Top 10 Cloud Security Risks and How to Mitigate Them 

Back in 2023, a prominent corporation made headlines – but for all the wrong reasons. A huge data breach exposed sensitive consumer information, wiping away years of trust. What is the underlying cause of the problem? They overlooked flaws in their cloud setup.  

Unfortunately, this type of tale is not uncommon. The Thales Cloud Security 2024 Report discovered that 47% of all cloud data is sensitive, yet only 10% of enterprises have encrypted 80% or more of that data. That is a massive gap. Without a comprehensive plan in place, businesses risk data leaks, penalties, and major reputational harm. It's tempting to believe that your cloud provider has everything covered, but security is a shared duty. 

In this article, we’ll explore the biggest cloud security risks companies face today and explain how you handle them. Let’s dive in.  

Risk #1. Data Breaches 

Cloud data breaches often stem from simple missteps – like an overly permissive access policy, a publicly exposed storage bucket, or a forgotten software patch. Unfortunately, the consequences are anything but simple. When sensitive data such as customer information, healthcare records, or proprietary code is accessed without authorization, it can lead to reputational damage, loss of business, and steep regulatory penalties. 

How to mitigate: 

Good cloud security starts with knowing who has access to what. Establish and enforce clear IAM (Identity and Access Management) policies. Use the principle of least privilege: give users only the access they need, nothing more. Review access permissions regularly and remove any unnecessary privileges. 

Encryption is non-negotiable. Encrypt sensitive data both at rest and in transit. That way, even if attackers manage to get hold of the data, it’s unreadable without the proper keys. 

Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for all accounts that access sensitive or administrative resources. MFA adds a second line of defense if passwords are ever compromised. 

Don’t use identities with long-term credentials. If the password stays unchanged for several months, it increases the likelihood of theft. Use cloud bult-in services to provide short-lived credentials with expiration tokens. 

And finally, monitor continuously. Set up logging and alerting for unusual access patterns or failed login attempts. Conduct periodic audits of your logs and access controls. The faster you catch a misstep, the better your chance of avoiding a full-scale breach. 

Risk #2. Misconfigured Cloud Settings 

Misconfigurations are a surprisingly common way cloud security breaks down. It could be something simple — like leaving a storage bucket open by mistake or failing to restrict access to remote management ports. Another frequent slip is creating cloud instances with public access when they should be private. When teams move fast or juggle many tools, these small errors can easily happen, leaving data or systems exposed without anyone realizing it.  

How to mitigate:

 
Start by having a clear, consistent setup for all your environments – whether it’s development, testing, or production. Think of it like a playbook everyone follows to keep things secure and uniform. 

Use cloud automated tools that keep an eye on your cloud settings all the time and flag anything unusual. Plug these into your deployment workflows so you catch problems before they reach your users. 

Check in regularly on your setups against well-known security standards, like the CIS benchmarks, to spot and fix risky settings. 

Keep everything visible with a centralized dashboard – it helps you spot changes or gaps before they turn into headaches. 

Finally, take a Security in Depth approach – layer your defenses so if one control misses something, others are there to catch it. Cloud platforms make this multi-layered security easier to manage and more effective. 

Risk #3. Insecure APIs and Interfaces

APIs are the backbone of many cloud services, but if they’re left unsecured, they can become an easy target for attackers. Exploiting vulnerable APIs can lead to unauthorized access, data breaches, or service outages, which can seriously impact your business. 

How to mitigate: 

Make sure every API enforces strong authentication and authorization – only the right users and systems should have access. 

Use rate limiting to keep traffic under control and keep detailed logs to spot any unusual activity quickly. 

Regularly test your APIs for vulnerabilities using both automated tools and manual reviews to catch potential issues early. 

Add another layer of protection with a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or WebACL, which can block malicious HTTP/HTTPS requests before they reach your APIs. 

Risk #4. Shared Responsibility Misunderstanding

Cloud security operates under a shared responsibility model – your cloud provider secures the infrastructure, but you’re responsible for what runs on top of it. Unfortunately, organizations often misunderstand this boundary and assume the provider covers more than they actually do. That assumption can lead to critical gaps in securing workloads, data, and access. 

How to mitigate: 

Start by getting clarity on the provider’s security obligations versus your own. Most major cloud platforms publish detailed documentation on this, so make it part of your onboarding and architecture process. 

Next, clearly define and assign ownership for key security tasks within your team – from patch management and encryption to logging and access controls. Documenting who’s responsible for what helps avoid ambiguity later on. 

Finally, run internal audits regularly to ensure your part of the stack is secure and compliant. The shared model only works when both sides play their part. 

Risk #5. Insider Threats

While most security strategies focus on external attacks, internal threats are just as dangerous. Malicious or careless insiders – whether employees, contractors, or third-party vendors – can misuse access, expose data, or unintentionally cause harm. 

How to mitigate: 

Begin by enforcing the principle of least privilege: give users access only to the systems and data they absolutely need. Nothing more. 

Layer in behavioral monitoring to detect unusual or high-risk activity – for example, large data transfers or access from unfamiliar locations. Setting up alerts can help your team respond quickly if something’s off. 

Just as important is education. Train employees regularly on secure practices, data handling, and how to spot phishing or social engineering. Even well-meaning people make mistakes – the right awareness can prevent a lot of them. 

