Survey reveals disconnect between employee cloud use and security policies

Several research studies by Symantec and Symform have revealed an increase in employee cloud usage for company-related work independent of whether the company has a policy for such use in place or not.

It was found that 20% of the 500 companies who participated in this survey lacked any clear security policies concerning cloud usage. Even though 39% of the organizations claimed not to use cloud services, 35% of that 39 still allowed their employees to upload company data to cloud applications.

What these surveys illustrate is the blatant disconnect between company security policies and the behavior of its employees when it comes to using cloud services for work.

“This research validates how cloud applications and services are being purchased and managed increasingly by non-IT departments and illustrates the need for IT to reclaim control from a policy and governance standpoint while still enabling the business to benefit from the cloud’s agility and cost effectiveness,” vice president of product management at Symform, Margaret Dawson says.

Even when the IT managers have put a formal policy for cloud usage in place, the survey shows that as much as 71% of employees are unaware of its existence. Of the employees that actually are aware of the policies, 49% believe that their company has no real consequences for violating said policies. 81% of managers think that the consequences for violating the policies are clearly stated. Therein lies the disconnect.

“People are learning to get around the corporate rules,” says Dawson. “Organizations need to develop strong governance, develop strong policies and implement them.”

Original article by Thor Olavsrud.
Read the full story here.