Cloud security incidents rise 61% as misconfigurations, identity risks grow

The rapid and widespread adoption of cloud computing has introduced significant and interconnected security challenges that many organizations were unprepared to manage, according to Express Computer.

Cloud incidents surged by 61% in the past year, with nearly two-thirds of organizations experiencing at least one issue, making cloud security the most difficult aspect of modernization for leadership teams. Persistent misconfigurations remain a primary culprit, often going unnoticed as environments scale across multiple cloud providers and technologies, leading to large-scale data leaks.

Compromised or misused credentials are the weakest link, enabling attackers to blend into normal activity, as evidenced by ransomware groups using stolen keys and breaches costing millions. The proliferation of shadow IT, with organizations using over a thousand cloud apps on average, most unknown to IT, creates ungoverned entry points, contributing to a third of 2024 breaches.

Regulatory pressure is intensifying, with hefty GDPR fines and penalties for inaccurate breach disclosures highlighting the compliance risks of multi-cloud data handling. Additionally, insider threats and poorly secured APIs have resulted in costly data exposures, while supply-chain vulnerabilities continue to propagate risk from third-party dependencies.