5 common cloud security mistakes and how to avoid them

Most cloud incidents do not start with a sophisticated attack. They start with an ordinary configuration mistake that nobody noticed. Here are the five most common ones and how to prevent them.

1. Over-broad permissions

Accounts and services with administrator rights "just in case" turn a small breach into a big one. Grant only the permissions a specific task needs, review them regularly and use roles instead of long-lived access keys.

2. Publicly accessible data

A storage bucket or database exposed to the internet by mistake is one of the most common causes of data leaks. Block public access by default and make exceptions deliberately and on record.

3. Secrets in code

Passwords and access keys written into code or configuration files sooner or later end up in a repository, a log or a chat. Keep them in a secrets manager, rotate them periodically and scan repositories for accidentally committed keys.

4. No multi-factor authentication

A password alone is not enough protection for the accounts that manage your cloud. Turn on multi-factor authentication for everyone, especially administrators, and limit the use of the root account.

5. Manual changes with no trace

When infrastructure is changed by hand in the console, nobody knows exactly what it looks like or why. Describe it as code with Terraform or a similar tool, review changes like code and add an automated configuration check that catches drift.

In short

Most cloud risks are reduced by discipline rather than expensive tools: least privilege, closed data, secrets outside the code, multi-factor authentication and infrastructure as code. If you would like to check the current state of your cloud, we can help.