Compliance & Risks
New study shows cloud migration challenges
There are four challenges HCOs reportedly faced when moving to cloud-based environments
by Bharat Mistry
Few organisations have been placed under pressure as extreme over the past year as those working in healthcare. In many cases, this has been a catalyst for rapid digital transformation. Yet with healthcare organisations (HCOs) stretched to the limit, security gaps inevitably appear in systems that support life-saving work on the COVID-19 front line.
As 2020 showed, many cyber-criminals have no qualms about disrupting HCOs, and putting lives at risk, in order to extort victims with ransomware and data theft. To find out more on exactly how fast the pandemic is driving cloud adoption, and how well the sector understands its cybersecurity challenges, Trend Micro commissioned a global study of more than 2,500 IT decision makers in 28 countries across several industry sectors, including healthcare.
The results show that rapid shifts to the cloud may leave organizations at higher risk of cyber threats. Here are four challenges HCOs reportedly faced when moving to cloud-based environments:
- Skills shortages: 43% revealed that skills gaps are a persistent barrier to migrating to cloud security solutions.
- Day-to-day operations: Setting and maintaining policies (34%), patching and vulnerability management (32%), and misconfigurations (32%) were challenges of protecting cloud workloads.
- Increased costs: 43% have spent more on capital expenses and paying for contracted out services, while 39% have spent more on operational and training costs since migrating.
- Security responsibility: Just 40% are confident they secure their part of the Shared Responsibility Model.
While digital transformation can make a positive impact on productivity and patient care during this time of critical need, it is essential that the broader attack surface of an expanded digital infrastructure is given due consideration.
With the right cloud-ready solutions in place, Healthcare organizations can maximize cloud benefits without putting mission-critical systems or patient data at risk. Such tools can also minimize skills challenges by spotting misconfigurations, automating patching and policy management, and integrating security into DevOps, across both cloud and on-premise environments. Find out more!