Quick answer: Cloud penetration testing is a security service that examines an organization's configuration, identity and access management and exposed surface on AWS, Azure or Google Cloud through an attacker's eyes. The most common flaw in the cloud is not a software bug but a misconfiguration: publicly open storage buckets, overly broad access roles and exposed secret keys. The cloud provider protects the infrastructure, but the security of the configuration belongs to the customer; this is called the shared responsibility model. DSET runs this test with its local AI engine KAOS and verifies every finding with a working proof.

The cloud speeds up infrastructure but does not remove the security responsibility, it only moves it. Most cloud breaches stem not from a zero day flaw but from a misconfiguration. Cloud penetration testing is a service that examines this configuration surface in a provable way. This article explains what cloud penetration testing is, the shared responsibility model and the DSET and KAOS approach.

What is cloud penetration testing

Cloud penetration testing examines an organization's cloud environment on three axes: the externally reachable surface, the identity and access management configuration and the trust relationship of cloud resources with each other. The goal is to prove how far an attacker can advance with a single exposed key or a misconfigured role. This differs from traditional network penetration testing; because the real boundary in the cloud is not a firewall but identity and access policies. For the difference of the test from a flaw scanning tool the difference between vulnerability scanning and penetration testing is the reference point.

The shared responsibility model

In the cloud responsibility is split between the provider and the customer. The provider protects the physical infrastructure and hardware, while the customer is responsible for the security of the data, the configuration and access management. The most common mistake is misunderstanding this boundary.

Layer Responsible Typical flaw
Physical hardware and data center Cloud provider Does not directly concern the organization
Storage bucket permissions Customer Publicly open bucket, data leak
Identity and access roles Customer Overly broad privilege, privilege escalation
Secret key and token management Customer Exposed key, account takeover
Network and security groups Customer Open management port, lateral movement

The essence of the table is: the vast majority of cloud flaws are in the customer's configuration area. For the frame of these flaws the security misconfiguration source should be read.

When is cloud penetration testing done

The right practice is to do it after a new cloud environment is set up, at a major architectural change and at regular intervals. Because the cloud surface changes continuously, a one time test ages over time; for this reason the cloud gives the best result together with the continuous penetration testing PTaaS model. Monitoring the continuously changing external surface is within the scope of the external attack surface management service.

The KAOS and DSET approach

DSET runs cloud penetration testing with its local AI engine KAOS. KAOS maps the cloud configuration and the external surface fast, detects overly broad access roles and exposed surfaces and, when it finds a path of advance, shows it with a working proof. The difference is this: KAOS does not run any operation that changes or deletes data without a separate and explicit approval; authorization boundaries are drawn with a contract and stay only at the read and proof level. Every finding is reported with the principle of proof based verification and findings are prioritized with CVSS. The same discipline holds in our API penetration testing service.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need permission from the cloud provider? Large cloud providers generally allow penetration testing against the customer's own resources without prior permission, but they have rules for denial of service attempts and some high impact tests. The right approach is to read the provider's current penetration testing policy while setting the test scope and to keep shared resources out of scope. DSET clarifies these boundaries during the scoping phase.

Are cloud penetration testing and configuration audit the same thing? No but they complement each other. A configuration audit lists whether the environment is set up correctly against a security benchmark; it is a checklist. Cloud penetration testing proves whether an attacker can actually exploit these configuration flaws. Together they give both the list of gaps and the proof of real risk.

Can a multi cloud environment be covered in a single test? AWS, Azure and Google Cloud work with the same logic but different identity and access models. A multi cloud environment can be covered in a single effort, but separate configuration logic and separate flaw classes are evaluated for each provider. The DSET test scales the scope accordingly based on the providers used.

Sources

To uncover the configuration and access flaws of your AWS, Azure or Google Cloud environment with a proof based test, contact DSET. We provide cloud penetration testing and consulting from our Ankara Hacettepe Teknokent laboratory.