The rapid adoption of cloud computing opens up new opportunities while simultaneously intensifying security challenges for organizations. Faced with a quickly changing threat landscape, many security teams are scrambling to protect and defend complex, multi-cloud environments — a task made even more challenging by a severe cybersecurity skills shortage.
This cloud security survey of 588 security professionals reveals major gaps in organizations’ abilities to secure cloud platforms and workloads. Despite multi-cloud adoption reaching mainstream levels, key capabilities for cloud security such as real-time threat detection and response, comprehensive visibility, workload protection, and data security remain limited. This report identifies these top challenges, assesses the effectiveness of current tools and controls, and outlines what’s needed for enterprises to achieve robust cloud security postures.
The research further reveals that organizations continue to rely on legacy security solutions like SIEM for cloud security, leaving them:
• Uncertain about their ability to secure cloud environments effectively
• Vulnerable to data breaches that could expose sensitive information
• Relying on staff with limited cloud security expertise
• Unprepared to monitor the high volume of activity in modern cloud environments
Key findings include:
• Cloud Security Concerns: An alarming 75% of respondents are extremely or very concerned about cloud security.
• Lack of Real-Time Detection: A majority of respondents are not utilizing real-time threat detection capabilities across their cloud infrastructure.
• Complexity of Multi-Cloud Environments: Multi-cloud (38%) and hybrid (40%) strategies add complexity, demanding innovative security management.
• Reliance on Traditional Solutions: Traditional solutions are still being used, despite preferences for native cloud security controls, exposing organizations to inefficiencies and threats.
• Need for Unified Solutions: The use of multiple security point solutions underscores a need for unified, AI-driven approaches for robust security across platforms.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to MixMode for their invaluable contribution to this research project. We hope this report is a valuable guide for our cybersecurity community readers, assisting you in navigating the complexities of cloud security through innovative and effective strategies.
