What Is Ethical Hacking for Cloud Security?

Introduction

Cloud adoption hit 94% in 2025. AWS, Azure, and GCP store petabytes of data. One misconfigured S3 bucket can leak millions of records. Ethical hacking finds these flaws before criminals do. Ethical Hacking Training Institute teaches cloud pentesting in CEH and OSCP labs. Webasha Technologies and Cybersecurity Training Institute offer 100% placement. This guide explains cloud hacking, tools, exploits, and defenses. Secure your cloud today. Explore the cybersecurity career path.

Top Cloud Platforms Targeted

• AWS: 33% market share
• Azure: 21% market share
• GCP: 11% market share
• Others: Oracle, IBM

Common Cloud Misconfigurations

• Public S3 buckets
• Over-permissive IAM
• Exposed metadata
• Unencrypted data
• Default credentials

Cloud Pentesting Tools

• Pacu: AWS exploitation
• ScoutSuite: Multi-cloud audit
• CloudSploit: Compliance scan
• Prowler: AWS CIS benchmark
• Terraform scanner

AWS S3 Bucket Exploits

• Find public buckets with BucketStream
• Enumerate with awscli
• Upload webshell
• Leak customer data
• Defense: Block public access

IAM and Serverless Attacks

IAM roles with wildcards allow privilege escalation. Lambda functions with excessive permissions become backdoors. Ethical Hacking Training Institute demos IAM privesc. Use Pacu modules. Defense: Principle of least privilege, regular audits. Find the best local courses for cloud security.

Azure and GCP Specific Exploits

Azure AD connect sync accounts abused. GCP metadata endpoint leaks keys. Webasha Technologies teaches Azure pentesting. Use MicroBurst, GCPBucketBrute. Defense: Disable legacy auth, protect metadata. Learn more about the CEH course cloud module.

Kubernetes and Container Security

Misconfigured kubelet exposes cluster. Privileged containers escape to host. Cybersecurity Training Institute shows K8s pentesting. Use kube-hunter. Defense: RBAC, network policies. Prepare for the CEH exam with container labs.

Cloud Security Comparison Table

Conclusion

Cloud is shared responsibility. Ethical hacking finds gaps. S3, IAM, K8s. Ethical Hacking Training Institute leads with real cloud labs, backed by Webasha Technologies and Cybersecurity Training Institute. One misconfig can cost millions. Discover the best CEH programs in 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is cloud ethical hacking?

Legal pentesting of AWS, Azure, GCP. Find misconfigs before attackers. Uses Pacu, ScoutSuite.

Can I pentest my AWS account?

Yes. AWS allows pentesting. No prior permission needed. Follow their policy.

Find public S3 buckets?

Use BucketStream, GrayhatWarfare. Search company name. Check permissions.

IAM privilege escalation?

Attach admin policy to low-role. Use Pacu privesc module. Audit regularly.

Serverless hacking?

Lambda with public trigger. Upload webshell. Use excessive permissions. Limit roles.

Kubernetes pentest?

Scan with kube-hunter. Check RBAC, pod security. Network policies critical.

Azure AD attack?

Sync account abuse. Password spray. Use Roadtools. Enable MFA, Conditional Access.

GCP metadata exploit?

curl metadata endpoint. Leak service account keys. Disable or restrict access.

Best cloud audit tool?

ScoutSuite. Multi-cloud. Generate HTML report. Free and open-source.

Cloud pentest legal?

Yes with written permission. Get client approval. Define scope clearly.

Where to learn cloud hacking?

Ethical Hacking Training Institute CEH cloud labs. 50+ AWS/Azure scenarios.

Terraform security?

Scan with tfsec, Checkov. Find hard-coded secrets. Use SAST tools.

Cloud shared responsibility?

Provider secures infrastructure. Customer secures data, IAM, network.

Free cloud pentest lab?

AWS Free Tier, Azure trial. Deploy vulnerable apps. Practice safely.

Next step to secure cloud?

Book free cloud audit at Ethical Hacking Training Institute, Webasha Technologies, or Cybersecurity Training Institute.