Netwrix has released the results of its global 2015 Cloud Security Survey that show when it comes to migrating to the cloud, 65 percent of companies are concerned with security and 40 percent worry about their loss of physical control over data in the cloud. In particular, 69 percent of companies are afraid that migration to the cloud will increase the risks of unauthorised access, while 43 percent worry about account hijacking.
Security is gaining increasing attention from cloud technology and service providers, but the lack of visibility into sensitive data stored externally raises fears that are still holding back wider cloud adoption. Netwrix surveyed more than 600 IT professionals worldwide, representing technology, manufacturing, government, healthcare, finance, education and other industries, to answer questions about cloud security, expectations from cloud providers and measures being taken to ensure data security.
Other key survey findings show that:
- A hybrid cloud deployment model is preferred by 44 percent of respondents as they transition from an on-premise infrastructure to a cloud-based model. Private clouds attract 37 percent of organizations prepared to invest in additional security.
- Companies migrating to the cloud plan to enforce internal security policies: 56 percent plan to improve identity and authentication management; 51 percent will utilise encryption; and around 45 percent of medium and large enterprises plan to establish auditing of changes and user activity.
- Overall, 13 percent of organizations reject the idea of adopting of cloud technology in the near future. However, 30 percent of them are ready to reconsider their decision as soon as cloud security mechanisms are improved.
- Some 30 percent of organizations already take advantage of improved cloud security, while more than 40 percent of organizations are ready to invest in additional security guarantees, if offered.
- Overall, 71 percent of enterprises perceive continuous auditing of cloud infrastructure as a very important part of security guarantees to ensure data integrity in the cloud.
Download the survey report (PDF).
