Cloud breach risks have more than doubled in less than five years.
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Global cybersecurity is under threat increasing threat.
The number of worldwide cloud vulnerabilities - meaning potential weak points in systems - more than doubled in just four years, rising from 1,700 to 3,900, according to research by IBM's X-Force.
The analysis was carried out between 2019 and 2023 by tracking various cloud platforms and services worldwide and not just IBM's.
Bosnia, Serbia and Albania most at risk in Europe
Europe's cybersecurity soft underbelly, meanwhile, appears to be the Balkans according to new research.
A recently compiled ranking by cloud security company Kloudle named Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Albania as the most vulnerable nations in the continent to cloud security breaches.
With a 71% risk score, the most vulnerable of all is Bosnia and Herzegovina. It experienced nearly nine million cloud breaches in the past two decades and is the most exposed country compared to its size. It also has the lowest cybersecurity preparedness score.
Bosnia is followed by Serbia and Albania, who have an overall risk score of 69% and 67%, respectively. Serbia and Albania both had much higher levels of preparedness, however.
UK and Italy under attack
The UK placed fourth in terms of overall risks due to the high number of estimated cloud breaches in the past two decades - over one billion.
Italy is the other big European economy among the countries most at risk, with nearly 800 million estimated breaches.
Italy can however count on a high level of preparedness, for which it scored 88 out of 100.
"The vulnerabilities exposed in countries like Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia highlight the critical gaps in cybersecurity infrastructure that need immediate attention," says Kloudle CEO and founder Akash Mahajan.
"We must prioritise cybersecurity education and implement robust data protection measures as we continue to rely more heavily on cloud technologies. These include regular security audits, employee training programs and adopting advanced encryption technologies."