The 2024 Cloud Security Report from Cybersecurity Insider and Check Point is now available for download. The new report draws on the experience and perspectives of more than 800 cloud and cybersecurity professionals to provide an in-depth look at the current state of cloud security. We asked industry experts to evaluate the effectiveness of their current security measures and report on the adoption of the latest security solutions in their companies. Together, these insights provide a comprehensive view of the significant opportunities and ongoing challenges of cloud security.
Increase in cloud security incidents
What we know: The 2024 Cloud Security Report highlights a world of increasing cloud security incidents. 61% of organizations surveyed reported breaches within the past year, with data security breaches specifically emerging as the most common type of issue. In previous years, misconfiguration was the top cloud security issue, but in this latest report configuration issues dropped to just 12% of reported issues. This is a sign of growing expertise in this area of cloud security, but it also indicates that increased use by businesses and increased interest from malicious actors increases the potential threats the cloud faces.
What you can do: To effectively deal with the increasing number of incidents and eliminate potential blind spots, it is essential that organizations adopt a prevention-focused approach. This entails taking proactive security measures rather than reacting to threats as they arise. By harnessing advanced AI-based security solutions, organizations can anticipate potential security breaches and thwart them before they cause significant damage. This is in line with the broader trend within the industry towards a more preventive security strategy.
Barriers to effective cyber defense
What we know: Cloud complexity and constant technology changes have led to a situation where cloud security in many organizations falls to DevOps teams. Visibility and oversight are limited, and survey respondents identified a lack of security awareness and a lack of skilled personnel as two of the most significant barriers to effective cyber defense.
What you can do: All of these signs point to the need for structural readjustment of security, with advanced training and development, as well as the adoption of consulting and management services in order to free up resources and better educate existing staff.
CNAPP Rapid Adoption + Prevention
What we know: The report identifies approaches organizations are currently using to address cloud security challenges. Many participants see promising results in AI-enhanced detection and remediation, which could be particularly useful against zero-day threats. More than 50% have partially or fully implemented a CNAPP (Cloud Native Application Protection Platform) solution, which unifies multiple aspects of cloud security to facilitate process automation.
What you can do: Overall, the data shows that the cloud security world is stretching and looking for solutions that can make its efforts more efficient. The limited number of staff means that prevention and other automated processes are much more valuable than manual detection and remediation. More alerts are not the answer – instead, efforts should be made to streamline security operations so that employee attention can be focused on where the greatest impact will be made.
Investing in a CNAPP platform that includes both a WAF and network security measures is essential for optimal prevention of potential threats. Unfortunately, many solutions currently available on the market neglect this vital integration, leading to an excessive number of alerts and high levels of risk.
Download the full report
The 2024 Cloud Security Report is the result of perspectives from diverse technology and security roles, drawn from small and large businesses, across a wide range of industries. Participants ranged from IT professionals to executives, and represented industries including financial services, government, education, and others.
