Is Cloud Migration Better For Cybersecurity in the Long Term?
This morning, endpoint security and device-to-cloud cybersecurity provider McAfee released their “Cloud and Risk Adoption Report.” This report explores the business process impact of cloud migration and the efforts to mitigate resultant security holes. For this report, McAfee surveyed 1,000 enterprises from around the globe.
Surprisingly, 52% of enterprises surveyed for the McAfee “Cloud and Risk Adoption Report” say cloud migration claim better security in the cloud; given the numerous security challenges that come with cloud migration and environments, this claim proves quite unexpected.
However, the claim of better security in the cloud may also result from overconfidence. According to McAfee:
- Only 26% of enterprises can audit their IaaS configurations.
- Meanwhile, only 33% of businesses express control over their application collaboration settings.
- Simultaneously, a mere 36% of companies profess the ability to enforce data loss prevention in the cloud.
- Only one in three businesses use a Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB).
Cloud Migration and Cybersecurity Disconnects
In their “Cloud and Risk Adoption Report,” McAfee notes that undergoing digital transformation significantly benefits businesses of all sizes. Indeed, 87% of the surveyed enterprises report business acceleration as a direct result of their cloud services. This includes improved business growth, employee productivity, and collaboration.
Moreover, the reasons behind this improved business acceleration prove easy to determine. Cloud environments offer high-performance IT infrastructures, reduced IT costs, and (as stated above) better cybersecurity.
So where does the disconnect between cloud migration and cybersecurity emerge? According to McAfee, enterprises still struggle with the responsibility of cybersecurity in cloud environments. Specifically, they struggle with recognizing the primary responsibility lies with them. Enterprises, rather than the cloud providers, must own their data protection, movements, and access policies.
Therefore, McAfee recommends any enterprises enjoying the benefits of cloud migration take steps to secure their data. These include locating their sensitive data and employing a CASB.
You can download the full McAfee “Cloud and Risk Adoption Report” here.