About 45 per cent of all companies experienced a cloud data breach or audit failure in the past year. This is according to the'2022 Thales Cloud Security Report'. The percentage is 5 per cent higher than in 2021. This raises questions about the effectiveness with which companies are protecting their sensitive information from cybercriminals.
Globally, there continues to be an increase in the use of the cloud and multi-cloud environments in particular. In 2021, organisations in all parts of the world were using an average of 110 software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions. This indicates an unprecedented rapid increase. In 2015, there were only eight. The use of multiple IaaS providers also increased sharply. 72 per cent of all companies use one. In 2021, only 57 per cent of all companies did. The use of multiple IaaS providers almost doubled in 2021. One in five respondents said they work with three or more parties.
Concerns about complexity
Despite the increasing use of cloud services, businesses share the same concerns about their complexity. A majority of IT professionals (51%) agreed with the statement that it is harder to keep a grip on privacy and data protection in cloud environments. In addition, the move to the cloud is increasing in complexity. The growing complexity around the cloud is accompanied by a greater need for robust security solutions. The vast majority of respondents (66%) said they store 21 to 60% of all their sensitive data in the cloud. Only a quarter said they were able to fully classify all data.
Data breaches
Cyber attacks continue to pose dangers to applications and data in the cloud. Respondents pointed to an increase in the number of attacks. 26 per cent reported an increase in malware attacks, 25 per cent in ransomware attacks and 19 per cent in phishing and whaling attacks.
Protecting sensitive information
When it comes to securing data in multi-cloud environments, IT professionals see encryption as a key security mechanism. The majority said they currently use encryption (59%) and key management (52%). This is to keep sensitive data safe in the cloud. Respondents were also asked about the proportion of their data in the cloud that was encrypted. To this, only 11 per cent of respondents said it was 81 to 100 per cent. Moreover, it seems that the proliferation of key management platforms may be causing problems for businesses. Only 10 per cent of all respondents use one or two of these platforms. 90 per cent use three or more. 17 per cent say they use as many as eight or more key management platforms.
Encryption
Companies should prioritise encryption for protecting their data in the cloud. 40 per cent of respondents said they were able to avoid the data breach disclosure process. This was possible because the stolen or leaked data was encrypted or tokenised. This shows that encryption platforms have tangible value to offer companies.
Zero trust
Another encouraging development is that companies are embracing zero trust and investing in it. Almost a third of respondents (29%) had already implemented a zero trust strategy, a quarter (27%) said they were in the process of evaluating and planning for it, and 23% said they were considering such a strategy. This is a positive development, but there is still room for improvement.
Access to data
Sebastien Cano, senior vice president of Cloud Protection & Licensing Activities at Thales: "The complexity of managing multi-cloud environments cannot be underestimated. The challenge is not only where the sensitive data is geographically located, but even who has access to sensitive data within the organisation. There are various solutions, such as encryption and key management. Last but not least, continuing to embrace a Zero Trust strategy will be essential in securing these complex environments, allowing organisations to sustain their data and face future challenges."
The 2022 Thales Cloud Security Study is based on data from a survey of nearly 2,800 security professionals and executives.
Image: Pete Linforth via Pixabay
