What is Threat Detection?

Threat detection is the process of identifying malicious or suspicious activity that could indicate a breach or attack. This can include:

• Unusual user behavior (e.g., logging in from multiple countries)
• Unauthorized access attempts
• Misconfigured cloud resources being scanned or exploited
• Malware or known indicators of compromise (IOCs)

Detection doesn't stop with identifying known threats. Cloud environments must also focus on behavioral anomalies and contextual awareness, seeing the bigger picture of what is happening and why it matters in that specific cloud context.

Common Cloud Threats

• Misconfigurations – The #1 cause of cloud breaches. Examples: Public S3 buckets, overly permissive IAM roles, or unencrypted databases.
• Compromised Credentials – Weak or reused passwords, lack of MFA, or exposed secrets can give attackers direct access.
• Privilege Escalation – Exploiting IAM policies or permissions to gain elevated access in your cloud environment.
• Shadow IT – Unauthorized apps or services launched outside of approved controls, often without logging or monitoring in place.
• Insider Threats – Malicious or negligent actions from employees, contractors, or partners.
• API Abuse – Cloud services often expose APIs that, if not properly secured, become prime targets for attackers.

Logging and Monitoring: Your Detection Foundation

You can't detect what you don't log.

Effective threat detection starts with strong logging and monitoring practices. Here are the basics you need:

• b Centralized Logging: Aggregate logs from all sources: Cloud provider services (e.g., AWS CloudTrail, Azure Activity Logs, GCP Audit Logs), virtual machines and containers, application logs, identity providers (e.g., Azure AD, Okta)
• b Real-Time Monitoring: Use tools like SIEM platforms, CSP-native tools (e.g., AWS GuardDuty, Azure Sentinel, GCP Security Command Center), and open-source agents (e.g., Falco, Fluent Bit, Suricata). Configure alerts and detection rules that match your environment's threats and business risks.
• b Threat Intelligence: Integrate curated threat feeds and IOCs into your detection tools for early warning of known attack patterns and malicious infrastructure.

Response: It's Not Just About Speed

Threat response is about more than reacting fast. It requires:

• Playbooks – Pre-defined incident response steps for common scenarios
• Automation – Use tools like AWS Lambda or SOAR to isolate or mitigate threats faster
• Post-incident analysis – Conduct thorough retrospectives to improve detection and reduce time to response (MTTR)

Remember: Even the best detection is meaningless without response.

What This Means for Your Team

If you're operating in or migrating to the cloud, threat detection and response must be intentional, continuous, and cloud-native.

At Cyvaris, we help cloud and cybersecurity professionals learn:

• How to architect detection using cloud-native logs
• What modern threats look like across AWS, Azure, and GCP
• How to design response strategies that align with business goals

We're building a foundation of cloud-first cybersecurity knowledge, grounded in training, strategy, and real-world scenarios.

If you're a business leader, MSP/MSSP, or cloud security enthusiast looking to upskill your team or add cloud detection to your offering, stay connected.