Cloud Security
Cloud Security
Cloud Security
Report
Introduction
Companies are increasingly pursuing a cloud-first strategy by developing and deploying applications
with the cloud in mind. With the majority of organizations adopting a hybrid or multi-cloud approach
to support various use cases and work models, the attack surface has significantly broadened,
making securing today’s cloud environments more critical and increasingly complex.
The 2024 Cloud Security Report, based on a comprehensive survey of 927 cybersecurity professionals
worldwide, provides critical insights into the current trends driving cloud security. It explores key
challenges in protecting complex cloud environments, what solutions and strategies cybersecurity
professionals are prioritizing, how they’re allocating their resources, and the best practices they’re
adopting to ensure the security of cloud workloads.
• Multi-Cloud Preference: A majority of organizations (78%) opt for hybrid and multi-cloud strategies
to combine flexibility, control, and the unique benefits of various cloud services.
• Cloud Adoption Barriers: Security and compliance concerns (59%) are critical roadblocks to faster
adoption of multi-cloud strategies. Technical challenges (52%) and resource constraints (49%)
present substantial challenges in achieving visibility and policy control within complex multi-cloud
infrastructures and emphasize the necessity for robust cloud security expertise.
• Cybersecurity Talent Shortage: Companies face a critical shortage of cybersecurity expertise, with
93% of respondents concerned about finding qualified professionals to protect complex multi-cloud
environments. This directly affects their security posture and strategic efforts. This persistent scarcity
of cloud security expertise hinders faster and more widespread adoption of multi-cloud strategies.
• Unified Cloud Security Platform Preference: 95% of respondents advocate for a single platform to
streamline security across cloud environments. The objective is to simplify and automate security
management, mitigate the talent gap, and enhance security through consistent policy enforcement
and visibility, addressing the inefficiencies of managing multiple disparate security systems.
We would like to thank Fortinet for the invaluable support of this important industry research project.
We hope this report serves as a practical guide for cybersecurity leaders and practitioners to
navigate the complexities of cloud security more effectively in your ongoing efforts to secure your
organization’s cloud journey against evolving cyber threats.
Thank you,
Holger Schulze
Founder, Cybersecurity Insiders
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Cloud Deployment Strategies
Choosing the right cloud deployment strategy is critical for organizations to maximize the benefits of cloud
computing while minimizing associated risks.
The majority of organizations (78%) favor a hybrid or multi-cloud strategy, integrating multiple deployments into a
single operating environment. A large portion of this (43%) use a hybrid of cloud and on-premises infrastructure.
35% of organizations have a multi-cloud strategy, highlighting a preference for leveraging the strengths of different
cloud service providers for a variety of use cases. Just 22% rely on a single cloud provider, suggesting a focused
approach that simplifies management but that may increase dependency on one vendor.
To better navigate the complexities of hybrid and multi-cloud deployments, organizations should prioritize an
integrated security framework that ensures seamless protection across their entire digital footprint. This is
essential to delivering the agility, scale, and security needed for robust defense against evolving cyber threats.
FORTINET | 2024 CLOUD SECURITY REPORT ©2024 Cybersecurity Insiders. All Rights Reserved. 3
Multi-Cloud Adoption
The number of cloud providers an organization uses is crucial, impacting operational flexibility, risk management,
and the complexity of security implementations. A majority of organizations (71%) use two or more cloud providers,
indicating an approach that seeks to combine flexibility, control, and the unique benefits of each cloud service
provider. An increase of 2 percentage points from last year’s survey reflects a growing shift towards multi-cloud
strategies, driven by the need for specialized cloud services, regional availability, and redundancy.
Interestingly, only 29% of organizations rely on just one cloud provider, highlighting a preference for simplicity and
perhaps a strategic partnership with a single cloud provider.
Two
71%
use two or more
One 34% cloud providers
29%
Three
20%
17%
Organizations should adopt a seamless, cloud-neutral approach to securing multiple cloud environments that
ensures consistent security policies and visibility across their digital footprint, reducing complexity and bolstering
defense mechanisms against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.
FORTINET | 2024 CLOUD SECURITY REPORT ©2024 Cybersecurity Insiders. All Rights Reserved. 4
Preferred Cloud Providers
Next, we asked cybersecurity professionals about their current and future use of cloud providers, to better
understand the changing market dynamics within the cloud ecosystem. Microsoft Azure continues to lead the
market, with 62% of organizations in our survey currently utilizing its services, followed by Amazon Web Services
(AWS) at 54%. This indicates a strong preference for these established cloud giants.
The survey results also highlight a significant interest in future adoption across all providers, particularly Oracle
Cloud and Google Cloud Platform, with 27% and 25% of respondents planning to adopt these services, respectively.
This suggests an increasingly diverse cloud adoption.
