A Comprehensive Guide to Penetration Testing in Public Clouds

As organizations increasingly migrate their operations to public cloud environments, the need for robust security measures has never been more critical.
Cloud penetration testing emerges as a crucial component in ensuring the integrity and resilience of systems hosted in public clouds.
In this article, we will explore the significance of cloud penetration testing, its unique challenges in public cloud settings, and best practices to fortify your cloud infrastructure against cyber threats.
Cloud penetration testing involves simulating cyberattacks on cloud-based systems to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses.
In the context of public clouds, where resources are shared among multiple users, the need for thorough penetration testing is amplified to safeguard sensitive data and maintain regulatory compliance.
Shared Resource Environment: Public clouds operate on a shared resource model, making it essential to assess potential risks associated with neighboring cloud tenants.
Penetration testers must navigate through this shared environment to identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers attempting to compromise the confidentiality and integrity of data.
Elasticity and Dynamic Nature: Public clouds offer scalability and dynamic resource allocation.
Penetration tests in public clouds must account for the dynamic nature of the environment, ensuring that security protocols adapt seamlessly to changes in resource allocation.
Compliance and Data Residency: Public cloud users often face stringent compliance requirements, and data residency concerns may restrict where certain types of data can be stored.
Penetration testing must address compliance issues, ensuring that security measures align with industry regulations and regional data protection laws.
A.) Comprehensive Risk Assessment: Begin with a thorough risk assessment to understand the specific threats and vulnerabilities relevant to your public cloud deployment.
This foundational step enables penetration testers to tailor their approach to the unique aspects of the cloud environment.
This includes testing for common cloud mis-configurations, insecure APIs, and weak access controls that could jeopardize the security of your cloud infrastructure.
C.) Collaboration with Cloud Service Providers: Engage in open communication with your cloud service provider to understand their security measures and obtain support for penetration testing activities.
Continuous Monitoring and Testing: Recognize that the cloud environment is dynamic and subject to constant changes.
Implement continuous monitoring and regular penetration testing to adapt security measures in response to evolving threats and the ever-changing nature of cloud configurations.
Cloud penetration testing in public clouds is a proactive and strategic approach to fortify digital assets against cyber threats.
By understanding the challenges unique to public cloud environments and implementing best practices, organizations can confidently embrace the benefits of the cloud while ensuring the security and compliance of their operations.
As technology advances, the synergy between robust security measures and cloud innovation will be fundamental in building a resilient and secure digital future.


This Cyber News was published on www.cybersecurity-insiders.com. Publication date: Mon, 15 Jan 2024 06:13:04 +0000


Cyber News related to A Comprehensive Guide to Penetration Testing in Public Clouds

