With more businesses opting cloud computing for several operations maintaining data integrity and security has become a growing concern. Even though cloud has its own set of advantages such as flexibility, accessibility, cost-efficiency and others, security stands as one of the toughest challenges. As much as cloud computing has become essential cloud access is one of the prime focus areas which has equal number of threats and security issues. Some of the common threats for cloud computing access are:

Application security : Defects in web applications can be manipulated to access the devices and disrupt sensitive data. Having credible authentication process and a strong encryption to direct and external devices will help in safeguarding the data to the most possible extent. Weak interfaces and APIs that are usually accessed through the Web need strong security measures. While tying up with the cloud providers, organizations must get complete security details and must get appropriate customizations done to ensure total data security.

System vulnerabilities : One of the biggest threats here is the ability to exploit bugs in programs which are interconnected to the cloud exposing the data. With a range of functions underlying organizations often tend to share databases, programs, platforms and other resources to provide a flexible working environment. This offers a chance to hack the data and also gain easy entry into other programs. Regular scanning, patch management, and rectifying system threats immediately can save the data from being manipulated.

Account hijacking : The traditional methods including phishing, fraud, and software exploits make way in cloud computing as well. Sharing of confidential data such as account credentials between users and available services must be strictly prohibited. Regular auditing of service accounts and multifactor authentication schemes will help firms to protect their valuable data on the cloud. A hacker with control of even one account can track transactions of others, provide reputation damaging responses to customers or even redirect customers to other websites. This needs to be addressed with equal importance.

Denial of service (DoS) : This cloud access security concern is different from the conventional. Here the attack is not directly on the security of the website. Instead it is attempted to make the business website and related information unavailable to the users. DoS is generally used as a smokescreen to perform suspicious activities that includes bringing down security appliances.

Data breach, Permanent data loss, Inadequate diligence are few of the common cloud security issues. With the sophistication of cloud access threats, organizations must invest in a thorough cloud security plan and must take adequate measures to ensure the safety.