Week 4 Assignment

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Brigham Young University, Idaho *

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531

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Computer Science

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Dec 6, 2023

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docx

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6

Uploaded by niiquash

1 Week 4 Assignment Ammon Nii Atiapa Quarshie School of Computer Information Science, University of the Cumberlands ITS-532-B03: Cloud Computing Dr. Barcus Jackson November 14, 2023
2 Malicious Employee Threat Mitigation Securing cloud computing environments from internal threats, especially those posed by malicious employees, presents a set of challenges and complexities. As businesses and organizations increasingly rely on cloud infrastructure to store and process sensitive data, the potential for insider threats becomes more critical. Malicious employees with access to cloud systems can compromise data integrity, confidentiality, and availability. This makes necessary a comprehensive and proactive security strategy tailored to the unique dynamics of cloud computing. In this context, mitigating the risk of malicious insiders involves not only traditional security measures but also requires leveraging cloud-specific controls, monitoring mechanisms, and user behavior analytics to ensure a resilient defense against internal threats within the dynamic landscape of cloud environments. According to Mahajan & Sharma (2015), a malicious insider refers to an employee of the Cloud Service Provider who exploits their position for personal gain or other malicious objectives, such as disgruntled employees seeking retribution. The risk posed by a malicious insider is widely acknowledged by most organizations. For consumers of cloud services, this threat is magnified due to the integration of IT services and customers within a unified management domain, coupled with a general lack of transparency regarding provider processes and procedures. In addition to complexity, there is typically limited visibility into the hiring standards and practices for cloud employees. This situation becomes an enticing opportunity for potential adversaries, ranging from amateur hackers to organized crime or even nation-state sponsored intrusions. The level of access granted in such scenarios could empower adversaries to acquire confidential data or assume complete control over cloud services with minimal risk of detection.
3 Mahajan & Sharma (2015), further explain the motives that may be behind malicious employees’ attacks. Hackers engage in various motives, each driven by different goals and intentions. First and foremost, the allure of stealing valuable data serves as a significant motivation. Data stored on the internet often holds immense value, some even valued in millions of dollars. Gaining access to such valuable information provides hackers with the means to generate revenue, as exemplified by instances like WikiLeaks. Another motivation lies in causing controversy; certain attackers thrive on the thrill of chaos, and the internet, particularly the Cloud, becomes an appealing medium for its popularity and the likelihood of successful data theft. Additionally, revenge can be a powerful motivator, especially for former employees who, having lost their positions, may express dissatisfaction by hacking into their former organization's network, a task made easier when the organization utilizes Cloud services. Conversely, some hackers adopt a helpful approach, identifying security flaws in an organization's system to aid in improvement. Others seek to prove their intellect and gain prestige by targeting large organizations with robust security mechanisms, turning hacking into a career. Lastly, a group of hackers may act out of sheer curiosity, wanting to learn more about a company or organization. While their intent may not be malicious, their actions can still pose a danger, even if unintentional rule-breaking is involved. In recent events, many organizations have had to deal with insider threats. One major incident occurred at General Electric (GE). In a well-known case of insider threat, two employees at General Electric (GE) executed a scheme involving the unauthorized download of numerous files containing trade secrets from the company's servers. Subsequently, these files were either uploaded to cloud storage or sent to private email addresses. Additionally, the malicious insiders managed to persuade a system administrator to grant them improper access to
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