"Cloud and Hybrid Working Security Concerns Surge"

According to a new paper from the IEEE, concerns among global technology leaders about the security of the cloud, data center, and hybrid working environments have increased significantly over the past year.  The IEEE polled 350 CIOs, CTOs, IT directors, and other technology leaders in the US, UK, China, India, and Brazil.  Respondents came from organizations with more than 1000 employees across multiple industry sectors, including financial services, consumer goods, education, electronics, engineering, energy, government, healthcare, retail, technology, and telecommunications.  The researchers noted that the number voicing concerns about cloud vulnerabilities increased significantly from a year ago.  Some 51% highlighted them as a potential threat for 2023 versus 35% in 2022.  This could include a range of potential cyber risks, including misconfigured systems, insecure APIs, insecure development processes, and system vulnerabilities.  According to a Check Point Study, misconfiguration was the number one cause of cloud security incidents in 2021.  The researchers noted that as the push for digital transformation continues, more organizations are investing in multiple public clouds, which could lead to further complexity and increased potential for data exposure.  Last year, an estimated 92% of enterprises had a multi-cloud strategy, while 80% said they were planning hybrid cloud deployments.  The second ranking security concern during the IEEE study was the mobile and hybrid workforce, which was cited by 46% of respondents, up from 39% a year earlier.  The researchers noted that this is also an understandable worry, with 58% of Americans working from home at least once per week.  The third most commonly cited security concern for 2023 was data center vulnerabilities (43%), up from 27% a year ago.

Infosecurity reports: "Cloud and Hybrid Working Security Concerns Surge"