Cary, NC, Jan. 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — INE Security, a global provider of networking and cybersecurity training and certifications, today released its Top 5 Cloud Security Trends of 2026, highlighting the growing need for defender-ready teams as organizations continue to expand across dynamic, multi-cloud environments.
As cloud adoption accelerates, attackers are increasingly exploiting identity weaknesses, configuration errors, and gaps between cloud, security, and operations teams. In response, organizations are rethinking cloud security as a workforce challenge as much as a technology challenge—placing new emphasis on cross-trained defenders who understand how cloud environments are built, operated, and attacked.
“Cloud security failures rarely come down to missing tools,” said Tracy Wallace, Cloud Instructor and Director of Content Development at INE Security. “They happen when teams lack shared understanding across identity, configuration, and operations. In 2026, preparing defenders to recognize and close those gaps is critical to reducing risk in the cloud.”
INE’s Top 5 Cloud Security Trends for 2026
1. Identity-First Cloud Security Becomes Mandatory
In cloud environments, identity has fully replaced the traditional perimeter. Compromised credentials—both human and machine—remain the leading cause of cloud breaches, enabling attackers to access resources, escalate privileges, and move laterally across platforms.
As identities multiply across workloads, APIs, and services, cloud defenders must understand identity flows, access paths, and privilege management across cloud providers.
Master skills to stay ahead of this trend:
2. Misconfiguration Remains the Leading Cloud Security Risk
Despite advances in tooling, misconfigurations continue to drive cloud security incidents. Over-permissioned roles, exposed storage, insecure API endpoints, and inconsistent policies often result from rapid deployment cycles and limited security oversight.
These failures frequently reflect skills gaps or process gaps rather than technology gaps, reinforcing the need for hands-on training that teaches defenders how to design, review, and secure cloud environments correctly from the start.
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3. Cloud Security and Cloud Operations Converge
Cloud security responsibilities are shifting earlier in the lifecycle, converging with platform engineering and cloud operations. Security controls are increasingly embedded into infrastructure-as-code, CI/CD pipelines, and automated provisioning workflows.
This convergence requires defenders to understand not only security controls, but also how cloud environments are built, deployed, and maintained at scale.
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4. Continuous Cloud Threat Detection Evolves with AI-Driven Capabilities
Continuous threat detection is already standard for mature cloud environments. In 2026, the challenge is keeping pace with rapidly evolving detection tools and AI-driven capabilities embedded within cloud security platforms.
As analytics and machine learning increasingly shape how threats are identified, defenders must understand how these systems generate alerts, interpret outcomes, and adapt detection strategies as tooling evolves.
Master skills to stay ahead of this trend:
5. Cloud Security Skills Gaps Become a Strategic Risk
Demand for cloud security expertise continues to outpace supply. Many organizations struggle to staff teams with hands-on experience across cloud platforms, leading to slower response times and increased breach impact.
As a result, cloud security training and workforce development are becoming strategic priorities, with organizations investing in continuous, role-based learning to build and retain defender-ready teams.
“Defenders aren’t defined by a single role,” Wallace added. “Cloud security depends on collaboration between security, cloud, and infrastructure teams. Organizations that invest in cross-trained defenders are better equipped to detect threats early and reduce the impact of incidents.”
INE Security’s Year of the Defender initiative reflects an industry-wide shift toward treating training as a continuous capability rather than a one-time requirement. Defender-ready organizations prioritize hands-on learning that mirrors real-world cloud environments and prepares teams to respond effectively when it matters most.
To learn more about how organizations can train cloud security teams to prepare for these trends and build defender-ready capabilities, visit ine.com/security.
About INE
INE is an award-winning, premier provider of online networking and cybersecurity education, including cybersecurity training and certification. INE is trusted by Fortune 500 companies and IT professionals around the globe. Leveraging a state-of-the-art hands-on lab platform, advanced technologies, a global video distribution network, and instruction from world-class experts, INE sets the standard for high-impact, career-advancing technical education.
- INE Releases Top 5 Cloud Security Trends of 2026