Last month, the Information Security Forum released their annual prediction of the top 10 information security threats they foresee for the next two years – through 2016. While I found the entire list insightful, half of the list resonated strongly with me as someone who is working with large enterprises as they wrestle with security and compliance challenges as they embark on cloud adoption. I believe this group of five predictions is particularly relevant for anyone utilizing the cloud over the next two years and I’ve added a few of my own thoughts on each.
1. Service Providers Become a Key Vulnerability
I find this first prediction especially valid and timely because of some recent headlines. Service providers, given the nature of their business, are a prime “aggregation” for all types of sensitive/valuable data. Cyber criminals and hackers realize this, which puts a big target on the backs of service providers. Think about it – a successful breach equals a treasure trove of coveted information from potentially multiple tenants. And the reality is that service providers acting as a central storage point for large amounts of sensitive data will continue to increase over the next two years, so the prize will only become richer. In response and in preparation, enterprises need to takes steps to protect their most sensitive and important data and decide which data they truly need to send to public cloud service providers.