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Increased complexity, a lack of encryption, and an increase in data stored in the cloud are some of the anxiety points being felt by Australian businesses when it comes to cloud security.
A new survey that polled 3,000 security and IT professionals in 18 countries — including Australia — found some distinct and worrying trends when it comes to cloud adoption.
Right at the top of the list of things to worry about is that 37 per cent of businesses in Australia suffered a breach in their cloud environment in the last 12 months. This is an even more worrying figure when you take into account the fact that 65 per cent of Australian businesses polled now store more than 40 per cent of their data in the cloud.
That’s a significant increase over the 47 per cent figure from the previous year.
At the same time, the report — 2023 Thales Cloud Security Study — reveals that the juiciest targets for hackers are cloud-based applications and cloud-hosted databases, as well as data in motion.
Only a tiny 7 per cent of Australian companies have more than 60 per cent of their cloud data encrypted. Combine that with only 13 per cent of companies controlling all the encryption keys for their cloud data, and the threat from hackers becomes even greater.
Data sovereignty is another concern for Australian companies, with 82 per cent of those polled concerned over matters of sovereignty.
Brian Grant, regional director, ANZ, at Thales Cloud Security, said that while the cloud offers many advantages, it’s still a complex and evolving space.
“Australia is home to a dynamic multi-cloud landscape,” Grant said in an announcement. “As organisations continue their digital transformations, more and more sensitive data will move to the cloud. This data remains the responsibility of the enterprise customer and not the cloud service provider. Ultimately, if businesses and their executive leadership team do not take action to embed effective data security in their cloud environment, the consequence can be catastrophic.”
“Data encryption, data access control, and data-at-risk alerts are three essential security measures every organisation should have in place if they are to successfully leverage the cloud while ensuring the integrity and confidentiality of their valuable information. The growth and success of a cloud-first business today relies as much on great data security as on protecting its cash flow.”
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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