How to do Penetration Testing effectively - In today's digital era, penetration testing has become crucial to an organisation's cybersecurity strategy. From network penetration testing to web application and mobile app penetration testing, a comprehensive pen test covers a wide range of attack ...
1 year ago Securityboulevard.com
Top 30 Best Penetration Testing Tools - 2025 - The tool supports various protocols and offers advanced filtering and analysis capabilities, making it ideal for diagnosing network issues, investigating security incidents, and understanding complex network interactions during penetration testing. ...
2 months ago Cybersecuritynews.com
A Comprehensive Guide to Penetration Testing in Public Clouds - As organizations increasingly migrate their operations to public cloud environments, the need for robust security measures has never been more critical. Cloud penetration testing emerges as a crucial component in ensuring the integrity and resilience ...
1 year ago Cybersecurity-insiders.com
Microservices Resilient Testing Framework - As organizations increasingly embrace the microservices approach, the need for a resilient testing framework becomes important for the reliability, scalability, and security of these distributed systems. From preemptive problem-solving to the ...
1 year ago Feeds.dzone.com
Product showcase: ImmuniWeb AI Platform - ImmuniWeb is a global application security company that currently serves over 1,000 customers from more than 50 countries. ImmuniWeb AI Platform has received numerous prestigious awards and industry recognitions for intelligent automation and ...
1 year ago Helpnetsecurity.com
Conducting Penetration Testing - CISO’s Resource Guide - By taking a proactive, business-aligned approach, CISOs can transform penetration testing from a compliance exercise into a powerful tool for resilience and competitive advantage, ensuring their organizations are prepared for the future. By embedding ...
1 month ago Cybersecuritynews.com
Multi-Cloud vs. Hybrid Cloud: The Main Difference - The proliferation of cloud technologies is particularly confusing to businesses new to cloud adoption, and they're sometimes baffled by the distinction between multi-cloud and hybrid cloud. Although the public cloud infrastructure and public cloud ...
1 year ago Techtarget.com
MDR vs. Traditional Security Operations: What’s Right For Your Penetration Testing Team? - By understanding the technical differences between traditional security operations and MDR, penetration testing teams can make informed decisions that enhance their ability to protect against modern cyber threats. Choosing between traditional ...
1 month ago Cybersecuritynews.com
How to Use Pen Testing to Find Vulnerabilities - One effective method for conducting an information security audit is through penetration testing. The contractor would conduct thorough testing and provide detailed penetration reports, complete with recommendations for safeguarding corporate data. ...
1 year ago Feeds.dzone.com
How Does Automated API Testing Differ from Manual API Testing: Unveiling the Advantages - Delve into automated versus manual API testing for efficient software delivery. See how automation speeds validation while manual testing provides human insight, ensuring comprehensive coverage for robust development. In the domain of software ...
1 year ago Hackread.com
XDR In Penetration Testing: Leveraging Advanced Detection To Find Vulnerabilities - For example, XDR’s ability to map telemetry from endpoints, firewalls, and cloud platforms might reveal that a vulnerability in a legacy application allows attackers to bypass network segmentation controls, a scenario that individual security tools ...
1 month ago Cybersecuritynews.com
Penetration Testing And Threat Hunting: Key Practices For Security Leaders - Security leaders should view penetration testing and threat hunting not as discrete activities but as essential components of a mature security program that evolves from passive defense to active threat detection and mitigation. Penetration testing ...
1 month ago Cybersecuritynews.com Hunters
5 Reasons Why Your Business Needs Penetration Testing - Penetration testing is an essential security measure for businesses in the digital age. Cyber-attacks and data breaches are becoming more frequent, making it necessary for organizations to protect their sensitive data and web applications. A ...
2 years ago Tripwire.com
Is it time to retire 'one-off' pen tests for continuous testing? - Verizon's 2024 Data Breach Investigation Report highlights why such gaps in security testing matter: exploited vulnerabilities in web applications rank as the third most common attack vector for data breaches, only trailing phishing and ...
2 months ago Bleepingcomputer.com
Latest Information Security and Hacking Incidents - Private cloud providers may be among the primary winners of today's generative AI gold rush, as CIOs are reconsidering private clouds, whether on-premises or hosted by a partner, after previously dismissing them in favour of public clouds. At the ...
1 year ago Cysecurity.news
What is offensive security? - Offensive security is the practice of actively seeking out vulnerabilities in an organization's cybersecurity. In the past, offensive security referred to methods to actively slow down or to find information about attackers. This is no longer widely ...
1 year ago Techtarget.com
Application Security Testing Explained - That's precisely why application security is a top priority for security teams and a crucial consideration for DevOps. Application security testing is like giving your software a thorough health check to ensure it's robust and resilient against cyber ...
1 year ago Securityboulevard.com
Pen Testing Across the Environment: External, Internal, and Wireless Assessments - Among other controls, penetration testing stands out because it simulates attackers' malicious activities and tactics to identify security gaps in business systems or applications. Because pen tests thoroughly investigate vulnerabilities, the scope ...
11 months ago Securityboulevard.com
New Microsoft Incident Response team guide shares best practices for security teams and leaders - The incident response process can be a maze that security professionals must quickly learn to navigate-which is no easy task. Surprisingly, many organizations still lack a coordinated incident response plan, and even fewer consistently apply it. ...
1 year ago Microsoft.com
Cloud Penetration Testing Checklist - 2023 - Check the Service Level Agreement and make sure that proper policy has been covered between the Cloud service provider (CSP) and Client. Cloud penetration testing focuses on identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities in cloud environments, ensuring ...
7 months ago Gbhackers.com
New NCCoE Guide Helps Major Industries Observe Incoming Data While Using Latest Internet Security Protocol - PRESS RELEASE. Companies in major industries such as finance and health care must follow best practices for monitoring incoming data for cyberattacks. The latest internet security protocol, known as TLS 1.3, provides state-of-the-art protection, but ...
1 year ago Darkreading.com
ARACNE - LLM-based Pentesting Agent To Execute Commands on Real Linux Shell Systems - Cybersecurity researchers have unveiled a new autonomous penetration testing agent that leverages large language models (LLMs) to execute commands on real Linux shell systems. ARACNE’s architecture consists of four key components working in ...
2 months ago Cybersecuritynews.com
Overcoming Multi-Cloud Security Challenges: The Power of a Unified Configuration of Clouds - Be it manufacturers, financial institutions, global giants in media and entertainment, or healthcare organizations - many businesses of medium and large caliber find the need to harness two or more clouds. Using multiple clouds helps them enhance ...
1 year ago Cyberdefensemagazine.com
What is App Security? SAST, DAST, IAST, and RASP. - Effective application security relies on well-defined processes and a diverse array of specialized tools to provide protection against unauthorized access and attacks. Security testing is a critical part of an application security strategy and should ...
1 year ago Feeds.dzone.com
Is Once-Yearly Pen Testing Enough? A Guide to Periodic Vulnerability Assessment - Periodic vulnerability assessment (pen testing) is one of the essential components of cybersecurity. It helps companies identify and address any gaps in their network security posture before malicious actors can exploit these gaps. Pen testing, or ...
2 years ago Thehackernews.com