Intelligent CIO North America Issue 27 | Page 32

EDITOR ’ S QUESTION

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO COMPANIES STRUGGLING TO COPE WITH CLOUD COMPLEXITY ?

A report from Thales has revealed businesses find cloud privacy and data protection more complex to manage than on-prem .

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 .
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