A new report has revealed that 90% of data loss prevention (DLP) violations occur in cloud storage apps, with the majority of those affecting enterprise confidential intellectual property or customer and regulated information.
The report said 17.9% of all files in enterprise-sanctioned cloud apps violate at least one DLP policy, with one in five of those files shared publicly.
Highest violations occurred with personally identifiable information followed by personal card information, confidential or top secret document, source code, personal health information and profanity.
The average number of apps used by enterprises has dropped to 715 from 730 in the last quarter, suggesting that organisations are starting to consolidate apps, particularly those in the marketing, collaboration and productivity categories.
According to the Netskope report, 92% of apps used are not enterprise-ready and adoption of Microsoft Office 365 enterprise has increased.
Netskope CEO and founder Sanjay Beri said: "With so many cloud apps in the enterprise lacking the capabilities required for safe enablement, it is imperative that IT possess a holistic view of cloud app usage to inform proactive policies that reduce the risk of losing sensitive data.
"More than just knowing where violations occur, it’s important to know how they are occurring and what steps can be taken to mitigate such behaviors. While awareness is growing, it’s clear that there’s still a long road ahead to ensuring safer enterprise cloud app usage."
