Mitigating Cloud-Related Threats with NDR

  • Key Takeaways:
  • How does Gartner define NDR?
    NDR uses internal sensors and behavior models to detect real-time anomalies in east-west and north-south network flows.
  • What gap does NDR fill in security?
    It provides visibility into internal traffic that firewalls and SIEMs often miss, closing critical detection blind spots.
  • What market trends does Gartner note?
    NDR is rapidly growing (≈23% YoY), with increasing adoption and expanding capabilities among mainstream vendors.
  • What does this mean for security teams?
    NDR is becoming essential for layered defense, especially in complex, high-traffic, cloud and hybrid environments.
Network Detection and Response (NDR) solutions transform cloud security by providing comprehensive visibility into cloud environments previously impossible with traditional security tools. As organizations accelerate cloud adoption, Open XDR platforms with integrated NDR capabilities detect sophisticated attacks that bypass conventional defenses. Multi-Layer AI™ technology analyzes network traffic patterns across hybrid infrastructures, identifying cloud misconfigurations, account takeovers, and data exfiltration attempts before damage occurs. This article examines how NDR addresses critical cloud security gaps and delivers enhanced protection against today’s most persistent cloud-based threats.
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The Cloud Threat Landscape

The migration to cloud environments has dramatically expanded the attack surface for modern organizations. Traditional security perimeters have dissolved. Workloads now span multiple environments. Security teams face unprecedented challenges.

Cloud-Specific Attack Vectors

Cloud environments introduce unique security challenges that traditional tools struggle to address:
  • Misconfigured Cloud Services: According to recent studies, 63% of cloud security incidents stem from misconfigurations rather than sophisticated attacks.
  • Identity-Based Attacks: Credential theft and privilege escalation become primary attack vectors as perimeter defenses lose relevance
  • API Vulnerabilities: Exposed APIs create new entry points that attackers actively target
  • Multi-Cloud Complexity: Security visibility gaps emerge between different cloud providers’ native tools
  • Container Security Risks: Ephemeral workloads create monitoring and detection challenges
Why do these vectors persist despite cloud providers’ built-in security tools? Simply put, most cloud security focuses on configuration management rather than behavioral analysis. Your cloud provider can tell you if a setting is wrong. They can’t tell you when legitimate credentials are being misused.

Recent Cloud Breach Examples

The consequences of inadequate cloud security monitoring manifest in devastating breaches. In February 2024, a major financial services provider experienced a significant data breach when attackers exploited an unpatched vulnerability in their cloud infrastructure. The attack remained undetected for 47 days because traditional security controls couldn’t identify the abnormal lateral movement between cloud workloads.
Similarly, in March 2025, a healthcare organization suffered a ransomware attack that originated through compromised cloud credentials. Attackers established persistence by creating shadow admin accounts and exfiltrating sensitive patient data before deploying encryption. Traditional security tools missed the attack because they lacked visibility into abnormal cloud access patterns.
What makes these attacks so difficult to detect? Cloud environments generate massive data volumes across distributed systems. Without specialized detection capabilities, security teams face a near-impossible task of manually identifying malicious activities.

Critical Cloud Security Challenges

Cloud environments present unique security challenges that require specialized detection and response capabilities. These challenges extend beyond traditional security concerns.

The Visibility Gap in Cloud Environments

How do you secure what you cannot see? This fundamental question plagues many security teams struggling with cloud adoption.

Traditional security tools designed for on-premises environments lack visibility into:

  • East-west traffic between cloud workloads
  • Authentication and access patterns across cloud services
  • Data movement between cloud storage repositories
  • API calls and service interactions

This visibility gap creates significant blind spots. Attackers exploit these gaps to establish persistence, move laterally, and exfiltrate data. According to security analysts, 78% of organizations report difficulties maintaining consistent visibility across their cloud environments

Metastructure Failures and Misconfigurations

Cloud metastructure underlying services, APIs, and management interfaces represents a unique attack surface. Failures in these components can cascade throughout your environment.
  • Overly permissive IAM policies
  • Misconfigured security groups and network ACLs
  • Inadequate encryption settings for data at rest and in transit
  • Unsecured API gateways and service endpoints
These misconfigurations directly contribute to data exposure. A single misconfigured S3 bucket or overly permissive access control can expose millions of sensitive records. Traditional security tools lack awareness of cloud-specific misconfigurations.

