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Research

Cloud Application Security – Risks, Questions, Insights, and Solutions

Author avatar of Ken HowardKen Howard
July 1, 2021 • 3 minute read
View blog >

Occasionally, there are moments when the world cleaves into “before” and “after.” Every so often, lightning strikes and it’s clear from one second to the next that big change has come.

That’s certainly the way the world feels since March 2020.

Although we had been working toward and talking about a world in which our work lives and home lives blend seamlessly for at least a decade now, the sudden lurch forward into a digital space still felt like a bit of a shock. And we’re finding that the key to making it work — to striking a new balance — is in how we both make the best use of cloud-based applications and services (also known as software-as-a-service [SaaS]), and maintain an acceptable level of cloud application security.

We are wrestling with new questions and challenges and boundaries. When it comes to using cloud apps, where does work stop and personal use begin? Is streaming a little music while working on a project a misuse of company resources? Are we opening ourselves up to unacceptable security risks using unapproved remote desktop, social media, or storage tools?

Cisco Umbrella published a study today of top trends in cloud applications — their current usage, the risks and the opportunities, and what we can do to move forward with cloud applications in a secure and productive way. This report features data collected from November 2020 through March 2021 and drawn from Cisco Umbrella’s DNS resolution and cloud application discovery capabilities. The data is from paying Umbrella customers and has been de-identified, aggregated into categories, and anonymized.

Upon analysis, a few key points emerged.

Key cloud application security insights

Laptop computer showing that traffic for cloud-based apps grew by 33% in 2020

Cloud apps are on the rise

Internet traffic from cloud-based applications grew 33% in 2020. Tracking along with that, Cisco Umbrella’s application discovery service experienced 20% growth in the number of applications controllable by our service — i.e., apps we can see, assess the security risk of, and block if necessary.

Three hurdles positioned in front of a track background. Three green icons showcase various corporate logos, indicating cloud-based apps that might be blocked.

Businesses block what they don’t use

The cloud apps that get blocked by your employer greatly depend on the office productivity applications your team primarily uses. For instance, Microsoft Office 365 generates 18X more internet traffic than its next closest competitor — Google. So, if your business is Team Microsoft, you may find Google apps are more frequently blocked in your organization.

A globe with diagonal stripes across it and a lock icon in the bottom left-hand corner, indicating limited visibility.

Shadow IT still limits visibility

The move to remote work and an increase in bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies are making it more difficult for IT teams to maintain security over cloud apps, particularly in areas like DIY tech support and streaming media players.

We’re embracing more social, more media

A smiling woman sits in front of a laptop against a white background. Around her are three green icons, indicating a music app, media app, and social media app.

As work-from-home (WFH) practices continue, our work and personal lives blur together, leading to a significant rise in the use of social and media applications on the job.

Data loss is a significant risk with cloud storage

Several file folders sit on top of a cloud. Blue arrows point away from the folder to the right-hand side of the screen, indicating risk of data loss.

As users continue to embrace cloud storage services unapproved by IT, data protection remains a major issue, leading to a considerable number of blocked queries to those services. So which services did customers of our application discovery service block the most? Apple iCloud and Dropbox are blocked at 20X and 16X the rate of other cloud storage providers.

As we’ve made the leap from centralized, controlled, on-premise applications to the wider world of cloud-based SaaS services, whole new avenues and opportunities have opened up for the modern workplace.

In this new world, we can’t continue doing business the same old ways. We need new perspectives informing new policies, equipped with new capabilities to help us keep on top of cloud application security. The visibility to see and understand these apps and the risks they pose becomes of paramount importance. Equally, we need the intelligence to inform us of the latest threats. This is what Cisco Umbrella was built for – solving new security challenges with strong, simple-to-execute, and easy-to-scale cloud-based DNS-layer protection that includes applications discovery, secure web gateway, and firewall capabilities. Get the report on 2021 Cloud Application Security today.

Get the Cloud Application Security report

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