Fortinet 2026 Cloud Security Report Flags Widening ‘Complexity Gap’ in Cloud Defences

Global survey finds fragmented tools, talent shortages and AI-driven threats outpacing security teams

Bengaluru: Cybersecurity company Fortinet has released The 2026 State of Cloud Security Report, warning of a growing “complexity gap” between rapidly evolving cloud environments and organisations’ ability to secure them effectively. The report is based on a global survey of over 1,160 cybersecurity leaders and professionals conducted by Cybersecurity Insiders.

According to the report, the complexity gap stems from a structural mismatch between cloud velocity and security teams’ capacity to maintain real-time visibility, detection, and response.

Fragmented tools and overstretched teams

Nearly 70% of organisations cited tool sprawl and visibility gaps as the biggest barriers to effective cloud security. As cloud adoption expands, security solutions are often deployed in silos, resulting in disconnected tools, inconsistent controls, and limited end-to-end visibility.

The challenge is compounded by a persistent talent shortage. About 74% of respondents reported an active lack of qualified cybersecurity professionals, while 59% said they remain in the early stages of cloud security maturity. This combination has left teams stretched thin, increasing the risk of missed alerts and delayed responses.

Threats moving at machine speed

The report highlights the increasing use of automation and artificial intelligence by threat actors to exploit misconfigurations and exposed data faster than human-led defences can respond. As a result, 66% of surveyed professionals said they lack strong confidence in their ability to detect and respond to cloud threats in real time.

Hybrid and multi-cloud complexity

Cloud security challenges are intensifying as enterprises adopt hybrid and multi-cloud models. The survey found that 88% of organisations now operate in hybrid or multi-cloud environments, up from 82% last year. Of these, 81% rely on two or more cloud providers for critical workloads, while 29% use more than three.

As cloud infrastructure scales, so does the attack surface. New services, users, configurations, and data flows increase complexity, making it harder for security teams to maintain visibility and control.

Shift toward unified security platforms

In response, organisations are increasingly reassessing their security strategies. If starting afresh today, 64% of respondents said they would design their cybersecurity architecture around a single-vendor platform integrating network, cloud, and application security. The shift reflects growing fatigue with complex integrations and manual correlation across multiple tools.

Fortinet said such consolidation can reduce operational friction, improve visibility, accelerate detection and response, and support more proactive threat management.

Industry perspective

“Cloud environments are evolving faster than most security teams can keep up with, especially as AI accelerates both innovation and risk,” said Vishak Raman, vice president of sales for India, SAARC, SEA and ANZ at Fortinet. “While attackers are increasingly operating at machine speed, many organisations still rely on manual processes and fragmented visibility. Closing this gap requires a more unified approach to cloud security.”

The report concludes that addressing cloud hypergrowth, fragmented defences, skills shortages, and AI-driven threats will be critical for organisations seeking secure and resilient cloud and AI deployments.