Cloud trusted with sensitive data
IT decision makers are increasingly trusting the cloud to keep sensitive data safe and secure, new research shows.
According to the 2015 Vormetric Insider Threat Report by Ovum, 80 per cent of enterprises globally are now making use of cloud environments.
The report found that 54 per cent of IT decision makers are now keeping sensitive data in the cloud, with more than 800 senior business managers and IT professionals in major global markets surveyed for the research.
Spending on IT security and data protection is set to increase over the course of the next 12 months, with 93 per cent of respondents to the Ovum study stating they will increase their budgets in this department within the next year.
However, one of the top cyber security risks companies are concerned about remains insider attacks, with 89 per cent of firms admitting they feel more at risk from this type of cybercrime. More than a third (34 per cent) of those taking part said they felt very or extremely vulnerable.
The cloud is still the location that is perceived by IT decision makers to be the greatest risk by enterprise organisations, with 46 per cent naming cloud environments, compared to outpace databases (37 per cent) and file servers (29 per cent).
It was also revealed by the report that the actual risk of databases being compromised is 47 per cent, which is significantly higher than the perceived risk (38 per cent). Meanwhile, the Ovum study found that perception of cloud risk (40 per cent) is higher than the actual risk (36 per cent).
Over half (55 per cent) of the respondents stated that encryption of data with enterprise key control on their premises would make them more likely to trust the cloud with sensitive data.
Explicit security descriptions and compliance commitments were wanted by 48 per cent of IT decision makers, while 52 per cent called for service level commitments and liability terms for a data breach and 52 per cent want encryption of their firm's data to be within the service provider's infrastructure.
Businesses looking to move services into the cloud should evaluate the performance of their existing network and consider setting up a leased line or MPLS network.
