New skills needed for cloud computing: Survey

13.01.2011

More than half of the members surveyed said their organisations are using cloud computing at some level. Sixteen per cent said their organisations are using public cloud services, and 42 per cent identified their use of software-as-a-service (SaaS).

For participants, the exposure of confidential or sensitive information, data loss or leakage is of greatest concern, with 85 per cent rating this as a top or high concern. This was followed by significant concern over weak system or application access controls (68 per cent), susceptibility to cyber attacks (65 per cent) and disruption in availability (62 per cent).

The (ISC)2 Global Information Security Workforce study is commissioned biannually and has been tracking significant trends since 2004.

(ISC)2's managing director, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), John Colley CISSP, said the concern over risks to data suggests that the profession recognised the need to master the understanding of how data is used and valued by the business and its customers.

"This goes beyond understanding the technology and detail of the systems," Colley said. "IT is a tool of the business, and it is the business itself, its processes and the information it uses that must be understood."