What cloud IaaS provider(s) do you currently use or plan to use in the future?
(select all that apply)
54% 26%
42% 25%
21% 27%
14% 23%
10% 18%
9% 19%
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Navigating Cloud Adoption Barriers
Identifying and understanding the barriers to faster and more widespread cloud adoption is essential for
organizations to better navigate the complexities of transitioning to cloud-based solutions.
Security and compliance concerns are at the forefront, with 59% of respondents identifying it as a primary barrier.
This highlights the importance of ensuring that security and compliance are an integral element of cloud adoption.
Technical challenges follow closely at 52%, highlighting that the ease of cloud adoption is not without its challenges.
49% of respondents cite resource constraints, including the lack of staff expertise and budget limitations,
underscoring the need for adequate investment in human and financial resources to support cloud initiatives.
Organizational and operational barriers (49%) underscore that cloud computing is not just a new technology, it is
also a new operating model that offers innovative working methods and requires management buy-in to address
potential resistance to change.
52% 49%
Technical Resource
challenges constraints
59% 49%
Security and Organizational
compliance and operational
concerns factors
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Perceptions of Cloud Security Risks
Evaluating the risk of security breaches in public cloud environments reveals significant concerns about the risks
and unique security challenges associated with cloud computing, compared to on-premises environments.
A combined 44% of respondents perceive the risk of security breaches in public cloud environments as higher
than in traditional on-premises IT environments, with 30% considering it somewhat higher and 14% viewing it as
significantly higher.
Conversely, 30% of participants view the risk as lower in public cloud environments, indicating confidence in cloud
providers’ security measures and advancements. A notable 26% of respondents believe the risk remains the same,
suggesting that while the cloud introduces new dynamics, the fundamental security challenges persist across
environments.
26%
30% 44%
say public cloud
23% risk is somewhat
to significantly
higher than
14% on-premises
7%
Significantly lower Significantly higher
Significantly lower Somewhat lower About the same Somewhat higher Significantly higher
Public cloud offers organizations the opportunity to embrace a proactive, automated approach to security.
Adopting a security-by-design mindset offers organizations the ability to effectively mitigate risks and capitalize
on the scalability, flexibility, and innovation that the cloud offers.
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Cloud Security Concerns
The level of concern regarding public cloud security is a critical indicator of the cybersecurity community’s
perception and readiness to address potential risks and threats.
Despite increasing cloud adoption, cloud security concerns show no signs of improving: a significant majority of
96% express high levels of concern, with 37% being extremely concerned and 41% very concerned about public
cloud security. The high degree of cybersecurity concern, which has remained consistent over the years, acts as a
significant barrier to faster cloud adoption, as organizations grapple with the perceived risks and the complexities
of securing cloud environments. Only a small fraction (22%) report moderate to no concern, indicating a strong
consensus on the importance of robust security measures in public cloud deployments.
This data aligns with the previous finding where a combined 44% of respondents perceived a higher risk of
security breaches in public clouds compared to traditional on-premises environments. This reinforces that while
cloud computing offers numerous benefits and grows rapidly, security remains a paramount concern.
96%
of organizations are moderately to extremely
concerned about cloud security
41%
37%
18%
3% 1%
Extremely Very Moderately Slightly Not at all
concerned concerned concerned concerned concerned
To address these concerns, organizations should not only maintain a security-by-design approach but also invest
in continuous monitoring, threat intelligence, and incident response capabilities specific to cloud environments.
Adopting cutting-edge security solutions and fostering strong collaborations with cloud providers can help mitigate
the perceived risk and concerns associated with public cloud, ensuring a secure and resilient cloud infrastructure.
FORTINET | 2024 CLOUD SECURITY REPORT ©2024 Cybersecurity Insiders. All Rights Reserved. 8
Challenges in Cloud Security Operations
The management of day-to-day cloud security operations presents a multifaceted challenge for organizations,
requiring a delicate balance between technological, procedural, and human factors. Data security and privacy
emerges as the top concern, with 58% of respondents highlighting the critical importance of protecting sensitive
information and preventing data leaks in the cloud. This underscores the importance of robust data governance
and encryption practices. Configuration management is a close second at 55%, reflecting the complexity and
potential risks associated with cloud configurations—as a single misconfiguration can expose organizations to
significant security risks.
Access control and identity management is another major challenge, cited by 54% of participants, emphasizing the
need for stringent control over user access and privileges to prevent unauthorized access. Threat detection and
respons (50%) and endpoint security (45%) further indicate the ongoing struggle to identify and mitigate security
threats in real-time and secure the myriad of devices accessing cloud services. Policy and compliance management
(45%) and cloud security management (45%) highlight the difficulties in ensuring consistent security policies across
environments and aligning cloud security features with on-premises solutions.
