Cloud security, often called cloud computing security, is defending infrastructure, applications, and data stored in the cloud from threats and cyberattacks. Although cloud security has the same objectives as traditional cybersecurity, it varies in the aspect that managers must protect assets that are housed inside the infrastructure of third-party service providers.
Organizations use cloud computing to lower computing expenses and quickly deploy new computer resources to serve changing business needs. Enterprises now access stakeholders and customers more swiftly than ever thanks to cloud-based technologies, which offer prospects for quick go-to-market. While cloud computing has created many efficiencies, it has also created some vulnerabilities as the following top 10 list of Cloud Security Breaches of 2024 illustrates. A security solution that’s cloud native, such as Singularity™ Cloud Security from SentinelOne, can provide a unified, real-time solution to organizations eager to prevent such breaches.
Read on to learn more about the top 10 Cloud Security Breaches and the key lessons we can learn from them.
What are Cloud Security Breaches?
Cloud Security Breaches occur when an unauthorized person has access to private data and sensitive personal information in the cloud. This could happen in a variety of situations, such as:
- Negligence (such as leaving an account open in a public space, which is more likely due to the cloud’s simplicity for remote access)
- Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) misuse by hackers
- Sharing files, passwords, and other security information without restriction (management cannot readily trace the sharing data on a cloud-based platform)
- Engineers working on the cloud sometimes make mistakes that compromise file security or expose data.
Top 10 Cloud Security Breaches
The following are the top 10 cloud security breaches that occurred in 2024:
#1 Phishing attacks
The first in cloud security breaches is phishing. Phishing begins with a false email or message to grab someone’s attention. This message appears to come from a reliable source. If duped, they might divulge personal information, frequently on a false website. Additionally, their computer might occasionally download malicious malware.
The attackers may only be interested in using the victim’s credit card or personal information to generate money. Sometimes, they send phishing emails to employees to obtain login credentials or other crucial information. To conduct a sophisticated attack on a particular corporation, they do this. And if the companies do not use a DMARC checker to verify the legitimacy of the email sender, they easy fall victim. Cybercriminals frequently use phishing as a starting point for more dangerous assaults like ransomware and advanced persistent threats (APTs).
#2 Malicious cyber attacks
Nobody wants to think that their employees are out to get them, but it’s a sad reality leading to many cloud security breaches yearly.
Sometimes, a person with privileged system access, such as an IT professional or other system administrator, is the most likely offender. A knowledgeable and malicious administrator can leave a back door unlocked or install malicious software on the network to allow data theft. Some people might even be the ones to install the malware, resulting in millions of dollars in losses.
The best way to prevent these kinds of cloud security breaches is to keep an eye on your staff and look for any signs of unhappiness or discontentment. To prevent any possibility of remote access, cancel all network access and passwords whenever a person departs the firm.
#3 Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) Attacks
In a man-in-the-middle attack, an attacker places oneself between two parties to obtain sensitive information while the parties are unaware of it. The following techniques can be used to carry out these cloud security breaches:
- Utilizing network infrastructure vulnerabilities.
- Compromising switches or routers.
- Use malware to take control of equipment.
Use secure and encrypted communication routes, such as HTTPS for websites or VPNs for network connections, to defend yourself from MitM attacks. Additionally, routinely updating enterprise software can reduce the danger of MitM attacks.
#4 Social engineering
Hackers utilize social engineering tactics to trick and influence people into disclosing private information or taking security-compromising acts. The main goal of social engineering is to deceive people into:
- Sharing private information voluntarily.
- Allowing illegal access to computer systems or data.
In contrast to other hacking techniques, social engineering focuses on human psychology to take advantage of trust, curiosity, and other human attributes. Social engineering attacks involve physically accessing prohibited areas or information and using technology. Hackers can achieve this by fooling their targets into thinking they are someone they can trust, like a coworker.
Strong security policies, knowledge, and education are required to defend against social engineering threats. You need to be aware of any unexpected demands for sensitive information and be wary of them.
#5 Insider threats
Insider risks are cloud security breaches brought on by someone with authorized access to a company’s systems, networks, or data, who then abuses that access for bad. These people might be partners in the company, contractors, or former or present workers.
