A new research from Netskope shows that many information technology (IT) professionals have little faith in their Cloud Vendors credibility and adherence to local laws.
Also, the majority of them believe that doing business in the cloud makes it difficult to secure mission-critical apps and impairs ability to protect sensitive data.
Netskope, a cloud security firm, interviewed over 1,000 IT professionals across the European region and found that 64 per cent think that their firm’s use of cloud computing services reduces their ability to protect important information.
A further 59 per cent said they thought doing business in the cloud makes it difficult to secure applications.
Besides, a majority appears to have little faith in their provider’s transparency and adherence to local laws.
Over three-quarters (77 per cent) said they thought their cloud service provider (CSP) would not alert them immediately after a breach of customer data, while 84 per cent doubted their provider would tell them if sensitive IP was exposed.
What is more, 72 per cent said they did not trust their CSP to obey data protection laws and regulations.
IT stakeholders suggested that the low vote of confidence in cloud vendors is due to heightened scrutiny and fear of the unknown. Overcoming this, they noted, takes better understanding of a vendor’s security precautions and how people are using the cloud in the first place.
They maintained that businesses that demand more vendor transparency and seek efficient methods for evaluating apps and directing usage will find it easier to embrace the cloud and move past this period of uncertainty.
Netskope Vice President (Europe, Middle East and Africa), Eduard Meelhuysen, argued that the cloud is not inherently less secure than on-premise set-ups, but that ‘shadow IT’ is undermining firms’ efforts to keep their data safe.
“Most businesses do carry out due diligence on cloud providers as part of a traditional sales cycle, but the rise of shadow IT is totally disrupting this process. Shadow IT now means that companies often don’t even know which cloud apps are being used by their employees,” he said.
“How can you do due diligence into a vendor you don’t even know is in your ecosystem? That’s the reality for businesses these days. One reaction to this is to panic and shut down all cloud apps, but inevitably this harms productivity and annoys employees who want to choose how they do their jobs.”
It must be added that, despite their pessimism over cloud security, European IT professionals are more confident that they are securing data in the cloud effectively than their counterparts in the United States.
According to speakers at International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Telecom World 2013, the market value for Internet of Things (IoT) is estimated at over $14 trillion, representing between 15 and 25 billion devices by 2015.
It is for this reason that ITU is calling on young people aged between 18 and 30 from around the world to submit ideas for concepts of start-ups aimed at using the Internet of Things (IoT) for social good globally.
The IoT refers to the ability to connect and interact digitally with physical objects around the world, bringing together sensing, communications and information infrastructure to initiate a paradigm shift in areas such as agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing, and customer services.
Run in partnership with the IEEE Internet of Things (IoT) Initiative Working Group, the challenge opens the way for two winning concepts for start-ups to attend ITU Telecom World 2014, the leading platform for debate, networking and showcasing for the global ICT community, that will be held December in Doha, Qatar.
The challenge seeks ideas on how benefits from the IoT can be used for social good in countries around the world, especially emerging economies where development is currently slower due to the cost of the technology, lack of underlying infrastructure and the need for strong, widespread connectivity.