As demand for cloud computing grows, so does the need to secure it. In a survey of its Technology Executive Council members, CNBC found that cloud and software-defined security are among the C-suite’s top technology strategies for 2020.

As reported in this video , cloud computing tops the list, and it’s followed by machine learning, artificial intelligence and software-defined security. The CNBC Technology Executive Council has nearly 150 executives in various industries, 70% of whom participated in the survey. The survey shows that securing cloud environments is a major priority – not only for the C-suite but also for cybersecurity workers.

Another study, by the SANS Institute, provides further proof. “The SANS survey showed that rapid movement of corporate services and business applications to cloud-based technology is the biggest factor causing breakage in existing security architectures as well as driving most new security spending,” John Pescatore, SANS Director of Emerging Security Trends, said in a Yahoo! Finance article .

Slightly more than 50% of respondents in the SANS survey believe increased reliance on public cloud infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) implementations will be the biggest disrupter to security in the next 12 months. As a result, 71% of respondents see a need to boost spending on cloud security monitoring, as well as cloud access security broker cloud-specific tools (53%), staff skills training (52%) and strong authentication (46%), according to Yahoo! Finance.

The (ISC)² 2019 Cybersecurity Workforce Study revealed that cybersecurity workers placed cloud computing security among their top skills development priorities. This reflects a recognition that cloud-based environments are big targets for cybercriminals.

In August 2019, a Palo Alto Networks report revealed the existence of at least 34 million vulnerabilities across the largest cloud platforms as a result of the applications that customers deploy on those platforms.

CCSP Popularity

With the strong focus on securing clouds, it’s no wonder that (ISC)²’s CSSP cloud security certification is currently one of the most popular in our certification portfolio. In fact, last year Certification Magazine named it the “Next Big Thing” in certification for the fourth straight year. (ISC)² refreshed the content of the CCSP in 2019 to reflect the most pressing issues that cloud security professionals currently face and to update best practices.

From a management perspective, it is absolutely critical that your cybersecurity team has updated skills on cloud security architecture, design, operations and service orchestration. Employers looking to fill cybersecurity vacancies or prevent their cybersecurity workers from seeking employment elsewhere should emphasize cloud computing security as an area of skills development and career opportunity.

The cloud is a significant driver of today’s fast-changing technology landscape, requiring new ways of thinking in terms of management and security. At Security Congress 2019, (ISC)² CEO David Shearer warned against accepting the idea that “expansion of the cloud must expose us to greater risk instead of greater opportunity.” Rather, he argued, “as technology becomes more and more prevalent, so too must cybersecurity.”

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