As businesses increasingly recognize the potential for growth and innovation through cloud adoption, they also encounter new security and compliance challenges. Are you aware of the risks lurking within your cloud environment? 

A recent IDC survey of Chief Information Security Officers in the U.S. revealed that 79% of companies have experienced at least one cloud data breach in the past 18 months. Key threats include misconfigurations, insecure interfaces, unauthorized access, and account hijacking. According to the 2021 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, hacking and configuration errors are some of the most frequent causes of these breaches.

The advantages of cloud services and containerization are clear—lower costs, enhanced agility and flexibility, and quicker time to market.

The takeaway? Cloud security must continually adapt to keep pace with technological advancements and emerging threats. These statistics highlight a growing problem: most organizations are unprepared for the complexities of cloud security. 

As companies accelerate their cloud adoption, there is a growing shortage of cybersecurity talent, especially in cloud security. A recent report indicates that seven out of ten cybersecurity professionals believe their organizations face a skills gap in this area. Additionally, over 60% of companies report that security positions remain vacant for at least three months. Only 20% of organizations monitor their cloud security posture in real-time, while 22% still rely on manual assessments, which strain security resources and increase the likelihood of human error. Despite these concerning trends, there are strategies businesses can employ to safeguard their cloud environments and prevent costly breaches. 

With the right strategies and tools, you can close the cybersecurity gap and protect your company from becoming another statistic. Proactive measures like implementing zero trust, securing configurations, and continuous monitoring can drastically reduce the risk of breaches.

Team up with a cloud security partner 

Partnering with a cloud security provider is a strategic move for businesses seeking secure cloud solutions. Major providers like Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS, and Google Cloud operate on a shared responsibility model, which helps distribute some of the security workload to protect applications and data from external threats.

This model means that while cloud service providers secure the underlying IT infrastructure, organizations are responsible for the security and compliance of the workloads they run on it. Beyond partnering with these providers, businesses can also collaborate with managed security services providers to alleviate their security responsibilities and address skill shortages within their teams. Although this approach may increase the IT budget, it ultimately helps reduce costs, enhance security, and allows IT and security teams to focus on more strategic business initiatives. 

When selecting a managed cloud security services provider, companies should consider various factors to ensure they get an integrated platform with streamlined workflows and an intuitive interface. This centralized management approach allows IT professionals to easily monitor events and maintain efficiency in preventing security threats.

Embrace low-code or no-code cloud security solutions for quicker deployment

Traditional cybersecurity solutions often come with high deployment costs due to the need for extensive custom configurations. These solutions frequently require code-based customizations to meet the complex requirements of business IT infrastructures. While smaller businesses may face this as a one-time investment, larger enterprises often incur ongoing expenses to maintain these solutions. Opting for technology that is easier to deploy can help address the cybersecurity skills gap in cloud environments.

Cloud-based security solutions that utilize low-code or no-code approaches enable IT teams to reduce security costs and accelerate deployment. Features like integration templates, drag-and-drop interfaces, and pre-mapped industry controls allow security professionals to deploy solutions faster with fewer development resources. This approach minimizes the need for additional development cycles to plan, design, and implement changes, streamlining the overall process.

Enhance cloud security with an additional layer of machine learning

Many companies are leveraging machine learning (ML) to bolster their cloud security strategies. ML empowers security teams to swiftly detect, analyze, and respond to both known and unknown threats. Its primary application involves automating baseline procedures, monitoring typical behaviors, and connecting alerts to identify suspicious activities.

ML algorithms contextualize signals related to compliance, security issues, anomalies, and unauthorized chances in IT infrastructure and applications by grouping related security actions. This allows security professionals to reduce operational expenses (OpEx) and allocate more time and resources to threat detection and remediation efforts.

However, ML does not eliminate the need for human involvement in cloud security. Instead, it enhances the effectiveness of security professionals, including external security teams that organizations may employ. Similar to complex alert rules and detailed telemetry, the data generated by ML must be interpreted by humans who will ultimately make decisions on the appropriate actions to take.

Beyond ML, comprehensive security platforms also include Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) technologies.

Addressing the Cloud Security Skills Gap

Addressing the cybersecurity skills shortage in the cloud has evolved significantly, even compared to just a few months ago. By 2021, 83% of organizations are expected to have migrated their workloads to the cloud as the trend of moving from private to public cloud services continues to grow.

As companies navigate remote work environments and move towards a hybrid model, the demand for more flexible workplace solutions and processes will only increase.

Without robust cloud security and compliance strategies, businesses risk escalating their exposure to threats and breaches as their cloud usage expands. Partnering with a strategic security provider enables organizations to capitalize on the advantages of today’s computing environment while minimizing risk.

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