Navigating the cloud: 75% firms struggle with securing cloud environments

Almost 50% of companies believe that overlooking cloud security will lead to increased vulnerability and delayed response to breaches, according to a new Forrester report.

Despite the prevalence of the cloud, securing cloud environments has never been harder, with 75% of respondents considering it challenging. At the same time, the majority (65%) consider it crucial to ensure the environment’s proper safety.

Unfortunately, only 39% of respondents have a clear and periodically updated cloud security strategy, with 56% lacking a holistic approach.

“Current cloud security practices and tools are not cloud-comprehensive and heavily rely on foundational cloud-native security controls or adapting on-premises architecture for the cloud environment,” the report elaborates.

But what hinders the development of cloud security within organizations? Some of the challenges include struggling with a centralized integration of cloud security controls across their multi-cloud environment, securing the remote and in-office workforce on any device, as well as simply lacking internal skills and certifications. Additionally, firms struggle with maintaining their competitive edge and maximizing the value of cloud service providers’ offerings.

The report notes that those companies that fail to overcome these challenges will face increased vulnerability to security breaches, delays in reactions to security events, and slower event detection and response.

“Ultimately, these security issues will lead to negative customer experiences, decreased profitability, and loss of competitive edge while also derailing digital transformation efforts and product innovation.”

Taking this into consideration, companies aim to implement proper solutions to secure their cloud environments. As such, 91% consider opting for a Zero Trust–based

Approach while around a half of organizations consider deploying such solutions as secure access service edge (SASE), privileged access management (PAM), and cloud security posture management (CSPM) over the next 12 months.

“Firms that successfully develop a strong hybrid cloud security program will reap many benefits, including achieving their top business and security objectives of better integration/holistic security coverage and improved security and protection of customer data,” the report concludes.