Cloud computing services have transformed businesses large and small across all sectors in recent years and this is only set to increase into the new year. IDC predicts that by 2023, public cloud spending will more than double, growing from $229 billion in 2019 to nearly $500 billion. However, despite mass adoption, the issue of cloud security remains a key concern among business leaders – especially with data breaches making national headlines on a near daily basis.Â
So, what can businesses do to address this? A big part of the answer lies in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, which will drive new ways of securing the cloud in 2020 and beyond.
The accelerated technical infrastructure change, digital transformation, and increased storage adoption has significantly altered the challenges faced by businesses to secure their critical assets. The benefits of cloud are clear, from increased speed and agility to advanced cloud analytics. However, these must be considered alongside the potential for an expanded threat surface associated with a broader network.
Security is one of the major concerns for businesses looking to migrate their infrastructure to the cloud, as moving significant amounts of data opens up clear security risks. However, some businesses then fall into the trap of thinking that once the migration project is complete, the major security risks are overcome. This certainly isn’t the case, with the threat surface constantly evolving and taking on a new dimension. Â
Businesses must also consider the challenge of securing the cloud against internal threats. Employees can unknowingly compromise their organisation’s security, with a recent study suggesting that every four in ten cybersecurity professionals see cloud storage and file sharing apps as most vulnerable to insider attacks.Â
This insider threat means that an attacker can be presented with the keys to the cloud through internal access to an organisation. With threats coming from all angles, it’s clear that businesses need to be putting security first. However, with only a third of organisations employing an endpoint security-first approach to data storage in the cloud, there is still work that needs to be done.
Further compounding these challenges is the need for cybersecurity training, with the shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals across EMEA recently reaching 291,000.Â
AI opens new ways of managing cybersecurity. For example, it recognizes, learns, and models behavioral patterns to adapt systems to the most sophisticated of threats.
