The multinational professional services company, PwC, released the annual Digital Trust Insights research for 2023. This research reveals the top cybersecurity trends for organisations in the UK this year.
And, it will come as a surprise to no one that cloud security is everyone’s biggest concern.
In fact, cloud-based threat vectors are considered a bigger threat this year than compromised endpoints, web applications, or even software programs by 39% of senior executives in the UK.
The Cloud Security Threat From Digital Transformation
According to 33% of senior executives, attacks against cloud management interfaces are expected to go up this year.
The reason why cloud-based threats are such a concern is accelerated digital transformation. This is a belief held by 90% of the senior executives who took part in the survey.
Several companies are migrating to the cloud, using digital currencies, and moving to e-commerce and digital service delivery as part of their digital transformation. Businesses are also converging IT and operational technologies.
According to the executives surveyed, this rapid adoption is “the biggest cybersecurity challenge their organisation has experienced since 2020.”
In spite of the high levels of concern, around two-thirds of the senior executives say they haven’t fully mitigated the cyber risks they face due to the digital transformation.
So, of course, cloud technology and migration are being looked at with concern.
If you’re one of the people who are worried about your organisation’s cybersecurity because of cloud migrations, it’s not all bleak and hopeless. There are ways of ensuring security when your business decides to move to the cloud.
Tips to Ensure Secure Cloud Migration
Create a Migration Plan
A rushed migration can be bad for so many reasons, and data security is one of the major ones. When you start the process, it’s best to migrate low-priority data first. That gives your team time to get used to the new system without risking important information.
That will also give you time to test the system for security. At this point, if you find security gaps, you can fix them without stressing about losing sensitive data.
Migrating in phases also gives you time to do things slowly, in a considered way. As you know, rushing through a process makes you more likely to make mistakes. And, threat actors are lying in wait, ready to exploit any errors in your systems, processes, or software.
Consolidate Your Threat Prevention Cloud Tools
When you were protecting your company from cyber threats on your company’s premises, it was relatively easy. You mainly needed a secured network. All employees went through that single point, making it easier to manage threats.
With cloud-based systems, ensuring cybersecurity becomes slightly more difficult. Each cloud service you use, each user who accesses these services, each employee and new data storage, and each application operating in the cloud is a potential “entry point”.
You need a threat prevention tool that covers a broader range of security issues. That way, you don’t have to manage multiple applications and still get better visibility across your cloud systems.
Thoroughly Understand Your Compliance Needs
This is especially necessary when you’re in a highly-regulated sector. However, even if you’re not, you need to know your industry’s requirements for data encryption, backup, and transfer.
This will save you not only from the wrath of regulatory bodies but also make it difficult for threat actors to fly in and steal valuable data.
Perform Regular Risk Management Exercises
The best way to ensure cybersecurity is through prevention rather than mitigation and remediation. Regular vulnerability scans and services like DigitalXRAID’s Cloud Penetration Services will help you keep on top of any exploitable chinks in your cloud service’s armour.
Also, review your API security stacks and consider investing in a virtual SOC service if you don’t have an in-house cybersecurity team.
Find a Trusted Cloud Security Advisor
Cloud security misconfigurations can be disastrous. To ensure proper security and to get the benefit of industry best practices, find yourself an expert to help you transition to the cloud safely and securely.
So, there you have it. Digital transformation is not all that scary when you have a solid plan in place. Do your due diligence and plan the process well to keep your business safe through cloud migration.
