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Companies more comfortable with third-party cloud service providers


Johannesburg, 09 May 2013

A NetIQ cloud security survey, commissioned through IDG Connect, has revealed that, while companies have become increasingly comfortable with the security of third-party cloud service providers, data security, particularly at the end-user level, as well as concerns over meeting compliance requirements, remain top-of-mind among cloud adopters.

Connie Grobler, technical specialist for Identity and Security Management at NetIQ South Africa, says 51% of IT executives surveyed internationally believe the cloud increases data security overall.

"However, almost 70% of respondents indicated that consumer cloud services pose a risk to sensitive data in their organisations, and 45% are not fully confident that their cloud provider's security processes and programs meet their data security requirements. Additional findings were a mix of concern and confidence in cloud security, as 45% do not have full visibility and control of their cloud-based data when users sign up on their own."

Grobler adds that only 46% of organisations train end-users on how they should securely access data in the cloud, and 42% are not fully confident that they demonstrate regulatory compliance concerning sensitive information/assets in the cloud, while 59% are very confident in their ability to control and manage access from mobile devices to cloud services.

"These survey findings demonstrate that IT executives are feeling more confident in the execution of their cloud security strategies and programs. It must be appreciated, however, that this confidence may be at odds with concerns security teams have in addressing an ever-increasing number of threats to corporate information."

According to Grobler, data-centric security programs remain the most targeted and effective way to build security programs that will embrace the complexities inherent in adopting cloud. "Identifying sensitive data, applying appropriate layers of protection around it, and tracking who is accessing it remain the best ways to respond to threats, meet regulatory requirements and minimise organisational risk."

The survey was conducted on behalf of NetIQ by IDG Connect to understand perceptions about cloud security worldwide. Researchers interviewed IT executives at companies with 500 or more employees. It revealed that 61% of respondents occupied director-level or higher roles within their organisations. The overall number of respondents was split between North America (36%), EMEA (36%) and APAC (28%). The full survey results can be viewed at http://cloudreadyzone.com/.

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NetIQ

NetIQ is an enterprise software company focused on customer success. NetIQ helps organisations cost-effectively tackle information protection challenges and manage the complexity of dynamic, highly distributed application environments. NetIQ's scalable, automated management solutions for security and compliance, identity and access, and performance and availability help customers realise demonstrable business improvement and IT cost savings.

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