What Is Cloud Malware? Types of Attacks and How to Defend Against Them
Reading Time: 4 minutesThe cloud consists of countless servers, and malware can target those computers just like any other. How do we keep the machines in the cloud safe?
Everything is moving into the cloud. The more data gets in the cloud, the more malicious actors get interested in attacking cloud platforms.
The attackers use malware to steal data and disrupt services. While malware may not be as common in the cloud as on personal computers, the rise of cloud malware is concerning. Furthermore, organizations are not as aware of it as you might expect.
But what exactly is cloud malware? What are some known types of cloud attacks? And can you defend against them?
What Is Cloud Malware?
Cloud malware is malicious code that targets a cloud platform. The malicious code is similar to what you expect on computers and mobile devices. The difference is what the malware intends to do and how it works to disrupt the cloud.
Cloud malware is not primarily a concern to users but to businesses. Yes, as a customer using cloud services, we want the platform to remain protected against malware for the safety and privacy of our data. But there’s little to nothing we can do.
Most established cloud providers enforce extraordinary security measures to defend against cloud-based malware. As an end-user, you need not worry too much, but you should have an offline backup of your essential data to be safe in case of a situation.
Types of Attacks in the Cloud
Cloud-based malware can be pushed through various types of cyberattacks.
DDoS Attacks
Distributed Denial of Service (or DDoS) is a popular type of cyberattack that attempts to disrupt a service by sending an overwhelming number of requests.
When it comes to the cloud, DDoS attacks effectively take down an entire network of applications and services.
Launching a DDoS attack is easier than ever. In this attack, your data is not compromised, but access to the service is affected. If a service regularly gets affected by DDoS attacks, users will switch away from it to a better cloud provider.
Hyperjacking
In cloud computing, virtual environments and virtual machines (VMs) are commonly used to isolate services.
Hyperjacking is an attack that aims to exploit the hypervisor (program) responsible for creating and running the VMs in the cloud. If an attacker gets control over the hypervisor, they can modify and cause damage to the running VMs.
Several malicious activities can be carried out if this type of attack is a success, including unauthorized data monitoring. To get more details, you can check out our overview of hyperjacking.
Live Migration Attack
While the cloud is scalable, migration for better resources, security, and offerings is inevitable. Attackers use this time to inject malicious code into the cloud system, take control of the new infrastructure, or disrupt the migration process.
This is a unique type of attack, so not every provider expects it to happen. Many rely on automated live migration without taking risks into account.
Hypercall Attacks
This type of attack is similar to hyperjacking, except it targets a specific part of the virtual machine manager known as the hypercall handler to gain access to the VM permissions.
Once attackers gain the required access, they can execute malicious code on the VM.
Cloud Storage Attacks
It is always important to secure the storage part of the cloud platform, considering it is one of the most vital parts targeted by attackers.
If the cloud storage is not correctly configured, it can allow malicious actors to gain unauthorized access to the data, steal it, or destroy it.
How to Protect Against Cloud Malware?
Organizations already have a standard list of things to do to ensure maximum security. However, with cloud malware rising, it is incredibly important to go beyond the industry standard and take better measures to protect the cloud platform.
Some tips to improve defense include:
1. Endpoint Protection
Every connected device, computer, and server makes up an endpoint in an organization. If endpoints get infected, they can spread to the cloud.
So, if you secure the endpoints, you get solid protection against cloud-based malware.
2. Enhance Access Control
While we have discussed the best practices to implement zero trust security separately, those must be followed.
Doing so will help prevent account takeovers, secure account authentication, and minimize damage if access is compromised. Not just limited to cloud malware, an efficient way to authorize and grant access to data limits the impact malware can have on any cyberattack aimed at you.
3. Educating Employees and Users
Attackers use every possible connection point to get into the network. It goes a long way if the cloud provider educates its employees and users about the common security risks and how to handle them.
Every organization needs to provide resources and guidance on best security practices to ensure their employees stay safe and help keep the systems secure.
A wide range of cyberattacks succeeds due to human error. So, if you can minimize it, you can ensure that the attacks do not affect the cloud platform.
4. Use an Additional Malware Scanner for Storage
This is only worthwhile if you have the resources to add an extra malware scanner. An all-in-one tool should have you covered, but an additional scanner to focus on the storage area can be helpful.
After all, an enhanced level of protection is never a problem.
5. Strong Data Backup Strategy
As with everything, a redundant backup plan must be in place to recover from any cloud malware attack.
Usually, this consists of an offsite backup, a local backup, and a cloud backup solution.
Malicious Code in the Cloud
Whether in the cloud or not, malicious code can affect anything it touches. Every platform and service will have some form of vulnerability at some point.
Cloud platforms are not magically secure. It takes special effort to keep things running while fending off cloud-based malware. Some of the tips mentioned here should give you a head start. The rest depends on the type of cloud service you run, the infrastructure you utilize, and the security tools you choose to protect the platform.
With more awareness, organizations can better take notice of the cyberattacks aimed at the cloud.
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