ISLANDIA, N.Y. and TRAVERSE CITY, Mich., April 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- CA Technologies
(NASDAQ: CA) and the Ponemon Institute, an independent research
firm specializing in privacy, data protection and information
security policy, today released a study that shows cloud providers
and cloud consumers are not aligned on cloud security. Their
conflicting views on focus, priority and responsibility suggest a
pending security standoff between cloud providers and cloud
users.
The study, "Security of Cloud Computing Providers," indicates
that cloud providers are more focused on delivering the benefits of
cost and speed of deployment, the top two reasons cited for
migrating to cloud computing. The majority of cloud providers (79
percent) allocate just 10 percent or less of IT resources to
security or control-related activities. This result is consistent
with the finding that less than half of the respondents agree or
strongly agree that security is a priority.
"The focus on reduced cost and faster deployment may be
sufficient for cloud providers now, but as organizations reach the
point where increasingly sensitive data and applications are all
that remains to migrate to the cloud, they will quickly reach an
impasse," said Mike Denning, general
manager, Security, CA Technologies. "If the risk of breach
outweighs potential cost savings and agility, we may reach a point
of 'cloud stall'—where cloud adoption slows or stops—until
organizations believe cloud security is as good as or better than
enterprise security."
Additional key findings include:
- Less than 20 percent of cloud providers across the U.S. and
Europe view security as a
competitive advantage. Fewer than 30 percent of respondents
consider security as an important responsibility. Less than 27
percent of respondents feel their cloud services substantially
protect and secure customer information.
- The majority of cloud providers (69 percent) believe security
is primarily the responsibility of the cloud user; this contrasts
with 35 percent of cloud users who believe security is their
responsibility. Just 16 percent of cloud providers feel security is
a shared responsibility, compared to 33 percent of cloud users who
believe the duty should be shared. Thirty-two percent of both cloud
providers and cloud users say security is the responsibility of the
provider.
- Cloud providers and cloud users disagree widely on the degree
to which they saw intellectual property (IP) being too sensitive
for the cloud. Sixty-eight percent of cloud users felt their IP was
too risky for cloud use, compared to just 42 percent of cloud
providers.
"Given the well-publicized concerns about the potential risks to
organizations' sensitive and confidential information in the cloud,
we believe it is only a matter of time until users of cloud
computing solutions will demand enhanced security systems," said
Dr. Larry Ponemon, chairman and
founder, Ponemon Institute. "However, until this happens, users of
cloud computing should be aware of their responsibility to assess
the risks before migrating to the cloud. They should thoroughly vet
providers and their applications and infrastructure for their
ability to safeguard information. Finally, cloud users and
providers should consider the importance of joint responsibility to
create a secure computing environment."
About the Study
Ponemon Institute surveyed 103 cloud service providers in the US
and 24 in six European countries for a total of 127 separate
providers. Respondents said SaaS (55 percent) is the most
frequently offered cloud service, followed by IaaS (34 percent) and
PaaS (11 percent). Sixty-five percent of cloud providers in this
study deploy their IT resources in the public cloud environment, 18
percent deploy in the private cloud and 18 percent are hybrid.
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About CA Technologies
CA Technologies (NASDAQ: CA) is an IT management software and
solutions company with expertise across all IT environments – from
mainframe and distributed, to virtual and cloud. CA Technologies
manages and secures IT environments and enables customers to
deliver more flexible IT services. CA Technologies innovative
products and services provide the insight and control essential for
IT organizations to power business agility. The majority of the
Global Fortune 500 relies on CA Technologies to manage evolving IT
ecosystems. For additional information, visit CA Technologies at
www.ca.com.
About Ponemon Institute
Ponemon Institute is dedicated to advancing responsible
information and privacy management practices in business and
government. To achieve this objective, the Institute conducts
independent research, educates leaders from the private and public
sectors and verifies the privacy and data protection practices of
organizations in a variety of industries.
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SOURCE CA Technologies