Incidents in cloud environments: how they happen and how to prepare

Cloud computing is secure, but incidents can occur. Knowing the most common types is essential to reduce impacts on the business and strengthen the security of the environment.

Cloud computing is secure and widely adopted by businesses, with ongoing investments in technology and protection. Still, even with planning and good practices, incidents can occur. Therefore, the focus of cloud security should also be on reducing impacts to the business.

Incidents in cloud environments rarely happen unexpectedly: they usually result from inadequate decisions, lack of governance, and absence of continuous management. With preparation, well-defined processes, and the support of a specialized partner, it is possible to prevent them and significantly reduce their impacts.

Before preparing your company for potential incidents, it is essential to know and understand them. Therefore, we highlight the 7 most common types of incidents in the cloud!

7 Most Common Types of Incidents in the Cloud

1. Incorrect Cloud Environment Configurations

Incorrect configurations are among the most common sources of incidents in the cloud, as errors in defining services, networks, or security controls create unnecessary exposures in the environment.

2. Unavailability of Critical Applications

Technical issues, configuration errors, or dependency failures can cause system unavailability, directly impacting the daily operations of the company.

3. Performance Drops

Inadequate resource usage, lack of visibility into the environment, and unexpected spikes hinder user experience and impact productivity.

4. Improper Exposure of Data or Services

Open cloud storage, exposed APIs, or excessive permissions can make data or services accessible without proper control, being one of the main causes of information leaks in cloud environments.

5. Failures in backups or environment recovery

Non-existent, poorly configured, or never tested backups hinder recovery after incidents and increase the downtime of systems.

6. Out-of-control costs after operational incidents

After an incident, excessive resource consumption or the maintenance of unnecessary services and environments can increase costs and directly impact the company's budget.

7. Inadequate identity and access management

Excessive permissions, lack of separation of duties, or poorly managed identities facilitate unauthorized access, allowing unauthorized individuals to access systems or data, thus increasing the impact of incidents.

How to prepare for incidents in cloud environments

Invest in governance and have well-defined roles

Having governance means clearly defining responsibilities and roles within the environment, access and configuration rules, applying the principle of least privilege to reduce errors, prevent unauthorized access, and minimize operational risks.

Implement continuous and proactive monitoring

Constant monitoring ensures real-time visibility of the environment, allowing for the identification of abnormal behaviors and quick action before failures turn into incidents.

Have clear incident response processes

Defining workflows, responsibilities, and priorities facilitates incident response, reducing reaction time, improving communication, and minimizing impacts on the business.

Invest in recurring testing

Regularly testing backups, recovery plans, and contingency scenarios ensures everything works when needed, reducing downtime in real situations.

Maintain visibility of the environment and costs

Having visibility of the environment and costs allows for the quick identification of unnecessary or out-of-standard expenses and helps maintain financial control even after incidents.

With this preparation, the cloud environment operates more securely and in a controlled manner, reducing the likelihood of incidents. And when they do occur, the impact is less severe, with quicker responses, better containment, and lower risk to the business. In this context, having a specialized partner is essential to ensure continuous monitoring, dedicated experts, and risk reduction without overloading internal teams.

With this in mind, Teltec Data has developed the Cloud Managed Services (CMS), a managed service for the management of cloud environments, aligned with business objectives. The CMS offers 24/7 monitoring, specialized support, operational efficiency, cost reduction, and continuous security, ensuring reliability, governance, and predictability for cloud environments.

Protect your cloud. Talk to our specialists and explore the possibilities for your business!