Insider Threats in Cloud Environments

The distributed nature of cloud computing creates new challenges for detecting insider threats. How do you distinguish between legitimate administrative actions and malicious activities when both use the same credentials and access methods?
Cloud environments exacerbate insider threat risks through:
Risk Factor Impact Traditional Security Response   NDR Capability  
Privileged Access   Admins can access vast resources across multiple services   Periodic access reviews Real-time detection of abnormal admin behaviors  
Self-Service Provisioning Users can deploy resources without oversight Manual approval workflows Detection of unusual resource creation patterns
Remote Workforce Less physical oversight of employee activities VPN and endpoint monitoring Cloud-focused behavioral analysis
Third-Party Access Vendors and partners require access to cloud resources Limited access controls Detection of abnormal third-party activities
As one CISO recently asked me, “How do we know if our admins are creating backdoor accounts or exfiltrating data when they have legitimate reasons to create accounts and move data?” This question gets to the heart of the insider threat challenge

How NDR Enhances Cloud Security

Network Detection and Response fundamentally transforms cloud security by providing the visibility and behavioral analysis capabilities needed to identify advanced threats. NDR solutions analyze network traffic to detect anomalies that indicate compromise.

Beyond Configuration Management

While Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) tools help identify misconfigurations, they cannot detect active threats operating within properly configured environments. NDR complements CSPM by:
  • Analyzing actual network traffic rather than just settings
  • Detecting behavioral anomalies that indicate compromise
  • Identifying lateral movement between cloud resources
  • Spotting data exfiltration attempts in real-time
Think of CSPM as locking your doors and windows. NDR is the security system that detects when someone has already gotten inside. Both are essential for comprehensive security.

Real-Time Threat Detection Across Cloud Resources

NDR solutions continuously monitor network traffic, applying advanced analytics to identify threats in real-time. This capability extends to cloud environments through:

  • Analysis of VPC traffic mirroring data
  • Monitoring of cloud provider flow logs
  • API-based data collection from cloud services
  • Integration with cloud-native logging solutions

The result? Drastically reduced detection times for cloud threats. While traditional security approaches rely on log analysis after the fact, NDR provides immediate detection of suspicious activities as they occur.

For instance, when an attacker attempts to move laterally after compromising a cloud workload, NDR can immediately identify the unusual connection patterns. This real-time detection capability is crucial for preventing data breaches before significant damage occurs.

Detecting Unknown Threats with Behavioral Analysis

One of NDR’s most powerful capabilities is identifying previously unknown threats through behavioral analysis. Unlike signature-based tools that can only detect known attack patterns, NDR establishes baselines of normal activity and flags deviations.

This approach is particularly valuable for cloud environments where:

    • New attack techniques emerge constantly
    • Legitimate users access resources in varied ways
    • Access patterns change as applications scale
    • Normal varies based on business cycles and user roles

By combining machine learning with deep network inspection, modern NDR solutions can detect subtle signs of compromise without relying on signatures. This makes them effective against zero-day exploits and novel attack methods targeting cloud resources.

Stellar Cyber's NDR Approach to Cloud Security

Stellar Cyber’s Open XDR platform offers comprehensive NDR capabilities specifically designed for today’s complex cloud environments. The platform addresses cloud security challenges through an integrated, AI-driven approach.

Multi-Layer AI™ for Advanced Cloud Threat Detection

Stellar Cyber’s Multi-Layer AI™ technology represents a significant advancement over traditional detection methods. Instead of relying on static rules or basic anomaly detection, the system:

  • Analyzes traffic patterns across multiple dimensions
  • Correlates events from various cloud services
  • Applies contextual analysis to reduce false positives
  • Continuously learns and adapts to changing environments

This multi-layered approach enables detection of sophisticated attacks that might otherwise go unnoticed. By correlating seemingly unrelated events from different cloud services, the system can identify coordinated attack campaigns spanning multiple resources.

Interflow Technology: Boosting Cloud Visibility

How does Stellar Cyber achieve superior visibility across cloud environments? The answer lies in its Interflow technology. Interflow extracts telemetry from network packets and enriches it with additional context, creating a unified data format that enables:

  • Correlation of events across hybrid environments
  • Tracking of activities as they move between on-premises and cloud
  • Integration of cloud provider logs with network telemetry
  • Enhanced visibility into encrypted communications

Interflow strikes the perfect balance between collection fidelity and storage efficiency. Unlike raw packet capture (which generates overwhelming data volumes) or basic NetFlow (which lacks detail), Interflow provides the right level of detail for effective threat detection without unmanageable storage requirements.

Unified Cloud and On-Premises Protection

Most organizations operate in hybrid environments. Stellar Cyber’s NDR solution provides unified protection across these diverse environments through:
  • Consistent detection capabilities regardless of location
  • Correlation of threats moving between environments
  • Unified management and response workflows
  • Seamless integration of cloud and on-premises data
This unified approach prevents threats from exploiting visibility gaps between environments. An attack that begins on-premises can be tracked as it moves to cloud resources, ensuring no blind spots exist for attackers to hide.

Real-World Use Cases: NDR in Action

Understanding how NDR addresses specific cloud threat scenarios illuminates its practical value. The following examples demonstrate how NDR detects and responds to common cloud attack patterns.

