Cloud-managed services and data under them remain one of the important resources of an organization. Thus, providing security becomes a priority.
Published on Jun 20, 2025
Cloud-specific threats are rising with the adoption of the platforms. It's also not right to believe that their cloud provider is solely responsible for securing everything. That’s a dangerous assumption.
In reality, while cloud providers secure the infrastructure, customers are responsible for securing their data, identities, and configurations. Understanding why cybercriminals continue to target cloud platforms is critical for anyone operating in today’s digital landscape.
Cloud-managed services present, if not secured, cybercriminals with a centralized, scalable, and highly connected environment. Inside are sensitive data, user identities, secrets, APIs, and automated workflows, which are all highly valuable cloud resources and often underprotected.
Threat actors have already shifted tactics. Instead of brute force or malware alone, they now exploit identity flaws, automation gaps, and configuration errors. These identity-based attacks are harder to detect and increasingly effective.
Multi-cloud strategies, though operationally beneficial, introduce huge complexity. Thus, each platform has its own configuration model or operating system. The access controls and integration layers make unified visibility difficult.
Fragmentation in cloud security refers to increasing the chance of mistakes in users. While attackers are always watching. Moreover, cloud environments are often integrated with SaaS, DevOps pipelines, and third-party services, expanding the attack surface in unpredictable ways.
Despite growing awareness, many of the top cloud threats in 2025 are rooted in mismanagement of managed service providers or sometimes human oversight. Key risks include:
1. Misconfigured Identity and Access Management Controls: We often observe that IAM policies are often overly permissive, outdated, or poorly audited, giving attackers a wide door into critical systems.
2. Shadow IT and Unsecured APIs: Teams often deploy cloud services or open APIs outside IT oversight. This creates unmonitored entry points to the cloud data. Thus, increasing the surface area for cloud security risks
3. Supply Chain Risks in Cloud Ecosystems: Cloud platforms often depend on third-party services to get the service or protect their sensitive data. Often many of them lack robust security controls, creating indirect vulnerabilities.
4. Data Exfiltration via Excess Privileges: Attackers exploit privileged accounts to move laterally and exfiltrate data, often without triggering alerts. It is also not safe to just rely on the managed cloud service providers for managing security.
In many breaches, these vulnerabilities aren’t new or complex but rather just unaddressed.
Even with growing investment in cloud security tools, several blind spots persist in data protection:
Lack of Continuous Visibility: Most organizations rely on periodic checks, leaving gaps that attackers exploit. Thus, unable to protect sensitive data.
Insufficient Segmentation & Encryption: Flat networks and unencrypted data flows allow lateral movement and data exposure. Thus, it lacks proper risk management.
Overreliance on Native Cloud Security Tools: Cloud-native tools often provide limited context, making it difficult to correlate events or respond in real time.
Unsecured DevOps Processes
Hardcoded secrets, exposed CI/CD pipelines, and unreviewed scripts offer an easy path in.
Today’s cloud demands real-time insight, intelligent automation, and proactive governance.
With purpose-built capabilities for multi-cloud environments, proper cybersecurity services can empower your organization to:
It is highly recommended to not rely on just your cloud service provider but also get a cybersecurity service, which will assist you in managing your cloud-based data assets. It is observed that this helps organizations in:
The result: streamlined cloud governance and a major reduction in operational risk.
Cloud platforms are a powerful enabler but also a persistent target. Relying on default settings or reactive security is no longer enough. It's time for businesses to take a proactive, risk-based approach to protecting their cloud ecosystems.
Strengthen your organization's digital identity for a secure and worry-free tomorrow. Kickstart the journey with a complimentary consultation to explore personalized solutions.