Cloud adoption accelerating encryption deployments
Enterprises around the world are accelerating the adoption of encryption strategies as a result of increasing data security risks, with 41 per cent of respondents stating that their organisation has an encryption strategy consistently applied across their enterprise.
In fact, the study revealed that, for the first time in its 12-year history, business unit leaders have a more significant influence over encryption strategy than IT operations. Additionally, the study revealed that businesses are continuing to show preference for control over encryption and key management when activities migrate to cloud.
According to John Grimm, senior director of security strategy at Thales e-Security, the findings highlight the new areas of concern for modern businesses. "This year’s findings align with key trends demonstrating an increased reliance on the cloud, ever-evolving internal and external threats, and new data sources mandating stronger protection," he said. "The survey further reinforces that cloud key management offerings are more important than ever – and business-leader involvement is crucial to a sound security strategy."
When protecting their data, the survey revealed that 67 per cent of respondents use only one of two routes. Either they perform an encryption prior to sending data to the cloud, or they encrypt the cloud using keys managed and generated on site. However, 37 per cent stated that their organisations turn over control of keys and encryption processes to their cloud providers.
Commenting on the results of the study, Dr Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of The Ponemon Institute, who carried out the survey on behalf of Thales, suggested that the increased reliance of companies on encryption strategies highlights increasing concerns about data breaches and cyber attacks.
"Simply put, the stakes are too high for organisations to stand by and wait for an attack to happen to them before introducing a sophisticated data protection strategy," he said. "Encryption and key management continue to play critical roles in these strategies."
