Penetration Testing Cloud Environments: Unique Challenges and Considerations

Many aspects of information security have been radically changed by the cloud and penetration testing is one of them. A key aspect of penetration testing is knowing how to conduct pen tests on an enterprise cloud.

A pen test needs to be performed on all mission-critical cloud systems regularly so that areas of improvement can be identified in an information security program. In this article, you will get to know the challenges that are encountered in a penetration testing cloud environment.

What is cloud penetration testing?

An organization’s cloud-based infrastructure and applications are assessed by carrying out a simulated attack using the cloud penetration testing method. Potential flaws, risks and vulnerabilities are proactively identified and an actionable remediation plan is provided to plug loopholes before it is being exploited by hackers. The misconfigurations and vulnerabilities can be understood by an organization’s security team by leveraging cloud pen testing.

Costly breaches can be avoided and compliance can be achieved through the tactical use of a cloud pen test platform, which, in turn, helps in preventing cloud-based cyberattacks. Potent cloud security issues can be effectively addressed by conducting cloud penetration testing methods and hence ensuring that they are immediately resolved.

Cloud penetration testing challenges:

1. Misconfigurations in server: The most common cloud vulnerability is cloud service misconfigurations. Improper permissions are the most common cloud server misconfigurations, wherein the data is not encrypted and also there is no differentiation between private and public data.

2. APIs are not secured: Cloud services use APIs, so that information can be shared across various applications. A large-scale data leak can also be led by insecure APIs. Malware can be uploaded by hackers on the server, if HTTP methods like DELETE, POST and PUT are used in APIs improperly. APIs can also be compromised if there is a lack of input sanitization and improper access control.

3. Coding practices that are insecure: The cost factor is compromised by certain businesses when it comes to building cloud infrastructure. Bugs like CSRF, XSS, SQLi etc., are contained in the software due to poor coding practices. The most common ones are labeled as OWASP top 10. These vulnerabilities are considered to be the root cause for the huge lot of cloud web services that are being compromised.

4. Software is outdated: Crucial software vulnerabilities are contained in the outdated software through which the cloud services can be compromised. A streamlined update procedure is not used by most of the software vendors or the automatic updates are disabled by users themselves. Through this, the cloud services become outdated that are identified by hackers using automated scanners. Hence, the outdated software that is used by cloud services is compromised by a huge number.

5. Credentials are weak: Cloud accounts can become vulnerable to brute-force attacks when weak or common passwords are being used. Automated tools can be made by the attacker, thereby those credentials are being used and a way is made into your account. The results could turn out to be disastrous, which, in turn, leads to a complete account takeover. These attacks are considered to be fairly common as passwords that are easily remembered are used by people.

Cloud penetration testing best practices:

1. Vulnerability scans are carried out continuously: Comprehensive and continuous vulnerability scans are offered by cloud penetration testing tools so that vulnerabilities within the cloud system can be properly assessed and identified. Vulnerabilities should be found based on known vulnerabilities from SANS 25, OWASP Top 10, Intel and CVEs. The scan should also be carried out behind the logins so that business logic errors can be identified.

2. Penetration tests are conducted regularly: For cloud environment security, regular penetration tests are considered to be crucial by both providers and customers to exploit and analyze the vulnerabilities within the security system.

Conclusion: If you are looking forward to implementing cloud penetration testing for your specific project, then do get connected with a premium software testing services company that will provide you with a well-defined testing strategy along with professional support that is in line with your project specific requirements.