request
Malicious actor could send you a request for your account name and password in order to sign into your account. Rather than sending you the requested information directly, the attacker would wrap the request in a layer of security that looks authentic. - Cross-site scripting attacks
A third common way attackers can exploit vulnerabilities in cloud applications is by injecting SQL (Structured Query Language) into user input sent to the database. This type of attack allows an attacker to access and modify information in the database without being detected. - SQL injection attacks
A third common way attackers can exploit vulnerabilities in cloud applications is by injecting SQL (Structured Query Language) into user input sent to the database. This type of attack allows an attacker to access and modify information in the database without being detected.
For example, a vulnerability was found in the SOAP interface of Amazon Elastic Cloud Computing (EC2) in 2009. This weakness allowed attackers to modify an eavesdropped message as a result of a successful signature wrapping attack.
To protect yourself from these types of attacks, make sure that all input sent to the database is properly sanitized before being sent to the server. Also, use pluggable security layers that attempt to prevent SQL injection attacks.
13. Man-in-the-cloud attacks
In this type of attacks on cloud computing , someone penetrates the network of a company or organization and accesses their data and assets. This can be done by cyber criminals who want to steal data or spy on the organization, or by government agencies who want to monitoring the organization’s activities.
When hackers exploit vulnerabilities in security systems, the original tokens can be replaced with new ones. This means that users will never know that their account has been compromised and hackers can re-use old passwords at a later date.
14. Insider attacks
Insider attacks are a serious threat to the security of cloud computing systems.
An insider attack occurs when someone within your company, or even outside of it, accesses your cloud computing system in order to damage or steal data. Insider attacks can be prevented by following several guidelines, including installing and using proper security software and monitoring your system regularly for unauthorized access.
Developers should consider the level of access for users accessing a cloud resource when designing cloud architecture. Cloud providers can be at risk to an insider attack from internal actors
15. Account or service hijacking
One type of attack on cloud computing is account or service hijacking. This occurs when someone gains access to your account or service and uses it without your permission.
Several ways exist for companies to protect themselves from hacking attacks, like spyware or cookie poisoning. Making sure that their cloud accounts are safe is the best preventive measure against hackers compromising a company’s data or services.
For instance, in 2007, the Salesforce employee was the victim of a phishing scam and lost all client information due to an unsecured account.
Finally, be sure to regularly update your antivirus software and firewalls to protect yourself from these attacks. By doing so, you can reduce the chances that an attack will succeed and steal your data or disrupt your cloud computing experience.
16. Advanced persistent threats (APTs)
Advanced persistent threats (APTs) are a type of cyber attack that involves attacking a computer system over an extended period of time.
APTs can be very hard to detect and stop, as they often use sophisticated methods to infiltrate the target system.
To protect yourself from APTs, you need to be able to detect them early, and then take the necessary steps to protect your system.
17. New Types Attacks: Spectre and Meltdown
New attacks on cloud computing are Spectre and Meltdown. Spectre attacks allow hackers to access information that is normally private, such as passwords, photos, and emails.
Meltdown attacks allow hackers to takeover parts of the computer that control how the computer works. This could enable them to steal data or take over the computer completely.
Both Spectre and Meltdown require a malicious piece of software to be installed on a victim’s computer in order to attack. Having the latest security patches installed in your computer is important, but some users don’t have time to install them.
18. Cloud Billing Fraud
One of the most common types of attacks on cloud computing is billing fraud. Hackers will try to access your account information and change the billing information in order to get money from you.
Always check the charges on your account statement to make sure that they matches what was put into your account. If there are any discrepancies, contact your credit card company immediately.
Conclusion
Cloud computing technology is extremely popular among users due to its many advantages. However, this technology also introduces vulnerabilities that can become new vectors for cyber attacks.
Attacks on cloud computing are on the rise, and with good reason. Cloud-based services offer a unique blend of security, flexibility, and affordability that can make them a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes.
But as with any new technology or platform, there are risks associated with using cloud services. By understanding how cybercriminals perform attacks on cloud computing, cloud developers can better protect their products.
In my next article, I will try to explain how you can Ensure the Security of your Cloud Based service. Armed with this information, you should be in a better position to make an informed decision about whether or not to move your business to the cloud.