Data theft, leakage, or system disruption happens from a person abusing their rights, whether on purpose or accidentally. The following are some typical types of insider threats:
- Theft of data
- Sabotage
- Unauthorized entry
- Fraud
Insider threats are dangerous because insiders frequently have access to sensitive information, an organization’s security procedures, and weaknesses. They can thus avoid detection and get around security measures faster than outside intruders.
#6 Eavesdropping attack
When it comes to cyber security breaches, eavesdropping attacks, also known as sniffing or snooping attacks, are a big problem. Your information, including passwords, credit card numbers, and other sensitive data, is easily stolen through these assaults as it is moved from one device to another.
These attacks are particularly effective because they employ unsecured network communications to access data while it is being delivered or received by its user without triggering any form of alert during transmission.
Here are some ways attackers could target you:
- A communications link between a sender and a recipient would be tapped to eavesdrop. Radiofrequency transmissions or a wire, such as active or inactive telephone lines, electrical wires, or ungrounded electrical conduits, can be used for this.
- When we install bugs on phones to record talks, it’s called a listening post. It uses triggers to track when a phone is picked up to make or receive a call and turns off automatically when the call is over.
#7 Hijacking accounts
Playing on your employees’ weaknesses is one of the most popular ways to create internal cloud security breaches. Many people are uninformed about the risks posed by internal threats and how hackers conduct their attacks.
For instance, many staff are happy to provide only the necessary details over the phone. Some people who fall for the phishing phone call from a cyber attacker even divulge their credentials. Additionally, they are not able to identify phishing emails, particularly those that contain information on a current project or may allude to specific team members.
Your business is unavoidably at risk if ALL of your employers are unaware of the numerous methods that hackers manipulate and obtain information from within.
An employee account can occasionally be hacked. Once they take that action, there is a greater chance that they will be able to access your company’s secure data. Only the information that each employee account needs to perform their duties should be granted access.
#8 Leaked information
Employees knowingly and unknowingly collect information on their phones, cameras, and USB data drives.
To mitigate cloud security breaches, every business should utilize software to define its guidelines for what kind of computers can access the network and when certain types of data may be downloaded. It is essential to inform employees of the policies and their justifications.
If not, they’ll figure out how to go around them, ignore them, or misinterpret them completely. In actuality, human error—one of the most frequent causes of an inside threat—was the cause of the most recent breach at Virgin Media.
You might want to think about restricting access to web-based email services like Gmail and data storage services. If staff members have access to private data stored in their internet accounts, a threat to internal security is beyond your control.
Additionally, some companies choose to lock down their networks to prohibit wireless access from anyone other than approved customers using their authorized devices. It might be very challenging to figure out if any Bluetooth data is lost.
#9 Downloading malicious content
Employees use the internet for personal purposes while at work. While they are taking a break from their work, they might check their social media or play a quick game.
Through the same routes, malware and virus risks are there, and staff members frequently unintentionally allow them access to the network.
To ensure your company’s security from cloud security breaches, frequently update and fix your IT systems.
Regular security downloads are insufficient. Regular program updates are required, as is antivirus software layering. Don’t rely solely on one layer of defense.
#10 Insecure applications
It’s likely that although your system is extremely safe, your external programs are making things difficult.
Third-party services might severely hamper internal website security. Before installing any program, make sure your team carefully discusses and evaluates if it is appropriate for your network.
To mitigate cloud security breaches, don’t let your personnel download any program they think would be valuable for your business. Make it a rule that the IT department must first approve all applications before being put into use.
CNAPP Market Guide
Get key insights on the state of the CNAPP market in this Gartner Market Guide for Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms.
Read GuideHow can SentinelOne protect from Cloud Security Breaches?
SentinelOne offers a cutting-edge AI-driven autonomous Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) that protects companies of all sizes and sectors against advanced threats. It aids in eliminating all risks and security issues, both the known and unknown.
Its key features are:
- SentinelOne automatically remediates cloud misconfigurations via 1-click threat remediation. It addresses misconfigurations across resources, lateral movement pathways, and impact radius which are displayed in graphs.
- Achieves instant visibility of multi-cloud configurations, secrets, vulnerabilities, and more. SentinelOne’s unique Offensive Security Engine produces evidence-backed verified exploit paths. Its secret scanning detects 750+ types of secrets and cloud credentials in code repositories and prevents unauthorized cloud access.
