Penetration testing is an advanced cybersecurity method that is especially useful in complex environments, such as those that make heavy use of cloud computing. In these cases, cloud pen testing is often required. But even when it’s not mandated, regular penetration testing is considered a best practice for cyber hygiene.
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Who Needs Cloud Based Penetration Testing
Most organizations that use the cloud should at least consider applying penetration testing to their deployment. Firstly, cloud security and/or pen testing might be required for compliance reasons. But even if it isn’t, it’s a best practice that helps to secure the inherently risky cloud.
There are three critical considerations when deciding about pen testing the cloud:
- Why cloud penetration testing is critical and what risks it addresses
- How shared responsibility over cloud environments impacts security
- What benefits come from cloud pen testing, regardless of requirements
Ultimately, any organization that makes heavy use of the cloud would likely benefit from pen testing it—especially when working with a trusted virtual chief information security officer.
What is Cloud Penetration Testing?
Pen testing the cloud generally means conducting pen tests within cloud architecture or on cloud assets, exclusively or primarily. It’s about applying pen testing tactics in and on the cloud.
Penetration testing is a form of “ethical hacking.” A pen test simulates an attack on your system or component parts within it so that you can study what kinds of tactics and behaviors real-life cybercriminals might take. There are two primary methodologies used in most penetration tests:
- External penetration testing – Testers begin from an unknown position outside of your organization and attempt to breach into it. These tests assume attackers lack any prior information about or access to your systems, and they end once a breach succeeds.
- Internal penetration testing – Testers begin from a negotiated position within your system or from a privileged point of knowledge or access. These tests assume that attackers have already breached and typically end when they gain central control.
There are also hybrid tests that combine elements of both, testing resistance to intrusion and resilience to mitigate harm once an intrusion has happened. These hybrid tests are ideal for cloud environments, as the boundaries between internal and external are often complicated.
Risks Specific to Cloud Computing Assets
In IT landscapes where cloud computing plays a significant role, there are some unique risks associated with cloud configurations. To begin with, hosting assets in the cloud, or running critical procedures on cloud infrastructure, creates additional variables. There are many more networks and devices to account for on the organization’s side, along with variables outside of the organization’s control—see the section on shared responsibility below for more on this.
The biggest risk factor related to the cloud itself is the potential for unidentified and unauthorized access to resources that are hosted on, transported across, or come into contact with the cloud.
There is also the threat that unaccounted-for connections to the cloud heighten and expand the scope of all other risks. One critical example of this is the way that cloud computing intersects with third parties and third-party risk management (TPRM). There is often limited visibility over vendors and contractors, whose access to the cloud could be a vector for a savvy cybercriminal.
So, when penetration testing cloud computing assets and systems, you should consider any third parties the same way that cybercriminals do: as extensions of your attack surface. They need to be tested with the same level of scrutiny, if not extra rigor, due to these unique risks.
Cloud Pen Testing and Shared Responsibility
Another critical consideration about the cloud is that, most often, the responsibility for securing assets it touches is shared between cloud providers and customers who use their services. In most enterprise use cases, completely private cloud deployments are unfeasible for the sheer scope of resources it would take to maintain the cloud, especially during growth. So, many organizations turn to cloud providers like Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services (AWS).
In these situations, the cloud provider is responsible for some of the security assurances that protect assets on the cloud. The arrangement is often called a “shared responsibility model.”
For example, consider the breakdown in the AWS Shared Responsibility Model:
- Security Of the Cloud – The provider (AWS) is responsible for securing the hardware and software that make cloud services run (i.e., databases, networks, storage, etc.).
- Security In the Cloud – The customer is responsible for protecting individual assets and systems that exist within the cloud (i.e., apps, operating systems, etc.) by their own means (i.e., identity and access management, client- or server-side encryption, etc.).
What this means, in practice, is that there is a significant scope of resources and processes that the customer (i.e., your organization) is responsible for securing. Implementing controls and monitoring infrastructure across these, up to and including pen testing, is your responsibility.
Shared Responsibility and Regulatory Compliance
The parts of your cloud configuration that fall under your responsibility are part of your in-scope assets for regulatory compliance implementation and assessment. That means that cloud assets may need to be pen tested at regular intervals to satisfy applicable requirements.
For example, if your organization processes credit card payments or cardholder data (CHD), it likely needs to comply with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards (DSS). A critical part of DSS compliance is implementing external and internal penetration tests regulalry, per Requirement 11.4, and resolving all identified vulnerabilities. That includes, but is not limited to, vulnerabilities identified across the parts of your cloud infrastructure you’re responsible for.
And, as noted above, third parties and TPRM need to be taken into consideration.
In some regulatory contexts, there is little to no distinction between third-party and first-party responsibility with respect to security. For example, covered entities under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) need to ensure compliance from business associates through explicit contract language. If you or your strategic partners work in or adjacent to healthcare, cloud pen testing might be a de facto requirement of continued business.
Benefits of Cloud Penetration Testing
Absent a formal requirement to conduct cloud pen testing, many organizations should still consider doing it. The benefits of a rigorous cloud penetration testing program include:
- Assurance that cloud infrastructure and defenses are functioning as expected
- Robust, proactive protection against threats of unauthorized external access
- Flexible, intricate protection against internal threats after a successful breach
- Seamless compliance documentation and certification assessment preparation
- Comprehensive threat intelligence to inform risk mitigation and security training
Overall, pen testing ensures a safer cloud for staff, clientele, and all other stakeholders.
It should be noted that one potential downside to any pen testing program is the potential for risk in inviting outsiders to simulate attacks on your system. This is a serious concern, but a thorough vetting process aided by security advisors should alleviate the potential for fraud.
Other potential downsides to cloud pen testing are few and far between. Startup costs can be relatively high compared to some other cybersecurity measures, and there may be significant bandwidth needs up-front. But once you have a penetration testing program up and running, it will punch above its weight in security ROI—especially when working with a quality provider.
Optimize Your Cloud Security Today
Organizations that make heavy use of the cloud for data storage and processing need to be aware of the very real risks that are present, both internally and across a host of third parties. A cloud pen testing program helps to unveil those risks and address them. It might be required as part of your compliance obligations, but even if it’s not, you should consider implementing it.
At RSI Security, we know that discipline up front unlocks greater freedom to grow down the line, and we believe cloud pen testing is one of the best ways to future-proof your IT environment.
To learn more about our cloud penetration testing services, contact RSI Security today!