Key Takeaways
Cloud jacking is the unauthorized hijacking of cloud accounts or infrastructure. Threat actors exploit weak credentials, misconfigurations, and phishing campaigns to breach cloud environments.
It leads to severe consequences, including data breaches, compliance failures (like GDPR or PCI-DSS violations), service disruptions, and reputational damage.
Group-IB empowers organizations to detect, prevent, and respond to cloud jacking incidents at scale.

What is Cloud Jacking?

Cloud jacking (or cloud account hijacking) involves cybercriminals gaining unauthorized access to the cloud environment. Attackers might exploit unpatched vulnerabilities or misconfigurations in cloud-powered solutions or deceive users into revealing login credentials.

Once inside, threat actors have the same privileges as legitimate users and can carry out malicious activities and access sensitive data, systems, and applications. This access allows cybercriminals to elevate permissions, achieve persistence on the system, move laterally, and exfiltrate data for further attacks and financial gain.

How Does Cloud Jacking Work?

Cloud jacking works by attackers gaining unauthorized access to cloud-based accounts, services, or infrastructure. This is usually done by stealing credentials, exploiting misconfigurations, or abusing APIs. Once inside, they can hijack computing resources, exfiltrate sensitive data, or escalate privileges.

Cybercriminals use various vectors to gain access to cloud accounts. The most common tactics include:

  • Social engineering attacks. Threat actors use phishing emails with malicious links and other social engineering methods to trick cloud users into disclosing login information.
  • Brute-force attacks. Threat actors use automated scripts that keep trying different password combinations until they are successful.
  • Malware. Criminals use malicious programs such as information stealers to compromise victims and collect cloud login details.
  • Exploiting vulnerabilities. Hackers target weaknesses in cloud platforms and user configurations to gain unauthorized access.
  • Data breaches. Following massive data breaches, threat actors acquire valid credentials from leak databases offered on underground markets and Underground Clouds of Logs.

How is Cloud Jacking Dangerous?

Cloud jacking is dangerous because it gives attackers a direct path into your cloud infrastructure, often the core of your business operations. Once inside, the damage can be swift and severe.

Key risks of cloud jacking include:

  • Data Theft. Attackers can access customer records, source code, financial info, or intellectual property stored in cloud databases.
  • Service Disruption. Hijacked cloud instances can be shut down, reconfigured, or used in DDoS attacks, crippling your business continuity.
  • Cryptojacking. Compromised cloud compute resources are often used to mine cryptocurrency, leading to inflated bills and system slowdowns.
  • Lateral Movement. If your cloud is connected to other apps or infrastructure, attackers may escalate privileges or pivot to internal systems.
  • Reputation and Compliance Fallout. A breach could mean GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI-DSS violations, leading to fines, lawsuits, and customer trust erosion.

How to Protect Against Cloud Jacking?

There are a few critical steps in defending against cloud jacking. They include basic cybersecurity measures essential to safeguarding against cyberthreats as well as advanced defenses and tools that specifically counteract cloud jacking.

1. Enable MFA and Enforce Least-Privilege Access

Most cloud jacking incidents begin with stolen or reused credentials. MFA blocks unauthorized access, even if credentials are compromised. In the 2019 Capital One breach, excessive permissions on a misconfigured web application firewall (WAF) allowed a former employee to exploit a cloud vulnerability. Strict access controls could have prevented lateral movement.

Best practices:

  • Require MFA for all users, especially admins and third-party integrations.
  • Apply least-privilege access: Give users and apps only the permissions they need.
  • Regularly audit permission sets to avoid privilege creep.

2. Adopt a Hybrid Data Storage Policy

Clouds are great, until they’re not. It could be a surprise outage, a misfired lockout, or a full-blown breach, relying 100% on one cloud can leave you scrambling. That’s why it’s smart to keep a backup plan.

What helps:

  • Keep a copy of your critical data stored locally or on a separate secure system.
  • Set up automatic backups, and make sure they actually work by testing recovery regularly.
  • If possible, spread key services across more than one cloud provider, so if one goes dark, you’re still up and running.

