In today’s cloud-first world, AWS S3 buckets are a staple for storing everything from user data and logs to marketing assets. Designed for enhanced scalability and convenience, these assets are often overlooked and hence exploited in an enterprise environment. The storage repositories, created for scaling convenience, storing files, ease of content sharing, and critical backups, can lead to fatal security concerns if left exposed to external attackers. Hence, implementing secure Shadow IT risk management practices is a primary concern to detect and safeguard unsecured S3 buckets and other cloud misconfiguration threats.

In this article, we will be discussing why security teams need to weigh the security concerns tied to unsecured S3 buckets with importance. The content will also focus on the growing concerns tied to cloud misconfiguration threats and how External Threat Intelligence tools like RiskProfiler can identify them proactively with AI-powered threat detection.

Why Are Unsecured S3 Buckets a Serious Security Concern?

Modern cybersecurity practices are not enough when they are tied to reactive practices. In the modern technological space of cloud servers and decentralized systems, any vulnerability or even minimal exposure can multiply into a million-dollar worth of damages. Hence, your concern shouldn’t begin at active breaches, the guardrails should be activated way before that, at the earliest sign of asset exposures or misconfigurations.

AWS S3 buckets are secure and scalable storage systems that help you store data on the cloud network. However, if left exposed or not configured following hygienic practices, these cloud assets can be exposed to external manipulations. Once exposed, they can leak sensitive data, provide access to API keys or credentials, and even serve as malware distribution points. Despite repeated incidents, many organizations still rely on default settings or assume that an old bucket “isn’t important enough” to be targeted. This negligence can cost the business from smaller breaches, if lucky, to complete shutdown, data loss, and operational downtimes, leading to millions of dollars in revenue losses.

Recent incidents involving Unsecured S3 buckets and Cloud Misconfiguration Threats

As mentioned earlier, cloud misconfiguration threats and unsecured S3 buckets can be a serious threat to cybersecurity operations.

1. Bybit Cryptocurrency Heist via Malicious JavaScript Injection

In February 2025, attackers exploited a misconfigured AWS S3 bucket associated with Safe{Wallet}, a platform used by the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit. They injected malicious JavaScript into the wallet’s S3 bucket, allowing them to manipulate transaction data during the signing process.​

Approximately $1.5 billion in cryptocurrency Ethereum (ETH) was stolen, marking one of the largest crypto heists to date. The attackers replaced the compromised scripts with clean versions within minutes, erasing evidence and complicating forensic investigations.​

2. Exposure of Healthcare Workers’ Data by ESHYFT

In March 2025, cybersecurity researcher Jeremiah Fowler discovered a 108.8 GB database exposure through an unprotected AWS S3 bucket belonging to ESHYFT, a New Jersey-based health tech company. The bucket contained over 800,000 records, including personal and professional information of nurses.​

The exposed data included profile images, work schedules, professional certificates, and medical documents, potentially violating HIPAA regulations and putting healthcare workers at risk of identity theft.​

3. WebWork Data Leak — 13 million Logs & Screenshots Exposed

In January, the popular work hour tracking portal, WebWork, used by more than 15,000 organizations, had its data exposed, revealing sensitive details of 13 million users. The exposed data included sensitive information, increasing the risk of supply chain attacks and potential breaches of user data and credentials.

Shadow IT Risk Management: When Inventory Becomes Invisible

Shadow IT refers to any technology, from cloud services to applications and APIs, deployed without formal IT or security oversight. A prime example lies in Amazon S3 buckets, frequently created by developers, interns, or third-party vendors to support agile workflows and rapid development.

IT assets can become vulnerable to exposures and unauthorized access due to a lack of Shadow IT risk management protocols or unhygienic practices. The most common causes of shadow IT asset creation are:

• Left behind after a project concludes, with no one assigned to decommission them.

• Forgotten during team transitions or staff turnover, especially when documentation is sparse or absent.

• Poorly labeled or untracked, resulting in environments that security teams aren’t even aware exist.

Unmonitored assets are invisible to compliance audits, system patch management, and day-to-day threat monitoring. Without a real-time, intelligent inventory system that continuously maps and classifies cloud assets, these mismanaged buckets fall through the cracks, creating access points for attackers to exploit publicly accessible data or misconfigured permissions.

In many cases, organizations only become aware of these ghost assets after an incident like a data breach, ransomware infiltration, or accidental exposure flagged by a third party or the security teams.

Shadow IT Risk Management: The Importance in 2025

To effectively defend your organization against the complex modern cyber threats and shadow IT risks, AI-assisted external threat intelligence and cloud attack surface management tools become essential. Leveraging advanced AI modules, these tools continuously monitor your organization’s attack surface to detect unsecured assets, unregistered IP addresses, and abandoned infrastructure, allowing the security teams a comprehensive visibility into all internet-facing assets.

Key Benefits of External Threat Intelligence in Shadow IT Management:

Some of the primary benefits of External Threat Exposure Management tools are:

1. Shadow IT Risk Management

Unregistered or abandoned assets like forgotten S3 buckets, orphaned domains, or unauthorized cloud apps are prime targets for attackers. Autonomous discovery tools scan the internet and cloud environments to identify these exposures, even if your security team never knew they existed.

2. Proactive AI-Powered Threat Detection

Threat actors leverage advanced AI technologies to identify and exploit weak points at scale. AI-driven tools detect early indicators of interest, such as dark web mentions, botnet scans, and leaked or sold credentials, giving you time to respond before an exploit occurs.

