The Hidden Attack Surface of Modern Cloud Apps in the Age of AI

This is a submission for the Google Cloud NEXT Writing Challenge Building on the cloud has never been easier. With platforms like Google Cloud, developers can deploy scalable applications, integrate AI, and ship features faster than ever before. But beneath this convenience lies a growing problem. Speed and abstraction come at a cost: a rapidly expanding attack surface that few fully understand. Modern cloud applications aren’t just bigger - they’re more interconnected, more dynamic, and far mor