Part 2 – 9: Terms and Definitions for Cloud vs On-Prem Attacks
| Term | Definition |
| Cloud Environment | Computers and applications hosted offsite or remote (cloud) servers |
| On-Premises Environment | Computers and applications hosted onsite connected to the same network as everyone else in the business |
| DDOS Attack | Denial of Service Attack meant to take down a service to prevent users from gaining access |
Cloud environments are more affordable and reliable than on-prem or on-premises environments. Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Office 365 are just some of many cloud services offering hosting of servers to using specific applications like Work or Excel. On-prem environments will only have equipment stationed onsite or the same location where the business is located. The servers and networks are all hosted/stored in a locked server room within the business. While both cloud and on-prem environments have their advantages and disadvantages, they both carry very similar issues when it comes to protection. Protection of systems usually requires an Admin role to manage and update their equipment and services as needed. The major issue when it comes to on-prem and cloud environments is cost related. It might be a major cost advantage to have a vendor manage and monitor the cloud environment as this is billed with the service purchased. On-prem would require a dedicated employee (IT Admin) who would monitor and manage the on-prem environment. The issue here is that the cost is greater and the admin may not have all the dedicated information and time to manage every single server and application. The opportunity for an infection could be greater. The issue with cloud environments is that you are relying on the vendor to protect and manage issues. Sometimes the vendor may run into issues and may take longer to fix or maybe a widespread infection could leak into your environment and infect your systems. You never truly know what is updated, fixed, how it was fixed, different measures to put into place to prevent further issues, etc. Just like the cloud, you need to determine how to protect your environment and systems from attacks which would be a major upfront cost to do so. Adding a firewall, different types of monitoring software, networks, etc. is a hefty bill to implement them.
On-prem attacks will try to attack every sector (file, server, network, firewall, etc.) to try and break into your systems. Anything from simple user faults or file corruption is possible and must be prevented by the IT team. These attacks have a better chance of getting to other systems as your environment lies on the same network. Cloud attacks are specific and are focused to certain items based on what the vendor is hosting. An example of a cloud attack could be a DOS attack. When a Denial of Service attack is conducted on a cloud environment, it could take down the website prevent the vendors clients from gaining access to their servers or applications.