Cloud Security Starts Below the Cloud

“Cybersecurity talent shortage” is a useful phrase until someone has to decide what to do about it. Hire more people. Train more graduates. Upskill employees. Fine. Train them in what? NIST’s latest cybersecurity workforce investment takes that question seriously. On 18 September, it announced more than $1.7 million for nine Regional Alliances and Multistakeholder Partnerships to Stimulate Cybersecurity Education and Workforce Development, or RAMPS, projects across eight U.S. states. The interesting part isn’t the funding figure. It’s the design. Each project is expected to connect the specific workforce needs of local businesses and nonprofit organizations with learning objectives based on the NICE Workforce Framework. The projects then translate those requirements into curriculum development, internships, apprenticeships, hands-on projects and other learning opportunities. In other words, training starts with the capability that’s missing. ONE SHORTAGE CAN HIDE SEVERAL GAPS Consider three organizations hiring cybersecurity talent. A financial institution may need people who can investigate identity abuse and respond to incidents. A cloud-heavy technology business may be struggling to find people who understand cloud configurations, IAM and

INTRODUCTION As organizations accelerate digital transformation through cloud adoption, remote work, and AI-driven systems, the nature of cyber risk continues to evolve. Security challenges are no longer limited to technical vulnerabilities alone. Increasingly, attackers exploit human behavior, trust, and routine workflows to gain unauthorized access to systems and sensitive data. Phishing campaigns, social engineering tactics, and impersonation attacks have grown more sophisticated and harder to detect. Industry guidance from ENISA [https://www.enisa.europa.eu/] highlights that human-centric attack techniques remain among the most effective methods used against organizations today. In this context, cybersecurity awareness has become a critical factor in determining how effectively enterprises can prevent, detect, and respond to cyber threats. This article explains why cybersecurity awareness is important, the challenges enterprises face in building it, and how awareness strengthens overall cybersecurity resilience. WHAT IS CYBERSECURITY AWARENESS? According to findings highlighted in the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), [https://www.verizon.com/business/resources/reports/dbir/]human interaction continues to play a significant role in successful cyber incidents. In enterprise environments, cybersecurity awareness is not limited to IT or security teams. It applies to every

Modern applications have become increasingly interconnected and complex. Organizations rely on web applications, APIs and cloud services to support critical business operations and deliver digital experiences. Unfortunately, attackers are evolving just as quickly. As cyber threats continue to grow, understanding common application security risks has become essential. This is where the OWASP Top 10 plays an important role. Widely regarded as one of the most influential resources in application security, the OWASP Top 10 provides organizations with a practical framework for understanding and prioritizing the most critical risks affecting web applications. Whether you are a developer, security professional or business leader, understanding these risks is essential for building stronger cyber resilience. WHAT IS OWASP? OWASP, or the Open Worldwide Application Security Project, is a global non-profit organization focused on improving software security. Among its many initiatives, the OWASP Top 10 is perhaps the most widely recognized. It highlights the most significant security risks affecting modern web applications based on industry data and expert consensus. The list is not intended to be a compliance checklist. Instead,