A global survey conducted by the Ponemon Institute found out that only 32 percent of companies employ a security-first approach in cloud data storage.
The study surveys 3,000 IT companies from Japan, Australia, France, Brazil, Germany, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Popular companies like IBM, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services are part of the respondents.
One of the results showed one in three organizations believe that it is their responsibility to ensure that data is protected.
In addition, only 48 percent of polled respondents utilize multi-cloud systems for operations. Only 28 percent said they use four cloud providers.
With a series of data breach incidents and attacks lately, cloud data storage needs to have strict security features to avoid risks. “With businesses increasingly looking to use multiple cloud platforms and providers, it’s vital they understand what data is being stored and where. Not knowing this information makes it essentially impossible to protect the most sensitive data,” said Ponemon Institute chairman Larry Ponemon.
Data Encryption
In cloud storage, data encryption is required to secure data from hackers. If everything is encrypted, it is almost impossible for anyone else to access personal data.
In the study, it is found out that only half of the 3,000 respondents use encryption or tokenization. This means, there are chances of a data breach due to unprotected files. The German organizations reported advanced use of encryption, almost 66 percent in total.
When it comes to the keys to the encrypted data, about 53 percent of the respondents said they control these keys themselves. Meanwhile, 78 percent of the whole respondents believe that companies need to retain control over the data encryption keys.
Managing Privacy
The results of the Ponemon study shows that more companies are still hesitating to shift to cloud storage due to privacy concerns. Approximately half of the respondents believe that data is more protected in local storage compared to the cloud, as they find it complex.
About 67 percent cited difficulty in conventional security of the cloud storage of why they are more inclined with local storage.
Ponemon Institute concludes that while more companies are utilizing advanced technology for efficiency, more organizations still don’t address data security. “We encourage all companies to take responsibility for understanding where their data sits to ensure it’s safe and secure,” said Ponemon Institute.
Ponemon Institute is an institute that conducts independent research on data protection. It was founded in 2002 by Dr. Larry Ponemon.
