Survey reveals distrust towards cloud computing

Research conducted at Infosecurity Europe 2015, Europe's number one information security event, has found that a large number of professionals do not believe the cloud to be a safe storage solution for corporate data. However, while less than a third (29%) of survey respondents feel that the cloud should be used to store confidential information, almost half (48%) currently do exactly that.

iStorage, a leading specialist in digital encryption and portable data storage, carried out a survey of over 270 professionals during the course of the annual event in London, gathering insight from a wide range of professionals including Heads of IT, Chief Information Officers, IT Security Managers, Chief Technical Officers, Company Directors and Cyber Analysts.

“Cloud technology may make life easier for mobile workers but it’s certainly not without its risks; it really should only be used to store encrypted, non-sensitive information,” states John Michael, Founder and CEO of iStorage. “Ultimately, the cloud concept refers to a physical data centre and as such users are very much reliant on trusting cloud providers to protect any information that they store in this way.”

Asking respondents for their experience and understanding of a range of data protection issues, iStorage found that the vast majority (78%) are currently aware of policies within their organisations covering data protection matters, with a further 75% knowing who is specifically responsible for data protection within their firms. However despite this understanding, only half of respondents (50%) understand what the new European General Data Protection Regulation is likely to mean to both them individually and their organisations – highlighting the need for greater education before this comes into effect.

“Data protection is only going to grow in importance on the corporate agenda, with the new European General Data Protection Regulation shining a spotlight on the role that all professionals will be expected to play in safeguarding the information that has been entrusted to them and their organisations,” comments John Michael. “Our recent survey at Infosec revealed that currently there is confusion and a lack of understanding about what this regulation means and the effect that it will have. This must be addressed in advance of the regulation coming into effect, to ensure that all businesses are fully prepared for the data challenges of the future.”

The recent survey findings follow closely in the wake of the Council of the European Union agreeing to the new regulations that will co-ordinate the law across the 28-member-state bloc for the first time[1]. It is anticipated that these pan-EU data protection regulations will become law in 2017.

iStorage’s survey also found that USB devices continue to be a popular method for storing information for 54% of respondents. However, iStorage stresses that any external drives used for transporting data must be fitted with robust encryption capabilities. “The only way to secure data when in transit is to store it on a secure encrypted hard-drive or portable storage device, while also maintaining regular backups,” adds John Michael. “The long term impact of the theft or loss of corporate information can be truly vast, from both an operational and reputational perspective. Putting robust encryption measures in place is an essential step to take to guard against ever-increasing enterprise security threats.”