Possible Snowflake Data Leak and Its Consequences
Introduction
A possible Snowflake data leak has recently been revealed, affecting major companies and institutions such as TicketMaster, Banco Santander, and the Dirección General de Tráfico. These organizations have announced that millions of user and customer data have been stolen and are now for sale on the dark net.
The Origin of the Data Leak
Rumors suggest that the origin of this data leak is a hack into a Snowflake employee’s account. It’s important to highlight that Snowflake is the first analytic database built by and for the cloud. Despite its robust and secure security system, in my experience, it does not have a sufficiently strong default security policy.
Security Issues in Snowflake
Among the weaknesses I have observed, the following stand out:
- It is possible to set very weak passwords.
- Although it is possible to opt for MFA with Okta, it is not mandatory (only recommended for administration roles).
In my opinion, Snowflake needs to take security policies more seriously and guarantee a safer environment by default, not by opt-in. Security should not be optional.
What is Snowflake?
Snowflake is a highly versatile cloud data platform that has become a favorite among many publicly traded companies. Its cloud-native design and ability to automatically scale without compromising performance are just a few features that make it stand out.
Advantages of Snowflake
The main advantages that lead many companies to choose Snowflake include:
- Scalability and Performance: Allows companies to handle large volumes of data without performance loss.
- Flexibility in Storage and Computing: Offers scalable storage and computing separately, optimizing costs.
- Consistency and Security: Provides a secure and consistent platform for data analysis.
- Integration: Integrates easily with many tools and cloud services, facilitating deeper data analysis and more informed decision-making.
Conclusion
The recent incident with Snowflake highlights the importance of robust and non-optional security policies. Let’s hope this event serves as a reminder for all cloud data platforms that security must be a priority.
For more information about the supposed attack, you can read the full article at this link.
