Three reasons why your cloud supply chain is vulnerable.

Here are three common things that make your cloud vulnerable to attacks and strategies to avoid them.

1. Vulnerable APIs

Application Program Interfaces, or APIs, are programs that allow systems and network components to successfully interact with each other. They are the bridge that connects on-premise resources to those in the cloud and assists the interaction. In turn, Azure AD's Application Proxy is capable of creating intermediaries between inter-and intranets. Since APIs interface with so many components of your infrastructure, they are valuable targets for cybercriminals.

APIs with poor management can leak, compromising the access keys between products and platforms. Azure AD‘s conditional access is a considerable way of properly securing your APIs. That ensures the devices accessing the products are known and trusted. Azure AD integrates multi-factor authentication and other protective measures and adds another protective layer of security with the help of Machine Learning that investigates risks by using data and automates the detection and remediation of Identity-based risk. It also processes detection data via 3rd parties for further analysis with expertise.

2. Misconfiguration leads to breaches

Misconfiguration is usually at the bottom of most serious cloud vulnerabilities that are caused generally by administrator error. Misconfiguration, even on a small scale, can cause huge accidents. It can be anything from poorly rendered access controls on individual segments of data to systemic issues like failing to leverage advanced security features. Mostly, administrators turn the default security settings in their cloud environment off for no particular reason or fail to layer security tools comprehensively. That introduces some gaps in coverage and has ripple effects across the network.

If your company is using a cloud platform or hybridized resources, you should be leveraging all their modern security features that are available for your good. Their use varies, according to need, but should generally, the security solution should include conditional access, thorough identity management, two or multi-factor authentication. A layered and redundant security approach is always better. If you need help determining the security strategies suitable are right for your business, Gravity Philippines can help you.

3. Cloud service providers

Many cloud users underestimate the complex functioning of their cloud supply chain. Almost every user working via the cloud has third party products and services integrated with the network and sensitive data. The poorly-managed, layered IaaS and PaaS products make your supply chain vulnerable to:

• Poorly defined liabilities and responsibilities among cloud vendors and third parties

• Poorly managed cloud access

• Hidden dependencies between cloud applications

• Lacks accountability,

• Lacks due diligence

• Lacks transparency surrounding security

• Lacks risk management

The best way to eliminate these threats in your supply chain is by performing an intensive audit and risk assessment. As an operator, you must know who all have access to your cloud data? What your back-ups look like? Where is information stored? Is it at 3rd party locations? Does your cloud service provider perform a risk assessment? Creating security policies is how you protect your business, and the cloud supply chain should be a part of it.