Rain or shine, the cloud is here to stay. As today's digital-native generation fills more roles in the workforce, technology adoption is rising to meet them. Just when we thought our lives couldn’t be more deeply entwined with tech, the pandemic brought a whole new level of digitization.
Cloud is now the standard
Operating in the cloud is a mainstay for modern organizations. A majority (93%) use cloud services, and more than half (67%) of enterprise infrastructure is cloud-based. What’s more, nearly half of all organizations store their critical data in the cloud, favoring offsite, redundant, reliable storage to old-school onsite servers and backup systems.
Moving to the cloud has solved myriad challenges, particularly around the installation, access and management of software applications. Moreover, it’s given us the freedom to access our systems and data from any device and location. During a time when hybrid and remote work is becoming more common, the cloud enables seamless workflows and connectivity.
The adoption of multicloud is a valuable and sensible choice for organizations — the advantages of flexibility and manageability are clear. However, the rise of cloud services has led bad actors to turn their focus on the cloud, exploiting security holes to steal data and launch cyberattacks.
Alarmingly, just in the last year and a half or so, 79% of organizations experienced a cloud data breach. While some realized the importance of multicloud security only after a breach, most organizations recognize that the best approach is proactive. This has led to record-high demand for multicloud security professionals.
Multicloud opens new opportunities
The evolution of cloud technologies requires professionals in cybersecurity roles to keep pace, continuously evolving their breadth of knowledge in order to be effective.
Forbes reports that nearly three-quarters of a million cybersecurity roles remained unfilled in the United States alone. While there are more than a million cybersecurity professionals currently employed across the country, there are glaring holes in the workforce.
Part of the challenge in finding talent lies in the credentials required to fill open roles. Cloud security professionals must demonstrate that they’re current on best practices, not only through certifications but through ongoing professional development. To excel, they must have a mindset of continuous learning, striving to stay ahead of the curve in order to work with changing multicloud security needs.
In the 2022 Cloud Security Report, more than half of respondents identified a lack of qualified staff and knowledge as the most challenging aspect of cloud compliance. To help answer the need, many organizations are implementing train-to-hire approaches. They see the value in investing in vendor-neutral cloud security certification and ongoing learning opportunities for their teams.
Cloud service providers have also developed their own certifications and trainings to upskill cybersecurity teams. These vendor certifications are platform-specific and focus on configuration and operation.
To maximize the advantages of multicloud, cybersecurity professionals are wise to proactively seek training opportunities to keep their vendor-neutral and vendor-specific knowledge fresh and relevant.
How CCSP can help
(ISC)² Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) certification demonstrates that you have the advanced vendor-neutral knowledge and technical skills to design, manage and secure data, applications and infrastructure in any cloud environment.
If you already hold a vendor-specific certification, CCSP builds the end-to-end foundational knowledge needed for effective cloud security. It extends your skills and allows you to apply your security expertise to multiple cloud environments.
Learn more about the opportunities for cloud security professionals in the white paper, Maximizing the Advantages of Multicloud Environments.