UK organizations are more hesitant than their global counterparts of putting data into the cloud, but this could account for a major shadow IT challenge, according to Intel Security.
The security giant polled over 2,000 IT professionals globally to compile its second annual cloud security report, Building Trust in a Cloudy Sky.
It claimed that UK respondents are least likely to have a “cloud first” strategy – 70% versus 80% worldwide.
In addition, just 7% of UK respondents claimed all of their data is stored in the public cloud, compared to a global average of 25%.
However, the flip side of this is that it appears UK business users are going ahead anyway and starting up cloud services without the approval of IT.
Nearly three-quarters (74%) of UK businesses said this was the case – above the global average of 66%.
“UK IT experts stands out as particularly cautious when it comes to public cloud adoption, but there is a risk that this trepidation simply leads to other departments embracing the cloud without consulting their IT team. Shadow IT is a significant issue in the UK especially and enterprises are leaving themselves more vulnerable than if they adopted a proactive cloud strategy,” argued Intel Security EMEA CTO, Raj Samani.
“Attackers will look for the easiest targets, regardless of whether they are public, private or hybrid. Integrated or unified security solutions that provide visibility across all of the organization’s services could be the best defence. Rather than having to react to security threats brought about by unregulated cloud adoption from other departments, IT departments should consider working with the wider enterprise to adopt a Cloud First strategy, which proactively builds security into its core.”
Skills shortages emerged as a major barrier to public cloud adoption in the UK, with a quarter (24%) of respondents claiming more skilled practitioners would help.
In fact, worldwide nearly half of respondents claimed that a lack of cybersecurity skills has slowed adoption or usage of cloud. Only 15% said they don’t have a shortage.