Cloud security · 3 MIN READ · SARAH CRONE · JUN 27, 2025 · TAGS: AWS / Guidance / Kubernetes
TL;DR
- This is part two of our blog series, Cloud Decoded
- Part two covers common attack vectors and what bad actors don’t want you to know about them, and how Expel can help you fight back
- You can find part one here, and it covers what MDR really means for cloud, including debunking common myths surrounding it
In part one, we talked about common misconceptions in cloud security and debunked some myths keeping security practitioners up at night.
Now, it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty. Knowing your enemy is half the battle, and understanding the most common attack methods is the fastest way to get better at detection and response. In part two of this series, we’ll take a look at common attack vectors and how managed detection and response (MDR) can help you fight back.
Threat 1: control plane compromises
The control plane (think AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) is the brain of your cloud operation. Attackers know this and hunt for ways in, typically by abusing misconfigured resources like public S3 buckets, or by using stolen credentials—often long-lived, static access keys—to access these powerful management layers. Once inside, they can execute API calls that look legitimate, making them a ghost in your machine.
How Expel helps: We ingest and analyze your raw cloud audit logs, monitoring API activity and IAM actions in real time. Our detection engines are tuned to spot the hallmarks of a compromise, and our analysts investigate these signals, quickly differentiating between benign admin activity and malicious behaviors like privilege escalation or attempts to access resources from a previously unseen region.
Threat 2: container and Kubernetes exploits
Because software is being developed and released so quickly, there often isn’t enough time to perform proper security checks, which can lead to vulnerabilities. Think of it like a factory assembly line running at maximum speed. In the rush to get products out the door, important safety inspections might be skipped.
Threat actors exploit this by targeting vulnerable base images in your container registries or misconfigured Kubernetes RBAC policies to gain initial access. An attacker who compromises a single pod can potentially escalate privileges to the node, or even the entire cluster.
How Expel helps: We provide deep visibility by tracking container lifecycle events and flagging anomalies that point to an attack. We spot the warning signs of a takeover, such as a hacker using your systems to secretly mine cryptocurrency, opening a back door to control things remotely, or breaking out of an application’s ‘digital sandbox’ to get control over the entire server it runs on.
Threat 3: SaaS account takeovers
Your SaaS applications (like Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, or Salesforce) are treasure troves of sensitive data. Through credential stuffing, phishing, or session hijacking, an attacker who compromises a single SaaS account can exfiltrate data, set up malicious inbox rules for persistence, or move laterally into your other integrated cloud systems.
How Expel helps: It’s all about correlation. We ingest logs from your identity provider and your critical SaaS apps, cross-referencing activity to spot the real threats. We quickly identify risky scenarios such as MFA fatigue attacks and suspicious OAuth grants where a malicious third-party app requests broad permissions to access user data.
Threat 4: Over-permissioned identities
This is the silent killer in cloud security. Privilege creep, where users and service principles accumulate excessive permissions over time, is rampant. When an attacker is able to compromise an identity through excessive permission, they instantly gain a massive blast radius, turning a small intrusion into a catastrophic data breach.
How Expel helps: We function as an extension of your team, providing proactive cloud detection and response (CDR) guidance. Our analysts don’t just act as a proxy for alerts; they provide specific, actionable recommendations for tightening your IAM policies. We help you identify and remediate high-risk permissions, such as the ability for a low-privilege role to pass a high-privilege role to a new service, a classic privilege escalation path.
Why Expel is your cloud security ally
Defending the cloud requires a security partner who speaks the language. Expel combines API-driven cloud integrations with the deep, contextual expertise of our security analysts to turn mountains of telemetry into clear, actionable insights. We deliver proactive recommendations that help you harden your environment and address vulnerabilities before they become headline news.
Ready for the next step? Stay tuned for Part three of our series, Future-proofing cloud security–why MDR is critical, where we’ll discuss building a resilient, long-term security strategy for your cloud environment.
