Cloud Security Concerns Surge in APAC as Data Breaches Remain High

Podcast

https://cpl.thalesgroup.com/apac-cloud-security-research

A just released study by Thales reveals that cloud security remains a top concern for organizations in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, with data breaches continuing to pose significant threats.

Key Findings:

  1. Cloud Assets Prime Targets: 30% of APAC respondents identified cloud storage as the primary target for cyberattacks, followed closely by SaaS applications (29%) and cloud-hosted IaaS and PaaS apps (27%).
  2. Persistent Data Breaches: 15% of APAC organizations experienced a cloud data breach in the past year, with 44% reporting at least one breach in their history.
  3. Security Spending Priority: Cloud security leads security spending plans in APAC, with 33% of organizations prioritizing it.
  4. Increasing Data Sensitivity: 61% of APAC organizations report that at least 40% of their cloud data is sensitive, up from 50% in 2021.
  5. Complexity Challenges: 49% of APAC respondents agree that securing cloud environments is more complex than on-premises setups.
  6. Human Error a Major Factor: Nearly one-third (29%) of cloud breaches in APAC are attributed to human error.
  7. Multi-Cloud Environment: On average, APAC enterprises use 2.1 production cloud providers for IaaS/PaaS applications, with 68% using more than 25 SaaS applications.

The rapid adoption of cloud services in the APAC region brings both opportunities and challenges. And Organizations must balance innovation with robust security measures to protect sensitive data in increasingly complex cloud environments.

Recommendations:

The study suggests several pathways to improve cloud security:

  • Prioritize compliance and passing security audits
  • Invest in cloud security tooling, including cloud-native application protection platforms (CNAPP)
  • Strengthen partnerships between developers and security teams
  • Implement early design phase security measures for complex environments

As cloud adoption continues to accelerate in the APAC region, organizations must remain vigilant and proactive in addressing evolving security challenges to protect their sensitive data and maintain compliance with regulatory requirements.