What are your primary challenges in managing day-to-day cloud security operations?
(select all that apply)
To navigate these challenges in cloud security operations, organizations should prioritize a unified security strategy
that leverages automation, advanced analytics, and integrated security platforms to streamline data security,
policy enforcement, access management, and threat detection and response. Emphasizing the development of
cloud-native security skills within teams and fostering a culture of security awareness can further enhance an
organization’s ability to manage cloud security operations effectively.
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Multi-Cloud Security Challenges
Multi-cloud environments significantly increase the complexity and challenges of securing cloud workloads.
Ensuring data protection and privacy in each environment is identified as the most significant multi-cloud security
challenge, with 55% of respondents highlighting it as a concern. This aligns with the earlier emphasis on data
security and privacy as critical operational issues, underscoring the increased complexity when data is dispersed
across multiple cloud environments.
Having the right skills to deploy and manage solutions across all cloud environments is a major challenge for 51%
of participants, echoing the previously noted need for cloud-native security expertise to effectively navigate the
multifaceted cloud security landscape. Understanding how different solutions fit together and understanding
service integration options are critical challenges for 47% and 44% of respondents respectively.
These concerns spotlight the intricacies of achieving seamless integration and interoperability among diverse
cloud environments, a crucial factor for maintaining robust security and operational efficiency. The challenge
of managing the costs of different solutions, cited by 42% of respondents, further reflects the operational and
financial balancing act required in a multi-cloud strategy.
What are your biggest challenges securing Multi-cloud environments? (select all that apply)
Understanding service
44% integration options
To effectively address these challenges, organizations should leverage integrated security solutions that offer
visibility and control across multi-cloud environments, supporting consistent data protection and privacy
standards. Emphasizing partnerships with vendors that provide comprehensive multi-cloud security capabilities
and fostering skills development can empower businesses to overcome the complexity of securing multi-cloud
architectures. This approach not only mitigates the identified challenges but also harnesses the full potential of
multi-cloud environments for enhanced agility, scalability, and innovation.
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Cybersecurity Talent Gap
Echoing the challenges highlighted in securing multi-cloud environments, the ongoing shortage of skilled professionals
capable of protecting complex multi-cloud environments stands out as an ongoing, critical industry problem.
An overwhelming 93% of respondents express concern about the industry-wide shortage of qualified cybersecurity
professionals. This considerable apprehension reflects the acute awareness of the gap between the growing
demand for skilled cybersecurity talent and the available workforce, a gap that exacerbates security vulnerabilities
and operational challenges in an increasingly complex cyber landscape.
How concerned are you about the industry-wide skills shortage of qualified
cybersecurity professionals?
93%
How concerned are you about the industry-wide skills shortage of qualified
cybersecurity professionals?
of organizations are moderately to extremely
93%
concerned about the industry-wide skills
shortage of qualified cybersecurity professionals
of organizations are moderately to extremely
concerned about the industry-wide skills
shortage of qualified cybersecurity professionals
45%
26% 45%
22% 5% 2%
26% 22%
Extremely
concerned
Very
concerned
Moderately
concerned 5%Slightly
concerned 2%
Not at all
concerned
Yes 74%
Is your organization experiencing a shortage in cybersecurity talent?
No 26%
Yes 74% No 26%
To mitigate the impact of the perennial cybersecurity skills shortage, organizations should consider a multifaceted
approach that includes fostering partnerships with academic institutions to pipeline new talent and investing
in training and development programs to cultivate internal talent and adapt to the evolving demands of cloud
security. Organizations should also consider embracing unified security solutions that replace multiple-point
solutions, incorporating artificial intelligence, and reducing operational complexity to bridge the skills gap while
enhancing threat detection, response capabilities, and overall security posture.
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Critical Cybersecurity Skills
In the context of the pronounced cybersecurity talent shortage faced by organizations, we asked about the specific
cybersecurity skills deemed most critical for addressing today’s security challenges.
Cloud and application security skills takes the top spot, with 60% of respondents highlighting its critical importance.
This underscores the accelerated migration to cloud services and the necessity for robust security practices in
application development and deployment. Following closely, identity and access management (IAM) is identified
by 59% of organizations as essential, reflecting the growing complexity of securing user access across increasingly
distributed IT environments.
Governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) is recognized by 58% of respondents as an important skill, underscoring
the essential role of regulatory compliance and risk management frameworks in today’s cyber threat landscape.
Security monitoring and operations, threat intelligence, and advanced technical security skills—all at 57%—
demonstrate a nearly equal emphasis on proactive threat detection, understanding cyber adversaries, and
leveraging advanced technologies for robust security posture.
What are the most important security skills required in your organization?
