Orchestrating Data Leaks in Multi Cloud: Projects in Controlled Environments Approach

Abstract

Hybrid cloud environments offer organizations essential flexibility and scalability by integrating private and public infrastructure, but this complexity introduces the core research problem: a greatly expanded attack surface and inconsistent application of security controls, leading to critical vulnerabilities and data exposure risks. The study employed a mixed-methods design, analyzing extensive secondary data through quantitative findings combined with qualitative thematic analysis of security reports. The key results quantified the main contributors to data leakage, finding misconfigured APIs as the leading threat (35%), followed by endpoint vulnerabilities (30%), and encryption failures (25%). While efficient AES-256 encryption is common, the research noted critical challenges in key management and the continued use of outdated protocols. Furthermore, inadequate use of secure API management frameworks was highlighted as significantly increasing the risk of unauthorized access. The implications of these findings led to the development of a project management framework that addresses these gaps. This framework integrates cloud-specific solutions—including end-to-end encryption, secure API configurations, automated compliance monitoring, and advanced endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools—within a PRINCE2 method. This proposed multi-layer approach provides proactive risk management, effectively bridging architectural gaps and improving the overall security posture against technical and compliance issues across the hybrid environment.