A recent study by Illumio, released in the Cloud Security Index: Redefine Cloud Security with Zero Trust Segmentation, reveals alarming concerns among IT and security leaders in Singapore regarding cloud security.
The research indicates that more than half (over 50%) of these leaders believe that a cloud breach could render their normal operations impossible. This statistic underscores the urgent need for enhanced cloud security measures, with 95% of organisations prioritizing improvements over the next year.
Andrew Kay, director of Systems Engineering APJ at Illumio, remarked, “The goal of cyberattacks has shifted from monetizing data to impacting business operations, and as a result, the cloud has become a prime target for attack.
Yet, more than half of Singaporean businesses say they wouldn’t be able to operate in the event of a cloud breach, which is concerning.” He emphasised the importance of creating an attack-tolerant infrastructure, especially as cloud usage continues to expand. “Attackers can’t paralyze critical operations without spreading across a network first—so breach containment and preventing lateral movement has to be the priority.”
The study also highlights significant vulnerabilities within Singaporean organisations. A quarter (26%) of IT and security leaders admitted that it would be easy for attackers to exploit weaknesses in their environments, primarily due to limited controls preventing network discovery and lateral movement. In contrast, only 35% expressed confidence in having strong preventive controls in place to protect against such threats.
Furthermore, traditional security tools are perceived as barriers to adopting cloud technologies, with 96% of organisations acknowledging the need for security solutions that can keep pace with the rapid growth of cloud adoption. Seventy-four per cent of IT and security decision-makers believe that the security function is slowing down cloud innovation.
The research also reveals a disconnect between security and development teams, suggesting that collaboration must improve to mitigate the risks of cloud breaches. About 48% of respondents indicated a need for better cooperation between security and application developers, while 99% agreed that it should be easier for DevOps teams to adopt cloud security best practices. Additionally, 91% emphasized the necessity of reducing workloads and increasing efficiency for SecOps teams.
This research highlights the critical need for organisations to rethink their cloud security strategies by prioritising Zero Trust Segmentation to enhance resilience against potential breaches.