Cloud Application Security: Common Risks, Controls, and Best Practices

Summary

A practical guide to cloud application security, covering common risks such as misconfigurations and insecure APIs, key controls, frameworks, and security best practices.

Key points

• Cloud application security focuses on protecting cloud-hosted software, APIs, data, configurations, and access controls.
• Common risks include exposed storage or excessive permissions, insecure APIs, identity abuse, third-party integrations, and data exposure.
• Recommended controls include least-privilege access, MFA, encryption, network segmentation, vulnerability management, logging, and secure development practices.
• The guide points to OWASP, NIST, CSA CCM, CIS Benchmarks, and compliance standards as resources for structuring cloud security programs.
• It recommends auditing permissions, scanning infrastructure as code, testing incident response plans, and monitoring unusual API activity and data movement.