- SentinelOne’s runtime CWPP agent detects and stops runtime threats like ransomware, zero-days, fileless attacks, etc. It supports 14 major Linux distributions and 20 years of Windows Server, including AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and private cloud
- Monitors continuous security posture of new or current cloud services, focusing on security concerns and recommended practices, and notifying of security defaults.
- Infrastructure as a Code (IaC) Security: Compares IaC configuration and implementation to other standards like CIS benchmark and PCI-DSS. To prevent merge and pull requests with hardcoded secrets, support for CI/CD integration can be employed. SentinelOne’s IaC security identifies issues before production and eliminates them before they escalate.
- SentinelOne finds the cloud resources/assets with known CVEs (Intelligence from 10 or more sources with thorough coverage) and handles various vulnerabilities. Singularity Cloud Detection Security (CDS) offers malware scanning that goes beyond signatures and it uses a proprietary static AI engine that automatically quarantines malicious files in near real-time. File scans can be conducted locally and no sensitive data leaves the environment before being checked.
- Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM): CSPM simplifies compliance and features over 2,000 built-in checks to streamline cloud audits. It also combines Kubernetes Secrets Posture Management (KSPM) capabilities.
- Graph Explorer: It visualizes relationships between resources, business services, images, and further simplifies cloud investigations.
- Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) reporting for agentless applications and security vulnerability testing for virtual machine snapshots.
See SentinelOne in Action
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Get a DemoConclusion
Cloud Security Breaches are frequently increasing as hackers discover new ways to access private data. With the correct policies and rules in place, the majority of internal security breaches in cloud computing may, fortunately, be readily averted. Make sure you periodically backup your data, and grant employee access only when necessary. Establish clear guidelines for all of your staff, irrespective of their access levels.
Cloud Security Breaches FAQs
A cloud security breach happens when someone gains unauthorized access to your cloud resources or data. Attackers might slip in through credentials, misconfigured settings, or unpatched flaws. Once inside, they can steal, delete, or tamper with sensitive information. A breach can disrupt services, expose private records, or let criminals run malicious workloads under your account.
Missteps like leaving storage buckets public, using default settings, or disabling encryption open doors for attackers. Unpatched virtual machines and outdated software invite exploits. Overly permissive network rules or IAM policies let too many people see or change resources. Small mistakes in setup often become big security gaps if they go unnoticed.
When attackers snag usernames and passwords—through phishing or leaks—they can log in as real users. Without multi-factor authentication, a stolen password alone unlocks the door. MFA adds a second check (like a one-time code), so passwords by themselves aren’t enough. Skipping MFA makes it far easier for criminals to slip into your cloud accounts.
Poorly managed identities and overly broad permissions give attackers a smooth path once they’re inside. If users or services get “admin” rights by default, an intruder can hop around freely. Failing to rotate keys or audit roles means compromised credentials stay valid longer. Close control of who can do what helps stop breaches before they spiral.
A misconfigured firewall or network security group might leave ports wide open to the internet. Storage or databases set to “public” let anyone read or write data. API endpoints without proper authorization checks let attackers call services they shouldn’t. These slipups create easy targets that criminals scan for and exploit automatically.
Personally identifiable information—names, emails, ID numbers—tops the risk list. Financial records, payment card details, and health data follow close behind. Intellectual property like source code or designs also draws attackers. Any data that can harm your reputation or fuel further attacks becomes prime steal material once a breach happens.
Breaches hit businesses large and small. Startups often misconfigure services in haste. Enterprises juggling many teams can lose track of old accounts or unused resources. Public sector and healthcare suffer when they rush deployments. Any group that moves fast in the cloud without tight policies risks exposure.
SentinelOne CNAPP scans your cloud accounts continuously for risky settings, unprotected data stores, and identity gaps. It maps out every resource and flags misconfigurations, so you can fix them before attackers strike. When threats appear, CNAPP gives guided remediation steps and tracks compliance, cutting your mean time to detect and respond.
SentinelOne’s cloud agent watches for drift from secure baselines, like newly opened ports or public buckets. It runs checks against best-practice rules and immediately alerts you. Built-in playbooks let you auto-apply fixes—relocking a bucket or revoking risky IAM roles—without waiting for manual ticketing.
Through a central console, SentinelOne shows every cloud asset, across AWS, Azure, GCP, and on-prem clusters. You see real-time risk scores, audit trails, and change histories all in one place. When issues pop up, you can drill down to the exact resource, apply automated or one-click fixes, and monitor compliance across all environments.