Cybersecurity Skills Gap Leaves Cloud Environments Vulnerable

A lack of cyber security expertise and employee training threatens the protection of cloud environments, according to new research by Check Point Software.

In its 2024 Cloud Security Report, the firm found that 61% of organizations experienced at least one security incident related to public cloud use in the past year, a significant increase from 24% the previous year.

Of those incidents, 21% resulted in a data breach.

Shortage of Cyber Training

A shortage of skills was cited by 32% of respondents as a barrier to cybersecurity defense in cloud environments. Lack of security awareness among employees was cited by 41% of experts as a barrier.

ISC2 figures published in September 2024 found that the cloud computing security was among the top skills gaps in security teams.

While training may be seen as a key defense against cyber-incident in the cloud, only 44% of organizations provide training annually.

Check Point noted that a mere 26% conduct monthly sessions, contributing to a skills deficit and increasing vulnerability to sophisticated cyberattacks.

“Organizations must prioritize education and prevention in cybersecurity,” said Muhammad Yahya Patel, lead security engineer at Check Point Software. “It’s concerning that while 40% of organizations view prevention and mitigation as their biggest challenge, only 21% prioritize it. This disconnect suggests that many don’t believe prevention is achievable in their current state.”

AI Adoption Fosters Need for New Skills

On AI, the report found that the integration of AI and ML technologies has intensified the need for new skills.

Check Point found that 49% of respondents indicated a need for their security experts to acquire new AI-related skills, while 35% are concerned about the lack of knowledge hindering AI adoption. Access to training and resources is crucial for overcoming these barriers.

Data security breaches were found to be the leading cloud security incident in the report, followed by misuse of cloud services and configuration errors.

The research gathered insights from over 800 cloud and cybersecurity professionals.