Data breaches and misconfiguration are the topics of conversation when it comes to data security. The two terms are often used interchangeably, but they’re not the same thing.
Data breach is a term that’s often used interchangeably with “security incident.” It describes when sensitive information—like credit card numbers or social security numbers—becomes available on the internet or in an unauthorized location. A data breach can be caused by human error (like leaving a USB drive in your car or mailbox), a virus, an employee or contractor misuse of information, or even a hack.
Misconfiguration refers to any mistake that results in sensitive information being exposed improperly. Misconfiguration can range from things as simple as leaving passwords written down on sticky notes at work to more complex cases where hackers have gained access to systems through vulnerabilities in their design.
HOW CAN MISCONFIGURATION LEAD TO DATA BREACHES?
The data breach you see on the news is usually the result of human error. Most often, this happens because one employee takes something home with them and then passes it off as their work.
But what about when a company’s computers are hacked? The answer is that it’s still possible—and even likely—that a misconfiguration was to blame.
Mismatches in configuration can lead to data breaches when the wrong person or group gets access to your system. Here are some examples:
* A user has been given administrator privileges and can change anything they want on your network.
* Your application has been configured so that only users who have been granted permissions can view certain parts of your system.
* An attacker has gotten into your network through another avenue and set up an account on your system with administrator privileges.
HOW CAN CLOUD SECURITY PROTECT AGAINST MISCONFIGURATION?
Cloud security is essentially a way to protect your cloud services from being misconfigured or maliciously accessed. It’s important to note that this is not a new concept, and there are already many systems in place to ensure the proper configuration of clouds.
The idea behind cloud security is that you can create an environment where the data stored in your cloud isn’t accessible by anyone but you. This means that no one else can make changes to it without your permission, and if someone does make changes,
they will have to leave a trail showing how they were able to do so. This makes it much more difficult for hackers to access your data without leaving any clues behind.
Cloud security also ensures that any attempts at accessing your data will be detected quickly and stopped before they can accomplish their goal.”