The cloud is a growing target

New research from Sophos has found that, among Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) users, 56% experienced an increase in the volume of attacks on their organisation when compared to the previous year, and 67% were hit by ransomware. In addition, 59% experienced an increase in complexity of attacks.

The ‘Reality of SMB Cloud Security in 2022’ report found that for many of these users, a lack of visibility into their infrastructure, unpatched vulnerabilities and resource misconfigurations make them susceptible to various types of attacks, including ransomware.

Of those surveyed, only 37% track and detect resource misconfigurations and only 43% routinely scan IaaS resources for software vulnerabilities. What’s more, 65% of cloud users reported not having visibility of all resources and their configurations, and only one-third (33%) said their organisation has the resources to continuously detect, investigate and remove threats in their IaaS infrastructure.

“It is imperative that security is prioritised as organisations continue to adopt cloud services. This includes implementing traditional threat-based protections, as well as risk-based mitigations,” said John Shier, senior security advisor, Sophos.

“Unpatched vulnerabilities and misconfigured resources are both preventable mistakes and avoidable risks that make life easier for attackers. Most attackers are not unstoppable criminal masterminds, but rather opportunistic cyber thugs looking for an easy payday.

“However, the survey also found that more advanced IaaS users are twice as likely to report a decrease in attack impact than beginners, suggesting the appropriate defence mechanisms can go a long way in deterring threat actors. For users who need help, we recommend security services that have the 24/7 experts who can detect and quickly respond to active attacks.”

Image credit: iStock.com/Oleh Svetiukha