Business priorities evolve over time. Often, the things that need immediate attention are prioritized and addressed accordingly. This is especially true in the area of cloud security, especially with the constant attacks on businesses across industries. With every new threat, companies must increasingly put a higher priority on cyber security.

It’s hard to imagine a world without internet-facing infrastructure. Indeed, cloud technologies have revolutionized the way we go about our day-to-day business. It’s also opened us up to new threats, and the cyber criminals are as busy as ever.

One of the more recent newsworthy cyber criminal developments comes in the form of “Xbash,” a truly horrific threat that has ransomware and coin-mining capabilities. It reportedly self-propagates with worm-like characteristics and is designed to spread quickly through a system, but you can protect yourself by doing the following:

• Use strong passwords
• Employ consistent backup and restoration processes
• Update security patches immediately when notified
• Prevent access to command and control servers
• Implement endpoint security

It’s threats like Xbash that remind us that cloud security is more important now than ever. And while automated attacks aren’t new, we’re using more and more cloud-based services, which can make managing security across all of them somewhat challenging.

We’re learning that the cloud era has ushered in a rush of exploitable software that runs rampant on the internet. And with malware becoming more and more complex, hackers with little experience can easily deploy it.

Facing the Challenge

Gartner says the number of connected devices is set to go over 20 billion in 2020. The problem organizations face is that these devices represent an opening for an attack. This has prompted cloud security managers to push for company-wide strategies. These include a fresh look at more hygienic improvements, but educating employees about the threats and how to protect their devices from being a liability is also a top priority.

Beyond this, getting attention is a movement toward end-to-end encrypted communication. This type of defense can significantly reduce the threat level of an automated attack on cloud-based systems. As we have learned, email is a big target for hackers who can be thwarted by the deeper layers of security that encryption can provide.

Application, kernel, and patch updates must also be applied directly when they are available. Any procrastination in this area represents a lack of responsibility in keeping company data safe.

At eXemplify, we’ve served as a valuable agent for many clients, connecting them with the infrastructure and services required to keep the entire organization safe, prepared, and fully functional. Contact us and let’s discuss what options you have for improved cloud security.