Common Storage Misconfigurations and Vulnerabilities pose a huge risk to organizations today. These vulnerabilities can result in data breaches, operational downtime, and costly fines. A recent incident caused the exposure of 10 million files, including PII and financial information.
Continuity Software provides the industry’s ONLY storage & backup security solution, to help you protect your most valuable data.
Human error is a major contributor to security vulnerabilities
Human error is a major contributor to common security breaches, from improperly configuring storage devices to failing to update software. Humans are also a major source of phishing and malware. Fortunately, human error can be mitigated with technical solutions and mobile device management systems. The best way to protect your data is to prevent human error before it happens.
One of the first steps to reduce human error is to educate employees on the issues. They must understand how their actions can affect the security of data. It is also essential to administer periodic security assessments. This will ensure that employees are knowledgeable about the policies and procedures that are in place to protect data.
Cloud configurations are vulnerable to misconfigurations
Misconfiguration in the cloud can lead to many security risks. For example, a poorly configured storage node can expose storage assets to the internet or internally to unauthorized users. The best way to protect these assets is to implement strong encryption and access logging. Most cloud services allow strong encryption by default, so monitoring access patterns can help detect potential misconfigurations. Another common cloud misconfiguration is enabling unrestricted outbound network access for all servers. This vulnerability is often exploited by digital attackers to view target networks and move throughout them.
While misconfigurations in cloud environments are inevitable, they can also be avoided. The first step is defining security policies and incorporating them into development practices. This will help companies of all sizes avoid the problems associated with misconfigurations.
Avoiding overly permissive cloud network access controls
When setting up a cloud infrastructure, one of the biggest mistakes that a business can make is setting up identity and access management (IAM) policies that are overly permissive. A cloud environment usually includes both human and non-human identities, and overly permissive permissions can give an unapproved user access to assets. Fortunately, there are ways to fight this problem and ensure that all of your users are properly authenticated.
One of the best ways to secure a cloud infrastructure is to limit the number of ports that are open to the internet. Open ports provide an easy target for attackers and create vulnerabilities. Keeping only the necessary ports open can help prevent security incidents like internal network scans and lateral movement. It’s also important to limit the amount of access that applications and users have to network services. For example, organizations should avoid granting outbound SSH and RDP port access. These ports are rarely used by application servers, and they should be restricted.
Detecting security misconfigurations
Detecting common storage misconfigurations can help you secure your storage infrastructure by exposing a potential source of attack. Among the most common misconfigurations are those related to encryption and storage, which are potential sources of data breaches and operational downtime. If you aren’t careful, your data could be exposed to hackers and spies and could result in hefty fines. A recent case in point is a channel management software services company that was found to have exposed 10 million files with financial and PII information.
While it may seem like a trivial task, security misconfigurations can pose a serious threat. These issues are often the result of human error or outdated software, as well as the lack of security hardening. For example, an application might be configured with a default user name and password, which could lead to an unauthorized use of the data. Other possible security misconfigurations include not having the proper permissions or application stack in place, and installing unnecessary features on cloud services.
