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State of Cloud Security Risk, Compliance, and Misconfigurations
State of Cloud Security Risk, Compliance, and Misconfigurations

State of Cloud Security Risk, Compliance, and Misconfigurations

Release Date: 09/17/2021

Cloud misconfigurations consistently are a top concern for organizations utilizing public cloud. Such errors lead to data breaches, allow the deletion or modification of resources, cause service interruptions, and otherwise wreak havoc on business operations. With recent breaches due to misconfigurations making major headlines, this survey was conducted to better understand the current state of cloud security programs, tools utilized to mitigate security risks, organizations’ cloud security posture, and barriers organizations face in reducing security risks.

The goal of this survey is to assess organizational readiness for mitigating public cloud security and compliance risks due to configuration mistakes. 

Key research topics include:
  • Current state of cloud security programs, including top risks and usage of security tools
  • Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) challenges faced by organizations in mitigating misconfiguration vulnerabilities
  • Organizational readiness, success KPIs, and teams responsible for different aspects of cloud security posture management
Key findings from the survey:
  1. Lack of knowledge and expertise continues to plague security teams
  2. Information security and IT operations are held responsible for reducing cloud misconfigurations
  3. DevSecOps approach to security is still out of reach
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Acknowledgements

Hillary Baron
Hillary Baron
Senior Technical Director - Research, CSA

Hillary Baron

Senior Technical Director - Research, CSA

John Yeoh
John Yeoh
Global Vice President of Research, CSA

John Yeoh

Global Vice President of Research, CSA

With over 15 years of experience in research and technology, John excels at executive-level leadership, relationship management, and strategy development. He is a published author, technologist, and researcher with areas of expertise in cybersecurity, cloud computing, information security, and next generation technology (IoT, Big Data, SecaaS, Quantum). John specializes in risk management, third party assessment, GRC, data protection, incid...

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Shamun Mahmud
Shamun Mahmud
Senior Research Analyst, CSA

Shamun Mahmud

Senior Research Analyst, CSA

Alex Kaluza
Alex Kaluza
Research Analyst, CSA

Alex Kaluza

Research Analyst, CSA

Josh Buker
Josh Buker
Research Analyst, CSA

Josh Buker

Research Analyst, CSA

Nikhil Girdhar Headshot Missing
Nikhil Girdhar

Nikhil Girdhar

Lauren van der Vaart Headshot Missing
Lauren van der Vaart

Lauren van der Vaart

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