Cloud Security Concerns Depend on the Industry

Reduce Data Breach Damage by Improving Detection and Response

Chances are very good that in 2016, your company will adopt cloud computing or will use it more than it did in the past. IDG’s 2015 Cloud Computing Study predicts that 72 percent of companies will have at least one cloud-based application, 48 percent of companies will move to the cloud as a way to replace on-site legacy systems, and 25 percent of IT budgets will be spent on the cloud. At the same time, as a Forbes article pointed out, security remains cloud computing’s biggest challenge.

In fact, according to CloudLock’s fourth quarter cybersecurity report, cloud security is a major concern across industries, but that concern isn’t distributed equally. Perhaps not too surprisingly, the tech industry, at 83 percent, has the highest level of concern that access to data in the cloud involves appropriate permission. Surprisingly, financial and health care were lower (with 75 and 72 percent, respectively), considering all of the breaches and compliance regulations that these industries face.

Speaking of industries that are less concerned, Beta News reported that manufacturing comes in last when it comes to being worried about improper access to PII and PCI:

Manufacturing industry shows the least concern for ensuring access permissions are granted appropriately for PII such as users’ IDs, dates of birth, etc., (27 percent) and PCI (39 percent). Only 10 percent of technology firms are focused on protecting PII, but 41 percent are concerned with PCI. Higher education is the most concerned with protecting PII (77 percent) and PCI (61 percent), with the huge database of student records, as well as credit card and banking information tied to large spending areas such as tuition, administrative and research funds.

However, the study also found that industries aren’t doing enough to provide better security for data in the cloud, as TechRepublic stated:

Perhaps one of the simplest things an organization can do to protect its users in the cloud is invest in properly protecting their credentials, namely their account passwords. However, only 5 percent of organizations surveyed were taking active steps to protect credentials.

As CloudLock CEO and Co-Founder Gil Zimmermann said in a formal statement, all industries need to make cloud security a priority, but each industry is going to have a different set of priorities. How to improve security as cloud adoption becomes more vital to businesses across the board is going to be a top challenge in the coming year.

Sue Marquette Poremba has been writing about network security since 2008. In addition to her coverage of security issues for IT Business Edge, her security articles have been published at various sites such as Forbes, Midsize Insider and Tom’s Guide. You can reach Sue via Twitter: @sueporemba