3. Cloud misconfiguration threat Management

Cloud environments offer agility but also introduce configuration complexity. From overly permissive storage settings to exposed APIs, misconfigurations remain a top cause of breaches, yet they often go unnoticed. AI-assisted platforms like RiskProfiler continuously monitor your cloud infrastructure with CASM tools for risky settings, alerting you to issues like public S3 buckets, exposed databases, or misaligned IAM policies. With automated detection and contextual analysis, you can remediate fast, before attackers exploit the gap.

4. Context Is King in Risk Prioritization

Not all risks are equal. External Threat Exposure management platforms like RiskProfiler uses contextual risk analysis and threat impact scoring to flag exposures based on business and financial impact. Correlating business impact with technical severity helps security teams identify the crown jewels of similar cyber attacks faster, enhancing the speed and effectiveness of threat response.

How Does RiskProfiler Help With Shadow IT Risk Management?

As we have established already, organizations need the support from a reliable External Threat Detection and Management tool to discover and bridge the security gaps to prevent digital attacks. RiskProfiler bridges this gap with AI-powered threat detection and automated visibility across all internet-facing assets.

1. Cloud Attack Surface Management (CASM)

RiskProfiler Cloud Attack Surface Management tool continuously maps your cloud infrastructure, detecting unknown or unmonitored assets and cloud misconfiguration threats, including those created outside formal IT processes. This eliminates blind spots in AWS, Azure, or GCP environments, ensuring misconfigurations like public S3 buckets or open APIs are flagged before exploitation. RiskProfiler’s intuitive unified dashboard allows comprehensive visibility of all cloud security risks in a single panel, bridging security silos and streamlining the threat response.

2. Shadow IT Risk Management

Unsanctioned tools and forgotten cloud resources become prime entry points for attackers. RiskProfiler’s intelligent discovery engine incorporates AI assistance to identify and monitor shadow IT assets, even those created by invalid methods or of dubious origin. The comprehensive asset analysis thus helps reduce your exposure from unmanaged endpoints.

3. Holistic Internet-Facing Inventory Mapping

RiskProfiler maps all internet-facing components with an AI-powered engine that autonomously discovers, catalogs, and classifies your organization’s digital footprint across the public internet. This includes domains, subdomains, SSL/TLS certificates, IP addresses, storage buckets, open ports, and exposed APIs. The platform constructs a dynamic and centralized inventory that reflects real-time changes, including the appearance of newly registered or forgotten assets, as well as infrastructure spun up by third parties or individual teams without centralized oversight.

4. Attack Path Analysis

RiskProfiler doesn’t just detect vulnerabilities, it contextualizes how attackers could chain them. By leveraging threat intelligence collected from diverse sources like OSINT, private intelligence, dark web environments, and peer collaboration, RiskProfiler analyzes exploit paths across misconfigured assets, leaked credentials, and exposed infrastructure. This holistic threat view helps the platform simulate breach scenarios for better risk prioritization.

5. Dark Web Monitoring

Threat exposures are often not diagnosed by simple analysis. By leveraging advanced scanning and scraping methods, RiskProfiler monitors underground forums and marketplaces and detects if your exposed assets are being discussed, sold, or targeted, enabling preemptive action against active threats.

6. Vendor Risk Detection and Supply Chain Visibility

As noticed in the Bybit cyber attack, third-party vendors and SaaS integrations often introduce hidden vulnerabilities beyond your internal perimeter. RiskProfiler extends its third-party risk intelligence to evaluate your digital supply chain, scanning for misconfigured vendor infrastructure, compromised third-party services, and indirect threat pathways. By incorporating its Vendor Risk Questionnaire to continuously assess partner ecosystems for exposure, the platform helps identify weak links before they become security liabilities, fortifying your organization’s resilience against supply chain attacks.

7. Ad Hoc Reconnaissance Detection

Many cyberattacks begin with silent reconnaissance, such as IP sweeps, domain scans, or bot-driven indexing of misconfigured services. RiskProfiler uses behavioral analytics and threat intelligence to detect ad hoc reconnaissance activities targeting your digital infrastructure. By identifying reconnaissance attempts in real-time, the platform empowers teams to act early, investigate intent, and harden potentially targeted assets before a breach unfolds.

Real Example: A leading retail brand avoided a major breach after RiskProfiler flagged a forgotten marketing S3 bucket with public access to API keys, internal reports, and vendor credentials.

Conclusion: Staying Ahead of Invisible Threats with AI Threat Detection

In the cloud-first enterprise landscape of 2025, reactive security models are no longer sufficient. The risks stemming from unsecured S3 buckets, shadow IT, and cloud misconfigurations are not theoretical; they are urgent, persistent, and increasingly exploited. As the attack surface grows beyond what security teams can manually track, organizations need automated, intelligent solutions that offer deep visibility and actionable insight.

RiskProfiler offers a critical advantage, offering AI-powered threat detection, real-time cloud attack surface management, vendor risk management, and dark web intelligence that collectively empower teams to shift from reactive defense to proactive risk mitigation. From mapping forgotten assets and identifying misconfigurations to exposing exploit paths and detecting malicious intent in underground forums, RiskProfiler transforms fragmented threat signals into a unified and prioritized defense strategy.

By investing in an external threat intelligence platform like RiskProfiler, security leaders can ensure their organization is not only aware of its digital footprint but is also equipped to defend it, continuously, intelligently, and at scale.