Originally published by Solutions Review
The year 2024 saw an alarming increase in data breaches, resulting in substantial financial losses for businesses across industries. A recent report cites 84 percent of respondents reported losing at least $10,000 in revenue due to an outage in the past year, with nearly one-third suffering losses ranging from $100,000 to over $1 million. These statistics highlight the growing threat posed by cyberattacks, especially within cloud infrastructures.
The rapid expansion of the cloud market, coupled with the dominance of hyperscale public cloud providers, has created a complex and often vulnerable IT ecosystem. The shift toward hybrid and multi-cloud architectures, while offering greater flexibility, has also widened the attack surface for cybercriminals. The multi-tenant nature of public cloud infrastructure, where multiple users share hardware resources, further exacerbates security risks by increasing exposure to potential vulnerabilities or malicious code.
Let’s take a walk through some of the most high-profile cloud security breaches of 2024 and what we can learn from them in 2025.
The Biggest Outages Caused by Hacks in 2024
Snowflake Breach: Early in 2024, hackers exploited stolen credentials to bypass multi-factor authentication in Snowflake’s cloud platform, exposing sensitive data from 165 organizations. Affected companies included AT&T, Ticketmaster, and Santander Bank, with data breaches ranging from call records to banking details. Many SMBs suffered legal, operational, and reputational fallout, with recovery costs likely in the millions.
Loan Depot: A January cyberattack on Loan Depot compromised the personal and financial data of 16 million individuals, causing an estimated $27 million loss. The breach highlighted the need for stronger encryption and proactive threat detection.
CDK Global: In June, ransomware crippled CDK Global’s systems, disrupting thousands of U.S. auto dealerships. With an estimated $1 billion in collective losses, businesses struggled to process sales, track inventory, and manage financing. Many were forced to revert to manual operations, significantly impacting revenue.
Change Healthcare: In February, ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware targeted Change Healthcare, compromising data from 190 million individuals and disrupting insurance claims processing nationwide. Hackers exploited stolen credentials and a lack of multi-factor authentication. UnitedHealth spent $3.1 billion responding to the breach, while SMBs in healthcare faced major financial and operational setbacks.
The Impact on SMBs: Disproportionate Risks and Costs
While security breaches affect organizations of all sizes, SMBs often bear the brunt of the consequences. Unlike large corporations, which can leverage extensive financial and technical resources to recover from cyberattacks, smaller businesses frequently struggle to bounce back.
One major challenge is prioritization—large enterprises typically receive assistance first, leaving SMBs to fend for themselves. Additionally, many SMBs lack the funds to invest in advanced cybersecurity solutions or develop comprehensive disaster recovery plans.
When an SMB does suffer an attack, the impact can be devastating. While some estimates suggest that the minimum cost of IT downtime is $5,000 per minute, a staggering 44% of surveyed businesses reported costs as high as $16,700 per server per minute, equating to over $1 million per hour. Even micro-SMBs – companies with 25 employees or fewer – could face costs of roughly $100,000 per hour, a figure that could put them out of business within days.
Strengthening Cloud Security: A Proactive Approach for 2025
Looking ahead to 2025, organizations must focus on reinforcing their cloud security posture through a structured and proactive approach.
Here are 4 things your business can get started on right now to ensure you avoid these outages in 2025:
1. Identifying Weak Spots
Businesses must conduct thorough security assessments to identify vulnerabilities. Evaluating internal processes and recognizing potential weaknesses is the first step toward establishing a more secure IT environment. By prioritizing improvements and creating a structured action plan, companies can mitigate risk and enhance resilience.
2. Developing a Robust Disaster Recovery Plan
A well-prepared disaster recovery plan is crucial for minimizing the impact of cyberattacks. Organizations should establish reliable data backup and recovery systems to safeguard critical information. Regular testing ensures these plans remain effective and up to date in the face of evolving threats.
3. Diversifying Risk with a Multi-Cloud Strategy
Adopting a hybrid or multi-cloud approach allows businesses to distribute workloads across multiple providers, reducing dependency on a single platform. Selecting cloud providers with geographically diverse data centers further mitigates risks associated with regional outages or disasters. Regularly updating risk mitigation strategies ensures businesses remain resilient as they grow.
4. Continuous Vigilance: The Key to Long-Term Security
Securing sensitive data requires an ongoing commitment to best practices. Regular security assessments, vulnerability testing, and proactive threat detection are essential components of a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy.
Key methods include:
- Vulnerability scanning to detect weaknesses before they can be exploited.
- Security scanning to evaluate network and application integrity.
- Penetration testing to simulate real-world attacks and identify gaps.
- Risk assessments to prioritize security measures based on threat levels.
- Regular security audits to ensure compliance and effectiveness.
As cyber threats continue to evolve, businesses must remain vigilant. The security breaches of 2024 serve as cautionary tales, emphasizing the need for proactive defense strategies. By investing in robust security measures and fostering a culture of continuous improvement, organizations can navigate the complexities of cloud security and safeguard their future. The question is no longer if an attack will occur, but when—preparedness is the key to resilience.