(select all that apply)
Governance,
Identity risk, and
and access compliance Security
management monitoring and
operations
Cloud and Threat
application intelligence
security 58% and analysis
59% 57%
Technical and
advanced
57% security skills
60%
57%
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Cloud Security Budget Trends
The allocation of resources to cloud security is a critical indicator of organizational priorities and the perceived
importance of cloud infrastructure protection in the face of evolving cyber threats and technological advancements.
A significant 61% of respondents anticipate an increase in their cloud security budget over the next 12 months.
This substantial majority signals a strong recognition of the escalating cybersecurity challenges and the need for
enhanced security measures in cloud environments, propelling cloud security budget to increase by 37%.
The willingness to invest up to 37% more in cloud security reflects an understanding that robust defense
mechanisms are essential to safeguard sensitive data and maintain compliance with regulatory standards in the
increasingly cloud-centric business landscape.
Meanwhile, a third of organizations (32%) expect their cloud security budget to remain unchanged. Only a small
fraction, 7%, project a decrease in their cloud security budget.
32% 61%
Unchanged Increase
Budget will
increase by
7% 37%
Decrease
Given the predominant trend towards increased cloud security investment, organizations should strategically
allocate additional resources to areas of highest risk and potential impact, such as advanced threat detection,
identity and access management, and security automation. This approach not only prepares businesses to combat
sophisticated cyber threats but also enhances their overall security posture by leveraging the latest technological
innovations in cloud security.
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Embracing Cloud-Based
Security Solutions
The decision to adopt cloud-based security solutions is driven by a variety of factors that align with organizational
goals for agility, efficiency, and enhanced protection. The need for better scalability, recognized by 56% of survey
respondents, highlights the cloud’s ability to dynamically adjust to fluctuating demands. Close behind, cost savings
and faster deployment, at 47% and 46% respectively, underscore the economic and operational benefits enticing
organizations towards cloud security solutions. Enhanced performance (42%) and the reduction of manual efforts
for patching and software upgrades (40%) further catalyze the shift to cloud-based security solutions, especially
in light of the perennial cybersecurity skills shortage.
What are the main drivers for considering cloud-based security solutions?
(select all that apply)
56%
47% 46% 42% 40%
Organizations considering cloud-based security solutions should prioritize scalability, cost efficiency, and rapid
deployment to capitalize on the cloud’s operational and economic advantages. Focusing on solutions that offer
streamlined policy management and continuous compliance can further enhance security postures, ensuring
resilience in the face of evolving threats and regulatory landscapes.
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Unified Cloud Security Platform
Given the complexity, operational headaches, and skills challenges already highlighted, it comes as no surprise
that organizations are looking for a unified security platform to streamline and consolidate security management
across diverse cloud environments. An overwhelming 95% of respondents confirm that having such a platform
would be advantageous for protecting data consistently and comprehensively across the cloud footprint.
How helpful would it be to have a single cloud security platform with a single dashboard
where you could configure all of the policies needed to protect data consistently and
comprehensively across your cloud footprint?
95%
of professionals consider the use of a single
cloud security platform with a single dashboard
to be moderately to extremely helpful
38%
39% 18%
3%
2%
Extremely helpful Not at all helpful
Extremely helpful Very helpful Moderately helpful Slightly helpful Not at all helpful
This demand for a single, integrated cloud security platform echoes the industry’s shift towards platform
consolidation, driven by improving security effectiveness, simpler integration, and reduced management
overhead. It is the only effective approach to addressing the cybersecurity talent gap and mitigating increasingly
sophisticated and automated attacks. Such a unified platform alleviates the operational burden of navigating
multiple security interfaces and enhances overall security posture through consistent policy enforcement and
comprehensive visibility across all cloud environments.
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Securely Embracing the Cloud:
Essential Cloud Security Strategies
In today’s rapidly evolving cloud landscape, adopting a robust cloud security posture is imperative for organizations
of all sizes. This guide outlines essential best practices for securing your cloud environments, from unifying security
platforms to investing in specialized skills, designed to protect against the sophisticated threats of tomorrow.
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Methodology and Demographics
The 2024 Cloud Security Report is based on a comprehensive global survey of 927 cybersecurity professionals
conducted in February 2024, to uncover how cloud user organizations are adopting the cloud, how they see cloud
security evolving, and what best practices IT cybersecurity leaders are prioritizing in their move to the cloud. The
respondents range from technical executives to IT security practitioners, representing a balanced cross-section
of organizations of varying sizes across multiple industries.
CA R EER LE V EL
24% 19% 16% 12% 10% 19%
Specialist Manager/Supervisor CTO, CIO, CISCO, CMO, CFO, COO Consultant Director Other
CO M PA N Y S IZE
4% 14% 14% 9% 16% 11% 32%
I N DUSTRY
24% 17% 16% 7% 7% 4% 4% 4% 3% 14%
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