Survey Finds Cloud Security Lacking

Interest in cloud computing is strong among IT professionals, but that interest is coupled with an equally strong fear about the security implications, according to a new survey.

Key findings in PhoneFactor's study include:

--  Security is a primary barrier to cloud computing adoption for nearly three-quarters of respondents (73 percent) followed by Compliance (54 percent) and Portability/Ownership of Data (48 percent).

--  42 percent of respondents indicated that security concerns had held their company back from adopting cloud computing. 30 percent were unsure, and only 28 percent indicated it had not been a deterrent.

--  Leading cloud services were rated only moderately secure or worse: Google Apps, Amazon Web Services, and SalesForce/Force.com were all rated only moderately or less secure by more than 74 percent of respondents.

--  Preventing unauthorized access to data was the greatest cloud computing security concern. The overwhelming majority of respondents (93 percent) were at least moderately concerned about preventing unauthorized access to company data in the cloud; more than half (53 percent) were extremely concerned by it. Fear of the unknown ranked second highest with 89 percent of respondents indicating they were at least moderately concerned about the inability to evaluate the security of cloud-based systems.

--  What can be done to increase confidence in cloud computing? The top three security measures respondents thought were critical to securing the cloud included: Encryption (84 percent), Multi-Factor Authentication (81 percent), and Intrusion Prevention (80 percent).

--  Reduced cost (65 percent), Scalability (62 percent), and Rapid Implementation (50 percent) are seen as primary benefits to cloud computing. 87 percent of respondents indicated that they were planning to at least evaluate the use of cloud services.

Google's announcement earlier this week that they are adding two-step authentication to Google Apps validates the need for additional security for user access to cloud applications. The Google authentication solution, like that provided by PhoneFactor, leverages an everyday device -- the phone, which is ideal for cloud applications because it mirrors the scalability and cost savings touted as key benefits of cloud computing.

Comment from Steve Dispensa, PhoneFactor CTO and co-founder: Companies are eager to take advantage of the benefits of cloud computing. Demand for cloud computing systems clearly exists. However, survey results indicate that better security, like multi-factor authentication and encryption, are going to be required if cloud computing adoption is going to move forward.

About the survey: A global provider of phone-based multi-factor authentication, PhoneFactor's recent survey on the role of security in cloud computing adoption included more than 300 information technology professionals from a wide variety of industries and looked at their organizations' current and planned use of cloud computing, what perceived benefits are driving adoption, and conversely which factors are limiting adoption.

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