Assess Security of Cloud Computing Apps

New research finds that while cloud computing services are being widely adopted, more than 50 percent of IT professionals surveyed say their organization isn’t aware of all the cloud services employees are using — and few were evaluated for security before use.

The rapid-fire adoption of cloud computing might offer real advantages for small and mid-size businesses, but it also carries significant risks.

Too often, organizations simply aren’t keeping up with the cloud services their employees are using, according to recent research by the Ponemon Institute, an independent think tank focused on privacy and data security, and CA, Inc., an IT solutions provider. More than half of the IT personnel surveyed in the May study said their organization isn’t aware of all the cloud services employees have deployed, and less than half said that cloud services are evaluated for security before use.

“I think it shows a potential security meltdown in using cloud computing,” said Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of the Ponemon Institute. “The IT people and the security people are miles away from the users who are deploying these applications and these technologies.”

A boon to small businesses

Cloud solutions offer “revolutionary potential” for small and mid-size businesses, says Mark White, chief technology officer for Deloitte Consulting LPP’s Technology practice. Flexibility when it comes to contracts, pricing, scale and demand enables small businesses to take on larger competitors.

“The cloud is a real boon to small business. The cloud can be a disruptive force that can help small businesses punch bigger than their size,” says Charles Babcock, author of Management Strategies for the Cloud Revolution: How Cloud Computing Is Transforming Business and Why You Can’t Afford to Be Left Behind (McGraw-Hill, 2010). “The cloud overturns the established way of doing things.”

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