Page 128 - Cyber Defense eMagazine September 2023

How to Avoid Common Security Incidents in

the Public Cloud

By Jhilam Biswas, Customer Engineering Manager, Google Cloud

The growth of cloud computing is undeniable. According to Garter’s report, the global spending on public
cloud services was around $490.3 billion in 2022, and this number is projected to grow by 20.7% in 2023
to reach $591.8 billion. What propels this phenomenal growth are a number of reasons, a few notable
ones being accelerating digital transformation and faster time to market, increasing demand for hybrid
and multi-cloud deployments, leveraging the pay-as-you-go model of the cloud.

As cloud computing grows, so does the need for cloud security. Cloud environments are complex and
often have a large attack surface, making them attractive targets for cyber attackers. In fact, a recent
study by Verizon found that more than 80% of enterprise breaches involved threats initiated by external
sources and 50% of all social engineering attacks are pretexting incidents—nearly double of last year’s
total.

Given the importance of cloud security in the age of cyberattacks, in this article, we’ll cover some critical
methodologies used in Google Cloud to prevent the most commonly seen security incidents in the cloud.

Cyber Defense eMagazine – September 2023 Edition 128
Copyright © 2023, Cyber Defense Magazine. All rights reserved worldwide.