The cloud security skills gap is real. According to recent survey data, more than 52% of companies struggle to find and hire skilled security professionals. New solutions such as AI offer opportunities and challenges. While intelligent tools can help detect and resolve security issues, they also come with a learning curve.
It’s not enough to stay protected; business innovation is also required to drive revenue gains and stay ahead of the competition. Here’s how teams can close skills gaps without increasing risk or losing speed.
Too Slow, Too Fast: Trouble at Both Ends of the Gap
Cloud security skills gaps create two opposite but equally concerning issues: slow innovation and fast compromise.
Slow Innovation
Innovation drives business success. This innovation may take the form of new products, improved processes or enhanced operations — but whatever its nature, companies can’t afford to stand still.
Lacking cloud security skills, however, makes innovation challenging. When organizations are more concerned with what could happen, it becomes difficult to focus on what should happen to advance business objectives.
Consider a company looking to deploy generative AI solutions to reduce customer wait times and improve ticket response rates. Doing so requires a solid security framework. If the business isn’t confident in its cloud security posture, adoption stalls as skills are upgraded and weak points are identified.
Fast Compromise
Fast compromise is the other side of the skills gap challenge. With attackers now leveraging AI to supercharge compromise efforts, companies need security frameworks that enable proactive response and real-time remediation.
One example is the rise of “n-day” threats. Unlike their zero-day counterparts, these n-day issues occur anytime after a vulnerability is discovered. They’re gaining popularity because attackers can use discovery reporting and patch notes to reverse-engineer issues and discover root causes, in turn, allowing them to create custom-built threats that bypass traditional security practices.
Without comprehensive cloud security skills in place, teams struggle to keep pace with accelerating threats.
Five Strategies for Improved Cloud Security
Closing gaps and boosting cloud security requires a targeted approach. Five strategies help set companies up for success:
1. Targeted training
Training is the foundation of improved cloud security. This training, however, must be targeted to succeed. Given the sheer number of courses and certifications available, companies could spend nearly infinite amounts of time and money upskilling staff, even as innovation stalls.
To balance speed and security, targeted training is necessary. Achieving this goal starts by identifying key security gaps, and then selecting skills that best address these needs. For example, the Certified Cloud Security Professional certification is useful to address enterprise-wide security strategies, while qualifications for Azure, Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services can address specific concerns.
2. Cross-functional collaboration
Cloud security is an enterprise-wide responsibility; security teams can’t do everything on their own. To bolster protection and innovation, businesses should prioritize cross-functional collaboration that combines development, security and operations teams. This DevSecOps approach improves visibility over the entire IT lifecycle.
3. Automation
Automation backed by AI can help detect indicators of compromise before they become full-fledged threats. This may take the form of user behavioral analysis to spot risky patterns, or could leverage real-time threat intelligence to keep pace with the latest compromise pathways.
4. Managed security services
Partnership with managed security services providers reduces the skills gap by providing targeted expertise where it is most needed. This may range from data security specialists available remotely 24/7/365 to on-premises staff tasked with upgrading specific security components or completing in-depth network analysis.
Many managed security services are now available on-demand and can be fully customized to deliver exactly what companies need, when they need it. In this respect, they are much like cloud solutions. As a result, these services must be carefully reviewed and regulated to reduce the risk of overspending.
5. Cloud-native security tools
Not all security tools are built for the cloud. Using cloud-native security tools improves the efficacy of protective efforts and allows companies to adapt on-demand if security needs change. Examples of cloud-native security tools include cloud workload protection platforms, cloud access security brokers, and cloud infrastructure entitlement management tools.
Getting Over the Gap — and Hitting the Ground Running
The cloud security skills gap won’t fix itself. More diverse data storage and processing functions paired with rapidly evolving security threats create a widening chasm that requires planning and precision to clear. What’s more, just getting to the other side doesn’t guarantee success; teams need skills that ensure speed and stamina.
These skills, however, can’t exist in isolation. While targeted training is necessary, companies must also prioritize cross-functional collaboration, process automation, managed security services, and the deployment of cloud-native security tools.
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About Anne Fernandez
Anne Fernandez is the Digital Marketing Manager at Ascendient Learning, which provides training courses and certification programs that upskill and reskill individuals, teams, organizations, and governments to be ready for what’s next. Fernandez has more than a decade of experience in content strategy, digital advertising, and SEO. She holds certifications in Google Ads, Google Analytics, and Digital Media and Marketing. Fernandez earned her OMCP (Online Marketing Certified Professional) credential through Duke University in 2021 and continues to lead innovative marketing projects that grow visibility and engagement for Ascendient Learning.
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