Over the last decade, many organizations have moved their servers out of offices and data centers and into the cloud. Email systems, application servers, file storage, and even domain controllers now commonly run as virtual machines hosted by large cloud providers. For many teams, this shift feels like a security upgrade by default. The servers are professionally hosted, backed by redundant infrastructure, and maintained by some of the largest technology companies in the world.
What often gets overlooked is that while the infrastructure has changed, the threats have not.
A server running in the cloud is still a server. It still runs an operating system, still executes code, still accepts logins, and still presents an opportunity for attackers. Hosting it in the cloud changes where it lives, not how it can be compromised.
Platforms like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure do an excellent job securing the physical and virtual foundations of their environments. They protect data centers, networking equipment, power, cooling, and the underlying hypervisors that host virtual machines.
What they do not secure is the operating system and software inside your VM.
That responsibility still belongs to the customer. The OS must be patched. User accounts must be managed. Applications must be secured. Malware must be detected and stopped. From a security perspective, the VM behaves just like a physical server that happens to be connected to the internet.
Cloud-hosted servers are often always online, frequently accessible from the public internet, and sometimes treated as "set it and forget it" infrastructure. That combination makes them appealing targets.
Attackers don't need a data center breach to cause damage. A single exposed service, a weak password, or an unpatched vulnerability can be enough to gain access. Once inside, an attacker can deploy malware, harvest credentials, or use the server as a foothold to reach other systems.
None of these activities are prevented simply because the server is hosted in the cloud.
Cloud platforms provide strong network controls such as firewalls, security groups, and access rules. These are important and necessary, but they operate at the perimeter. Once traffic is allowed into a VM, those tools have no visibility into what happens next.
They cannot see:
This is where endpoint-level security becomes essential. Protection must exist inside the VM, not just around it.
Modern cybersecurity platforms use lightweight agents installed directly on the operating system. These agents work the same way whether the OS runs on a laptop, a physical server, or a cloud VM.
Inside a cloud-hosted server, an endpoint agent can:
From a security standpoint, a Windows or Linux VM in the cloud is simply another endpoint to protect. Tools like SentinelOne are designed with this assumption in mind.
One subtle risk of cloud infrastructure is invisibility. Because servers are virtual, it's easy for them to fall out of sight. A VM might be created for a project, exposed to the internet, and then quietly left running for months or years.
Over time, patches get missed. Security tools get disabled. Accounts accumulate. Without centralized visibility, these systems can become weak links.
Management platforms like NinjaOne help reduce this risk by treating cloud servers the same as every other device. Patch status, alerts, and system health are visible in one place, making it easier to notice when something drifts out of compliance.
Not every cloud attack involves obvious malware. In many cases, attackers use legitimate tools built into the operating system to avoid detection. They create scheduled tasks, run scripts, or maintain persistence in subtle ways.
This is where human-led threat hunting becomes valuable. Services like Huntress focus on identifying behaviors that automated tools may not immediately flag, especially in server environments that rarely change.
Automation provides speed. Humans provide context. In the cloud, that combination is especially important.
Another common misconception is that cloud servers are somehow separate from the rest of the organization. In reality, they are often deeply connected. They authenticate users, store shared data, and communicate with on-premise systems and SaaS platforms.
If a cloud server is compromised, it can become a bridge into other parts of the network. Treating it as "secure by default" increases that risk.
The most practical way to think about cloud security is simple: security follows the workload, not the location.
If a server needs protection when it runs on physical hardware, it still needs protection when it runs in the cloud. The tools and principles remain largely the same: keep systems patched, monitor behavior, detect threats early, and respond quickly.
Cloud platforms offer incredible infrastructure. Endpoint security ensures that infrastructure is not misused.
Ben Loveless
Co-founder and Developer
