Navigating the Cybersecurity Landscape in Cloud Computing: Challenges, Strategies, and Future Directions

As the adoption of cloud computing accelerates across various sectors, the associated cybersecurity vulnerabilities and risks have become increasingly pronounced. This paper delves into the intricate relationship between cloud computing and cybersecurity, emphasizing the need for robust security frameworks to address emerging threats and vulnerabilities. It provides a comprehensive overview of cloud computing models, including public, private, community, and hybrid clouds, and their respective security implications. The study highlights critical cybersecurity challenges such as data security, network security, infrastructure security, and compliance, underscoring the importance of a multi-layered security approach that incorporates advanced technologies like AI and machine learning. Furthermore, the paper reviews recent literature to identify gaps in current research and offers a comparative analysis of recent studies while proposing a structured taxonomy of cloud security challenges and solutions, highlighting unaddressed areas and guiding future research directions. By fostering a deeper understanding of these issues, organizations can better navigate the complexities of securing cloud environments while leveraging its benefits.