Moving Target Defense Blog

Although far from new in technological terms, the ubiquity of public and hybrid cloud use is a relatively recent phenomenon. Driven in part by the current COVID-19 pandemic, it would be difficult to find an organization that isn't relying on a cloud-based service right now.

Available anytime and capable of being run from anywhere, cloud computing provides a perfect solution to operational challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. With public and hybrid cloud use rising across every sector, dramatically increased uptake of cloud technology quickly became one of the more benign changes brought about this year.

The recent leap towards cloud computing has fast-forwarded digital transformation for countless organizations. What there hasn’t been, however, is a corresponding improvement in the ability of organizations to secure the cloud. In fact, as more companies rely on the cloud to maintain their operations, they also risk accruing a cybersecurity deficit. In a survey conducted in February, over 60 percent of cybersecurity professionals indicated that their cloud implementation was already beyond their abilities to reliable secure these environments.

Cloud usage is increasing rapidly. Analysts forecast growth of 17 percent for the worldwide public cloud services market in 2020 alone. This proliferation comes on top of already widespread cloud adoption. In a recent report by Flexera, over 83 percent of companies described themselves as intermediate to heavy users of cloud platforms, while 93 percent report having a multi-cloud strategy.