Is Your Cloud Infrastructure Secure? VAPT for AWS, Azure, and GCP
In today’s cloud-first world, your infrastructure is inherently at risk. The question is no longer if an attacker will test your defenses, but rather, how prepared you are for when they do.
Whether your application is built on AWS, Microsoft Azure, or GCP, vulnerabilities in cloud deployments are common and can lead to catastrophic data breaches. While cloud providers offer excellent security tools, securing the configuration, deployment, and access layers is your responsibility under the Shared Responsibility Model.
That’s where specialized Cloud VAPT (Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing) becomes essential.
What is Cloud VAPT and Why is it Different?Â
Cloud VAPT is a highly specialized process where security experts go beyond traditional network testing to focus on the unique risks of cloud-native architectures.Â
It involves:Â
- Misconfiguration Auditing: Identifying security flaws in your settings, not just application code.
- Access Control Testing: Rigorously examining IAM (Identity and Access Management) roles and policies for over-permissioning. Â
- Threat Simulation: Simulating real-world attacks tailored to cloud services (e.g., exploiting a publicly exposed S3 bucket or a weak API endpoint).Â
Unlike on-premise VAPT, a cloud test must be tailored to services like APIs, serverless functions, storage buckets, container registries, and more.Â
The Cloud Security Challenge: The Shared Responsibility ModelÂ
Many businesses, especially fast-moving startups and development teams, mistakenly assume their cloud provider secures everything. This is the most common and dangerous oversight.Â
AWS, Azure, and GCP all operate on the Shared Responsibility Model:Â
- Provider’s Responsibility: Securing the Infrastructure (the hardware, network, and physical facilities).Â
- Your Responsibility: Securing the Cloud (the operating system, data, configurations, identity management, and application code).Â
Common Risks VAPT Uncovers:Â
- Overly Permissive IAM: Giving users or services access privileges they don’t need (e.g., an application role that can delete the entire database).Â
- Storage Misconfigurations: Publicly exposed S3, Azure Blob, or GCP Storage buckets that allow anonymous data access.Â
- Forgotten Services: Unmonitored, unpatched development VMs or databases containing production data.Â
- Weak CI/CD Security: Automated pipelines that bypass necessary security reviews for speed.
Cloud VAPT Coverage: Platform-Specific FocusÂ
A credible Cloud VAPT provider must have deep expertise in the nuances of each major platform:Â
Cloud Platform | Key Services Tested by VAPT | Common Misconfigurations Uncovered |
AWS | EC2, S3, IAM, Lambda, RDS, EKS/ECS, CloudTrail | Public S3 access, overly broad IAM policies, EC2 Security Group exposures. |
Azure | Azure Storage/Blob, Azure AD, Key Vault, SQL Database, App Gateway | Missing RBAC enforcement on Key Vaults, App Gateway misconfigurations, Azure AD privilege escalation. |
GCP | Compute Engine, Cloud Storage, IAM, Cloud Run, App Engine, Cloud Logging | Unrestricted IAM roles, firewall rule exposures, insufficient logging/monitoring gaps. |
VAPT as Your Compliance & Audit Evidence
Cloud VAPT is not just risk mitigation; it’s a mandatory step for major regulatory and enterprise compliance frameworks.Â
- ISO 27001: Directly addresses A.12.6.1 (Management of Technical Vulnerabilities), requiring regular technical vulnerability assessments on all systems, including cloud workloads.Â
- Â SOC 2: Essential for meeting the Security and Availability Criteria by proving you consistently assess and manage the security posture of your cloud environment.Â
- PCI DSS & HIPAA: Cloud workloads storing regulated data (cardholder data, PHI) must be regularly tested and assessed to prove administrative and technical controls are effective.Â
Cloud VAPT generates the clear, actionable, and time-stamped evidence auditors need to sign off on these key controls.Â
Selecting the Right Cloud VAPT ProviderÂ
To ensure your investment delivers genuine security value and compliance support, look for these critical traits:Â
- Multi-Cloud Experience: Proven track record across AWS, Azure, and GCP, not just one.
- Deep Manual Testing: Avoid vendors who rely solely on automated cloud scanning tools. VAPT must include hands-on, credentialed access testing.Â
- Actionable Remediation: Reports must prioritize risks (e.g., “Critical: S3 Bucket X is public. Fix: Apply bucket policy Z and disable public access”) over tool-generated noise.Â
- Compliance Mapping: The report should explicitly link findings to the frameworks you are targeting (e.g., “IAM finding violates ISO 27001 A.12.1.2”).Â
Don’t wait for a simple oversight to turn into a major breach. Cloud VAPT is the proactive, insight-driven process that transforms your cloud security from a liability into a demonstrable business strength.Â