Detecting Data Exfiltration via Cloud Storage

In April 2025, a manufacturing company discovered a sophisticated data exfiltration attempt only because their NDR solution detected unusual traffic patterns. An external attacker had compromised developer credentials and was using them to access sensitive intellectual property.

The attack evaded traditional security controls because:

  • The attacker used legitimate credentials
  • Access occurred during normal business hours
  • Data was transferred to authorized cloud storage services
  • Individual file transfers stayed below size thresholds

However, the NDR solution detected the attack by identifying:

  1. Unusual access patterns from the developer’s account
  2. Abnormal data volume transferred to cloud storage
  3. Suspicious file types being uploaded
  4. Deviations from the user’s baseline behavior

The security team received an alert within minutes of the suspicious activity beginning. Using the automated response capabilities, they quickly suspended the compromised account and blocked further data transfers, preventing a potentially devastating IP theft.

Identifying Cloud-Based Command and Control

Advanced persistent threats increasingly use cloud services for command and control (C2) communications. These techniques evade traditional security by blending with legitimate cloud traffic.

NDR excels at detecting these sophisticated C2 channels through:

  • Identification of unusual connection patterns
  • Detection of beaconing to unknown domains
  • Analysis of encrypted traffic metadata
  • Recognition of data encoding techniques

Consider a January 2024 incident where attackers compromised an organization’s cloud infrastructure and established persistent access. The attackers used legitimate cloud services for C2, making traditional detection approaches ineffective. The NDR solution identified the compromise through behavioral analysis of network traffic, allowing the security team to respond before sensitive data was exfiltrated.

Implementation Strategies for Cloud-Based NDR

Implementing NDR for cloud environments requires strategic planning and appropriate technical approaches. Organizations can maximize NDR effectiveness by following these implementation guidelines.

Cloud Deployment Considerations

How should organizations deploy NDR in cloud environments? The approach depends on your cloud architecture, but several key considerations apply across environments:
  • Cloud Provider Integration – Use native traffic mirroring capabilities like AWS VPC Traffic Mirroring or Azure vTAP
  • Sensor Placement – Deploy virtual sensors at key inspection points within your cloud network
  • API Access – Ensure appropriate permissions for collecting telemetry via cloud provider APIs
  • Data Storage Planning – Calculate storage requirements for NDR telemetry based on network size
  • Performance Impact – Monitor resource utilization to ensure minimal impact on cloud workloads
Stellar Cyber offers both virtual sensors and API-based data collection to accommodate various cloud deployment models. This flexibility ensures comprehensive coverage regardless of your specific cloud architecture.

Integration with Existing Cloud Security Tools

NDR provides maximum value when integrated with your broader security ecosystem. Key integration points include:

  • SIEM/SOAR Platforms – Feed NDR alerts into centralized security operations
  • Cloud Security Posture Management – Combine configuration and behavioral monitoring
  • Identity and Access Management – Correlate network activity with authentication events
  • Endpoint Detection and Response – Link network indicators with endpoint telemetry

By connecting these security domains, organizations create a unified security fabric that eliminates blind spots and accelerates response.

Addressing the Cloud Skills Gap

Implementing advanced security tools like NDR requires specialized skills. How can organizations address this challenge? Several approaches have proven effective:

  • Automation Focus – Prioritize solutions with strong automation capabilities to reduce analyst workload
  • Managed NDR Services – Consider partner-delivered NDR when internal skills are limited
  • Intuitive Interfaces – Select solutions designed for usability to flatten the learning curve
  • Unified Platforms – Choose integrated platforms over point solutions to reduce complexity

Stellar Cyber addresses these challenges through an intuitive interface and extensive automation capabilities. The platform’s automated response features and guided investigation workflows reduce the expertise required for effective operation.

A Strategic Imperative for Cloud Security

As organizations continue their cloud journey, comprehensive visibility into cloud-based threats becomes a strategic imperative. Network Detection and Response provides the missing piece in many cloud security strategies by detecting threats that evade traditional controls.

NDR solutions like Stellar Cyber’s Open XDR platform deliver critical capabilities for securing dynamic cloud environments:

  • Real-time detection of sophisticated threats through Multi-Layer AI™
  • Comprehensive visibility across hybrid environments
  • Automated response capabilities to contain threats quickly
  • Behavioral analysis to identify unknown threat patterns

The most successful organizations approach cloud security as a continuous process rather than a one-time project. By integrating NDR into your cloud security strategy, you gain the visibility and detection capabilities needed to defend against today’s most advanced cloud-based threats.

Are you seeing the full picture of your cloud security posture? Without NDR’s network-based perspective, dangerous blind spots likely exist in your environment. As cloud adoption accelerates, these blind spots become increasingly attractive targets for sophisticated attackers. The question isn’t whether you need enhanced visibility into your cloud environments’s how quickly you can implement it before attackers exploit the gaps.

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