Cloud servers are the most common attack vector for cyberattacks, according to new research, with 41% of companies citing them as the first point of entry.
An attack vector is a path or method used by a hacker to illegally access a network or computer in an attempt to exploit system vulnerabilities.
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The problem is getting worse, as the number of attacks using cloud servers as their initial entry point has increased by 10% year-over-year. They have also surpassed corporate servers as the primary way into organizations.
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The data, collected by cyber insurance company Hiscox from a survey of 5,181 professionals across eight countries, found that it's not just cloud servers that let hackers in, with 40% of businesses citing work emails as the main access point for cyberattacks.
How else are businesses breached?
Other common login methods included remote access servers (RAS), which were cited by 31% of respondents, and employee-owned mobile devices, which were cited by 29% (up 6% from the previous year).
Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks were also a popular method, as reported by 26% of respondents.
The data also provided some insight into how cyberattacks affect different countries.
Businesses in the UK were found to be the least likely of all countries surveyed to have suffered a cyberattack in the past year at 42% – the Netherlands and France had rates of 57% and 52% respectively.
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However, on the other hand, the UK had the highest average cost for cyberattacks of all the countries examined, at $28,000.
It's not just smaller, underfunded companies that can fall victim to attacks based on cloud servers.
Accenture, one of the world's largest IT consulting firms, recently suffered an attack involving the LockBit that affected a cloud server environment.
Information source: techradar.com