Risk #6. Lack of Visibility and Shadow IT

It’s hard to secure what you can’t see. When different teams spin up cloud services without proper oversight – or use unauthorized tools – you end up with blind spots, misconfigurations, and data scattered across platforms. That’s shadow IT, and it’s a growing problem. 

How to mitigate: 

Use cloud access security brokers (CASBs) to identify and monitor all cloud usage – sanctioned or not. CASBs can help enforce security policies and flag high-risk behavior. 

Centralize cloud operations wherever possible. Unified dashboards give your security and ops teams better visibility into infrastructure, user activity, and compliance status across environments. 

Automate policy enforcement, too. Build alerts and guardrails for common issues – like unencrypted storage or public access settings – to reduce manual errors and keep everything in check. 

Risk #7. Compliance Violations

Cloud environments can move fast – but compliance still matters. Falling short of industry regulations like HIPAA, GDPR, or PCI-DSS doesn’t just expose your data – it can lead to fines, lawsuits, and loss of trust. Often, violations stem from weak controls or overlooked requirements in complex, fast-changing environments. 

How to mitigate:

Choose cloud providers and services that offer strong, built-in compliance support. Many already align with key standards – take advantage of that. 

Then map your internal security controls directly to regulatory frameworks. This helps identify gaps early and ensures your configurations meet legal and industry-specific requirements. 

Finally, make regular compliance assessments part of your process – not just an annual checkbox. Continuous monitoring and audit readiness are essential for staying ahead of both regulations and risk. 

Risk #8. Weak Identity and Access Management (IAM) Usage

When accounts have too many permissions or IAM isn’t set up properly, it can create big security risks. People or systems might accidentally get access to things they shouldn’t, or credentials might get exposed without anyone noticing.

How to mitigate: 

Start by applying role-based (RBAC) or attribute-based access control (ABAC) to ensure users only get access to the resources they actually need – nothing more. 

Regularly rotate credentials and keys to limit the impact if they’re ever compromised. 

Adopt Zero Trust principles. That means never implicitly trusting any user or device –always verify before granting access. 

For added security and ease of management, integrate external identity providers, enable single sign-on (SSO), and use web identities. Centralizing identity management helps enforce consistent policies across systems and reduces friction for users. 

Strong IAM isn’t just a security best practice – it’s foundational to operating safely and efficiently in the cloud. 

Risk #9. DDoS Attacks and Service Disruptions

Cloud platforms are designed for scalability, but even the best infrastructure can struggle under a DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) attack. When attackers flood your systems with fake traffic, it can slow everything down – or take your services offline completely. The result? Frustrated users, missed opportunities, and potential damage to your brand.

How to mitigate: 

Start with your cloud provider’s native DDoS protection – tools like AWS Shield, Azure DDoS Protection, or Google Cloud Armor are built to detect and block suspicious traffic before it reaches your apps. 

Next, layer in rate limiting and traffic filtering to keep things under control. By capping request volumes and filtering out traffic from bad actors, you help keep your services available to legitimate users. 

Redundancy is also important. Build your architecture so it can reroute traffic and recover quickly – think load balancers, failover strategies, and CDNs to distribute the load more effectively. 

With strong defenses and real-time monitoring in place, your systems can stay resilient – even during a targeted attack. 

Risk #10. Poor Incident Response Planning 

Even with solid cloud security in place, things can still go wrong. The real test is how your team responds. Without a clear incident response (IR) plan, a security event can quickly spiral – causing delays, confusion, and avoidable damage. 

How to mitigate: 

Start with a practical, well-documented IR plan. Define who does what, when, and how – from identifying a threat to containing and communicating it. Everyone should know their role and the next step to take. 

Plans are only useful if they work in practice. Run regular simulations and tabletop exercises to test your response and spot any weak links. This strengthens the plan and helps your team act quickly under pressure. 

Automate wherever possible. Set up smart alerts for early threat detection and ensure logs are collected and stored securely for quick analysis and response. Good logging also helps with compliance and lessons learned after an incident. 

Most importantly, keep your team sharp. Offer regular training so they stay current with evolving threats and tools. When an incident strikes, a prepared team can be the difference between a quick recovery and lasting damage. 

Wrapping Up

Cloud platforms have transformed how we build, scale, and deliver digital services – but they’ve also introduced a new set of security challenges. Most of the risks we’ve covered aren’t the result of sophisticated attacks – they come from simple missteps: an overlooked setting, unclear access policies, or assuming your provider handles more than they actually do. 

The good news? Most of these risks are manageable. With the right visibility, habits, and tools, you can catch issues early and make cloud security part of your day-to-day operations – not just something you think about when something goes wrong. 

There’s no such thing as perfect security. But a thoughtful, well-documented approach– backed by regular reviews and a clear understanding of who’s responsible for what –  can go a long way in keeping your systems safe, your data protected, and your team prepared for whatever comes next. 

At Svitla Systems, we help companies secure their cloud environments against evolving threats. Our cybersecurity services cover everything from risk assessments and vulnerability testing to cloud-native security strategies and continuous monitoring. Whether you’re adopting cloud infrastructure or scaling your existing setup, we help you identify and mitigate top cloud security risks without slowing down your innovation. Contact us to learn more about protecting your cloud investments.