Cloud Security in the Age of AI: Evolving Threats and the Need for Adaptation

✍️ Opinions

Varun Bhardwaj

Oct 7, 2024 — 4 min read

Cloud Security in the Age of AI

This article has been contributed by Anna Koh, Chief Business Officer (Asia), Cyfirma.

The boom of cloud technology has changed how we as a business, governments, and consumers interact with digital services. It has come a long way from a novel concept to an integral part of our daily lives. This pervasive adoption of cloud services has brought unprecedented agility in terms of growth and introduced us to new challenges in terms of security. This clubbed with the rise of AI, it has compelled us to rethink our security strategies.

Cloud computing began as a means to provide scalable IT resources online, eliminating the need for traditional in-house infrastructure. In the beginning cloud services offered basic computing resources such as storage and processing power, but with time technology matured and its capabilities improved. Today, the cloud offers a broad of services including Software as a Service (SaaS) Platform as a Service (PaaS) Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

These services allow organisations to leverage cloud resources for various purposes, such as data analytics, AI, software development and disaster recovery. The pervasive adoption of cloud technology is evident across various sectors as businesses of all sizes rely on cloud solutions for their cost savings to operations that cloud platforms offer. Governments use the cloud to enhance public services and manage vast amounts of data. And consumers interact with cloud-based applications for everything from social media, online banking to entertainment and personal productivity.

Cloud technology is becoming increasingly integrated into our digital lives, making it a crucial part of daily life. This shift to cloud computing has created new attack risks and amplified the potential impact of cyber-attacks. Threat actors look for vulnerability such as:

Misconfiguration

Cloud services often come with complex settings, if not properly configured it can expose sensitive data or leave systems open to unauthorised access.

Centralised Storage of Vast Amounts of Sensitive Information

Threat actors use techniques such as phishing and malware to gain access to cloud accounts and exfiltrate data. The scale and accessibility of cloud environments make these breaches particularly damaging.

Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)

Cloud services rely on APIs for integration and communication. Any vulnerabilities in APIs can be exploited by attackers to gain unauthorised access, manipulate data, or disrupt cloud services.

DDoS Attacks

Attackers overwhelm cloud resources with a flood of malicious traffic. The scale of cloud services makes them particularly susceptible to these attacks, which can cause significant disruptions and financial losses.

Multiple Third-Party Providers

Threat actors exploit vulnerabilities in the supply chain to compromise cloud services, infecting systems with malware or gaining unauthorised access to sensitive data.

The integration of AI into cyber-attacks has introduced new dimensions of sophistication and efficiency like:-

Attackers use AI to create personalised phishing emails by analysing the target's communication habits, tricking employees into revealing cloud credentials and allowing unauthorised access to sensitive data.
AI is used to develop adaptive malware that evades traditional security systems by altering its code or behaviour based on defences. A notable case is AI-driven polymorphic malware that continuously changes its appearance to avoid detection by static antivirus tools.
Threat actors use AI to optimise data exfiltration processes by analysing network traffic and identifying optimal times and methods for data exfiltration. AI-driven algorithms can automate and accelerate the data extraction without triggering traditional security alerts.
Sophisticated DDoS attacks use AI to adjust the volume and type of traffic based on defensive measures, making it harder for cloud providers to mitigate the attack. This adaptive approach was evident in high-profile DDoS attacks that overwhelmed cloud infrastructure.
Cybercriminals use AI to conduct scans and exploit vulnerabilities of cloud environments. AI tools can find and exploit unpatched vulnerabilities before security teams can address them.

To address the evolving threats posed by AI-driven cyber-attacks, cloud security must adapt and incorporate advanced strategies. Here are key areas where cloud technology and security practices need to evolve:

Integrating AI into cloud security tools improves threat detection and response. AI can analyse patterns and spot anomalies in real-time, providing more accurate and timely alerts for potential threats.
Adopting a Zero Trust approach, where trust is never assumed and access is granted based on strict verification. This means continuous monitoring and validating user access and behaviours to minimise the risk of unauthorised access.
Strengthening API security by implementing rigorous and regular vulnerability assessments and API-specific security measures to mitigate risks associated with API exploits.
Leveraging automation in threat response to quickly respond to detected threats thus reducing the time attackers have to exploit vulnerabilities.
Training Personnel Regularly Regular training and awareness programs can help prevent human errors that lead to security breaches.
Collaborating with industry peers to share threat intelligence that can enhance cloud security. Collective efforts to share insights on emerging threats and vulnerabilities can strengthen defences and improve overall resilience.

As cloud technology and AI-driven threats evolve, organisations need to adapt their security strategies. Enterprises can better protect their cloud environments by integrating AI tools, adopting modern security architectures, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement to ensure resilience of their digital operations.