EDITOR ’ S QUESTION

A high percentage of businesses believe cloud privacy and data protection is more challenging to manage than on-premises . Yet , according to the 2022 Thales Cloud Security Report conducted by 451 Research , part of S & P Global Market Intelligence , increasingly complex cloud environments are on the rise .

Globally , cloud adoption and notably multi-cloud adoption , continues to increase . There has been an expansion in the use of multiple IaaS providers , with almost three-quarters ( 72 %) of businesses using multiple IaaS providers , up from 57 % the year before .

The use of multiple providers has almost doubled in the last year , with one in five ( 20 %) respondents using three or more providers .

Despite rapid growth in the prevalence and use of cloud services among businesses , research indicates many are still navigating how to protect the complicated environments they have created .

Security challenges of multi-cloud complexity

With increasing complexity comes an even greater need for robust cybersecurity , with a significant percentage of businesses suffering a cloud-based data breach or failed audit . Cyberattacks also present an on-going risk to cloud applications and data . Respondents reported an increasing prevalence of attacks citing an increase in ransomware , malware and phishing / whaling .

Protecting sensitive data

When it comes to securing data in multi-cloud environments , many IT professionals view encryption as a critical security control .

Most respondents cited encryption , multi-factor authentication and key management ( 47 %) as the security technologies they currently use to protect sensitive data in the cloud .

Positive cloud security signs

It is , however , encouraging to see many enterprises embracing and investing in Zero Trust . Although this is a positive move there is certainly still room to grow .

32 INTELLIGENTCIO NORTH AMERICA www . intelligentcio . com