3. Train Employees to Recognize Cyber Threats

Even the best cloud security setup won’t hold if your people can be tricked. A lot of cloud breaches happen not because of some genius hacker, but because someone clicked a fake login link or got duped by a clever phishing email.

Case in point: the 2020 Twitter breach. Attackers didn’t brute-force their way in—they just convinced employees to hand over access. Suddenly, they were inside high-profile accounts like they owned the place.

What you can do:

  • Run regular training and phishing drills—make it fun, not fear-based.
  • Show folks what fake login screens and scammy links actually look like.
  • Keep the training fresh. Hackers evolve, so should your defenses.

4. Encrypt Critical Data

Encryption protects sensitive information even if attackers breach the perimeter. Attackers often monetize breaches by stealing unencrypted PII. Because most breaches turn costly when sensitive data like customer info, financials, or internal docs are left unprotected. Encrypting that data keeps the fallout minimal, even it goes sideways.

Best practices:

  • Use end-to-end encryption to protect sensitive data whether it’s stored or in motion.
  • Store your encryption keys safely, with Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) or a reliable third-party provider.
  • Tailor your encryption strategy to the value of the data: not everything needs Fort Knox, but your crown jewels definitely do.

5. Regularly Update and Patch Systems

Unpatched cloud workloads, containers, or third-party dependencies create easy entry points.  In 2021, Microsoft Azure’s Cosmos DB vulnerability (“ChaosDB”) exposed thousands of customer databases. Microsoft immediately patched it, but only proactive monitoring could’ve closed the gap earlier.

Best practices:

  • Enable automatic updates for critical cloud components.
  • Use vulnerability management tools to scan for misconfigurations or outdated packages.
  • Patch infrastructure-as-code (IaC) templates as diligently as software.

6. Monitor Cloud Infrastructure for Anomalies

Detection is half the battle. Cloud jacking often goes unnoticed until damage is done. With Group-IB’s Managed XDR and Threat Intelligence, you can spot suspicious logins, strange behavior, or signs that match known hacker tactics, often before any real damage is done.

Best practices:

  • Set up real-time alerts for unusual logins, excessive data access, or privilege escalations.
  • Enable logging for all access events via CloudTrail (AWS), Activity Logs (Azure), etc.
  • Use behavior analytics (UEBA) to detect deviations from baseline behavior.

7. Use Attack Surface Management Solutions

Cloud environments are dynamic; new assets pop up quickly and old ones become forgotten (aka “shadow IT”). Attackers love exposed, untracked assets. Group-IB’s Attack Surface Management helps map and secure cloud-facing infrastructure, flagging unknown assets before cybercriminals do.

Best practices:

  • Deploy Attack Surface Management (ASM) tools that provide continuous visibility into all cloud services, APIs, containers, and exposed endpoints.
  • Prioritize high-risk exposures like unsecured ports, abandoned instances, or misconfigured storage buckets.

How Group-IB Helps Prevent Cloud Jacking

Cloud jacking is a full-blown hijack of digital infrastructure. Threat actors exploit misconfigured cloud services, stolen credentials, and poor user hygiene to gain covert access to sensitive environments. But while the techniques are stealthy, the warning signs are there if you know where to look.

That’s where Group-IB steps in. We’ve spent years untangling these kinds of attacks and helping companies spot trouble before it escalates. From exposed credentials to shady cloud activity, we keep watch so you don’t have to.

Here’s how Group-IB gives you a serious advantage:

  1. Group-IB Threat Intelligence. Track stolen credentials, misused cloud assets, and early-stage exploits before attackers strike. Get alerted when your brand, services, or users are mentioned across the dark web and criminal forums.
  2. Fraud Protection with Behavioral Biometrics. Even if credentials are compromised, Group-IB detects anomalies through device fingerprinting and user behavior analytics—stopping account hijacks before they escalate.
  3. Incident Response & Forensics. If a breach happens, Group-IB’s experts contain the threat, investigate its origin, and help harden systems to prevent repeat attacks, backed by elite digital forensics capabilities.

Explore Group-IB’s Threat Intelligence & Cloud Defense Solutions.

Get in touch with us to know more.