Global technology company Thales has released its 2023 Thales Cloud Security Study, an annual assessment of the cloud security threat landscape, trends, and imminent risks. The study was based on a survey of around 3,000 I.T. and security professionals and spanned 18 countries.
According to the study, more than one-third (35%) of survey participants in India experienced a cloud data breach last year, a minor drop from 37% in the 2022 study. Furthermore, over half of those surveyed (52% in India, 55% globally) reported that human error was the leading cause of cloud data breaches.
Respondents also reported an increase in the level of sensitive data stored in the cloud. More than 40% of data stored in the cloud was classified as sensitive by 68% of businesses in India and 75% globally.
According to the survey, Software as a Service (SaaS) applications were ranked by over one-third (38%) of respondents as the leading target for hackers, followed by cloud-based storage (36%).
Lack Of Encryption And Key Control Causes Cloud Data Concerns
The survey found that despite the increase in sensitive data hosted in the cloud, low levels of encryption were being used by enterprises. Only 19% of I.T. professionals in India and 22% globally reported that over 60% of their sensitive data in the cloud is encrypted. On average, only 45% of cloud data is currently encrypted globally, the survey found.
Businesses also lack control over encryption keys, with only 16% of survey participants in India and 14% globally saying they had control of all the keys to encrypted data in their cloud environments. Securing sensitive data was also more complex because organisations had multiple key management systems, with around two-third (62%) of respondents globally saying they have five or more key management systems.
Managing Multicloud Is More Complex
Enterprises globally are increasing the adoption of multicloud, with 79% of organisations having more than one cloud provider, the survey found. The use of SaaS apps is also rising. The percentage of respondents who said their organisations are utilising 51–100 different SaaS applications rose from 16% in 2021 to 22% in 2023.
However, 44% of Indian organisations surveyed admitted that managing data in the cloud is more complex than in on-premises environments. Globally, 83% expressed concerns over data sovereignty, and 55% agreed that data privacy and compliance in the cloud has become more complex.
Superior Cloud Security Roadmap
Identity and access management provides a strong framework for reducing data breaches. The adoption of robust multi-factor authentication has risen to 65% globally, indicating improvements in fortifying access controls.
However, only 41% of global organisations have deployed zero trust controls in their cloud infrastructure, and only 38% utilise such controls within their cloud networks. These statistics indicate that enterprises should place greater emphasis on adopting comprehensive security measures to safeguard sensitive data and enhance cybersecurity resilience.
"Considering the rising cyberthreats in India and globally, treating cloud environments as an extension of existing infrastructure while maintaining exclusive control and security of data, especially sensitive data, is key to cloud security. Another essential aspect of cyber security is customer control of encryption keys, as it allows organisations to leverage the scalability, cost efficiency, and accessibility benefits of the cloud while ensuring the utmost integrity and confidentiality of their valuable information,” said Ashish Saraf, vice president and country director – India, Thales.
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