Impact of Security Misconfigurations
Security misconfiguration is when you inappropriately configure settings or leave them insecure, thus putting your data and systems at risk.
They can happen due to poorly documented configuration changes, technical issues across endpoints, or default settings. Sometimes what your company considers a safe environment has dangerous mistakes or gaps that expose the system to risks.
Security misconfiguration is one of the biggest cloud security threats.
Image viaCybersecurity Insiders
It’s also the 6th on theOWASP Top 10 list of critical web application security risks.
So, how does it affect your organization?
Impact of Security Misconfigurations
Security misconfiguration is a widespread problem that could happen at any application stack level. These include web servers, networks, databases, frameworks, containers, pre-installed virtual machines, and others.
It can allow unauthorized access to functionalities and systems data or compromise the complete system.
Some of the impacts of security misconfiguration include:
- Modification of admin controls by hackers who take advantage of insecure admin consoles
- Exposure of sensitive information or the compromise of underlying flaws through security misconfigurations. It can happen if the app server configuration allows detailed error messages returned to users.
- Hackers could log in to your web application using default credentials if they discover its configuration. They could also find files on your directory listing and download all compiled Java classes.
- Consider too the cost of dealing with a breach. It currently averages$3.9 million, with the cost per record at $150 each.
So, how do you prevent these problems?
How Can You Mitigate Security Misconfiguration?
Start with diagnosing the security misconfiguration in your systems. You will have to:
- Scan your cloud infrastructure and hybrid environments to identify resources
- Set up alerts that notify you of suspicious activities or anomalies.
- Check the admin console, apps, networks, devices, and servers for default configurations.
Next, put down measures to prevent security misconfigurations.
For this, you will have to:
- Understand each critical component of your system and its behavior
- Lockdown critical structures and apply proper access control to files and directories
- Regularly review and update software, and security configurations
- Build a strong application architecture
- Use automated processes to ensure security configurations are in place
- Frequently run audits and scans
- Educate and train employees on security misconfigurations
Regularly track and analyze your infrastructure to identify potential vulnerabilities. It’s important to have visibility in your cloud environment if you want to prevent security misconfigurations.