### Cloud security considerations Many organisations choose to use cloud services because of the *ease of deployment, speed of deployment, cost savings, and scalability* of these options. Cloud computing presents unique security challenges that cybersecurity analysts need to be aware of. ### Identity access management Identity access management (**[[Identity and Access Management|IAM]]**) is a collection of processes and technologies that helps organisations manage digital identities in their environment. This service also authorises how users can use different cloud resources. A common problem that organisations face when using the cloud is the *loose configuration of cloud user roles*. An improperly configured user role increases risk by allowing unauthorised users to have access to critical cloud operations. ### Configuration The number of available cloud services adds complexity to the network. Each service must be *carefully configured to meet security and compliance requirements*. This presents a particular challenge when organisations perform an initial migration into the cloud. When this change occurs on their network, they must ensure that every process moved into the cloud has been configured correctly. If network administrators and architects are not meticulous in correctly configuring the organisation’s cloud services, they could leave the network open to compromise. Misconfigured cloud services are a common source of cloud security issues. ### Attack surface Every service or application on a network carries its own set of risks and vulnerabilities and increases an organisation’s overall attack surface. An *increased attack surface must be compensated for with increased security measures*. Cloud networks that utilise many services introduce lots of entry points into an organisation’s network. However, if the network is designed correctly, utilising several services does not introduce more entry points into an organisation’s network design. These entry points can be used to introduce malware onto the network and pose other security vulnerabilities. It is important to note that CSPs often defer to more secure options, and have undergone more scrutiny than a traditional on-premises network. ### Zero-day attacks Zero-day attacks are an important security consideration for organisations using cloud or traditional on-premise network solutions. A zero day attack is an exploit that was previously unknown. CSPs are more likely to know about a zero day attack occurring before a traditional IT organization does. CSPs have ways of *patching [[Hypervisors]] and migrating workloads to other virtual machines*. These methods ensure the customers are not impacted by the attack. There are also several tools available for patching at the operating system level that organisations can use. ### Visibility and tracking Network administrators have access to every data packet crossing the network with both on-premise and cloud networks. They can sniff and inspect data packets to learn about network performance or to check for possible threats and attacks. This kind of visibility is also offered in the cloud through flow logs and tools, such as packet mirroring. CSPs take responsibility for security in the cloud, but *they do not allow the organisations that use their infrastructure to monitor traffic* on the CSP’s servers. Many CSPs offer strong security measures to protect their infrastructure. Still, this situation might be a concern for organisations that are accustomed to having full access to their network and operations. CSPs pay for third-party audits to verify how secure a cloud network is and identify potential vulnerabilities. The audits can help organisations identify whether any vulnerabilities originate from on-premise infrastructure and if there are any compliance lapses from their CSP.