The fintech industry has embraced cloud adoption, with AWS and Azure becoming the platforms of choice for everything from payments to trading systems. While the cloud enables scalability and agility, it also increases exposure to new attack surfaces, especially in an era of remote and hybrid work. A secure cloud architecture is no longer optional, it’s required for customer trust and regulatory compliance. See our guide on cloud security challenges for businesses.
Why do fintechs need cloud security testing?
Fintech organisations are among the most security-sensitive organisations, handling PII, payment card data, and audit records. This makes them frequent targets for cyber attacks and insider threats. Here’s why regular cloud security testing is non-negotiable:
- Sensitive data protection: Data protection and data encryption are essential when dealing with cardholder information, transactions, and logs. Testing validates whether security layers are configured correctly.
- Regulatory compliance: Frameworks like PCI-DSS, SOC 2, and GDPR require an organisation’s security posture to be protected against several controls
- Preventing data breaches: Proactive testing identifies potential vulnerabilities and security control gaps before attackers exploit them.
- Financial and reputational risk: In 2024, a European fintech suffered a major data loss incident when a misconfigured cloud environment exposed customer records. The breach highlighted the necessity for security-specific tools and vulnerability management.
- Without regular security testing, fintechs risk gaps across cloud-based assets, cloud apps, and cloud resources, leaving potential entry points open to attackers.
What is the shared responsibility model?
Both AWS and Azure operate on a shared responsibility model. This framework clarifies where cloud providers like Amazon Web Services handle security, and where customers must step in:
- Provider responsibilities: Securing data centres, physical infrastructure, and the cloud platforms themselves.
- Customer responsibilities: Identity and access management, configuration management, application defences, and compliance monitoring.
For an AWS customer, AWS security ensures physical safeguards and underlying hardware; however, it’s still up to your security teams to test cloud workloads, implement backup and recovery procedures, and safeguard against unauthorised access.
This same rule applies to Azure. Effective cloud security testing validates whether your security controls are in place across different environments and whether workloads are configured correctly to mitigate risks.
Types of security testing strategies for fintech in the cloud
The table below highlights possible security strategies fintech can deploy to identify vulnerabilities and patch misconfigurations in the cloud.
Vulnerability scanning
Automated scans with security tools identify potential vulnerabilities in cloud environments. OnSecurity’s Scan uses its external vulnerability scanner to detect missing patches and misconfigurations quickly.
Penetration testing
A fintech-focused cloud security assessment simulates attackers targeting APIs, databases, and cloud resources. Regular penetration testing is essential to identify weaknesses and prevent unauthorised access.
Configuration and compliance audits
Audits evidence that security policies and recovery procedures align with PCI-DSS, SOC 2, and CIS baselines. These checks also confirm security and compliance standards across multiple platforms.
Runtime/container security
Fintechs running Kubernetes or containerised cloud applications need continuous monitoring to detect anomalies and prevent unauthorised access.
DevSecOps integration
Embedding testing into pipelines reduces potential security gaps. Using tooling that integrates seamlessly into DevSecOps workflows can save hours of manual work and promote early misconfiguration management.
Sample fintech cloud testing workflow
- Threat modelling financial use cases
- Asset discovery across cloud infrastructure and cloud workloads
- Hardening AWS and Azure security controls
- Continuous monitoring of logs and network traffic
- Regular penetration testing for realistic assurance
- Compliance audits for regulatory compliance
- Incident response review to adapt security practices
Cloud security testing considerations: AWS vs Azure
These steps improve the organisation’s security posture while protecting cloud-based assets and preventing data loss.
|
Category |
What to test |
Why it matters |
AWS Security tip |
Azure Security tip |
|
Testing permissions & access models |
Misconfiguration of roles, privileges, and unused access keys |
Identity flaws cause unauthorised access |
Audit IAM roles in the AWS environment |
Review AD App permissions and inherited RBAC roles |
|
Service and architecture complexity |
Exposed APIs, inter-service flows, lateral movement paths |
Fintech apps = many cloud services |
Test each AWS integration |
Validate coupled service security against data flow security |
|
Logging & visibility |
Completeness, storage security, and access controls |
No logs = no detection |
Centralise logs where possible |
Forward logs and integrations |
|
Pentesting constraints |
Customer-controlled assets |
Breaching rules may disrupt cloud providers |
Respect AWS restrictions |
Azure allows internal testing but restricts platform-wide activity |
|
API and endpoint testing |
Auth flaws, broken object-level access |
APIs = top fintech targets |
Enumerate API Gateway endpoints |
Use discovery for internal Azure APIs |
|
Network security |
Firewalls, open ports, lateral paths |
Weak network security = entry points |
Audit Security Groups & NACLs |
Review NSGs and tags |
Things to avoid in fintech cloud security practices
Fintechs often fall into traps such as:
- Assuming cloud providers cover all security practices
- Testing only annually, not continuously
- Ignoring third-party partner solutions or APIs
- Not testing backup and recovery procedures to minimise downtime
- Overlooking access controls and identity management flaws
But fintechs can easily maintain a successful security strategy by establishing ongoing testing, including third-party cloud services, and maintaining clear reports for auditors and regulators.
Fintechs must go beyond native AWS security and Azure security. A robust cloud security assessment program combining vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, compliance audits, and runtime defences is essential to mitigate risks, protect sensitive data, and prevent data breaches.
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