Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world's largest cloud security provider, and it provides the ability to store massive amounts of cloud-resident data with the Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) bucket. Amazon S3 is an object storage solution known for its exceptional scalability, data availability, security features, and performance capabilities. S3 buckets are often used by AWS users to store sensitive or critical business data. When these resources are not adequately secured, they become susceptible to unauthorized access, potentially leading to data breaches due to misconfigurations, as evidenced in recent incidents.
Understanding malicious actors' tactics, techniques, and procedures provides valuable insights into preventing or promptly addressing such incidents. Attackers use tools like "S3Scanner" and "BucketStream" during the reconnaissance phase to identify exposed ports or resources that can serve as entry points into an environment. Many of these exposed resources, such as S3 buckets, result from misconfigurations and inadequate security practices.
If an attacker has obtained credentials, they can infiltrate the environment and identify exploitable assets. Once inside, attackers can escalate their privileges to gain access to sensitive information, manipulate or delete critical infrastructure components, and carry out other malicious actions. These considerations are described in the article; they underscore the importance of robust security measures to safeguard valuable data and infrastructure.