| Summary: | <p> The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the available strategies IT leaders at ABC, a Managed IT Services company in the SME sector in Columbus, Ohio, may use to avoid data breaches in the cloud environment. The security framework established by the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) provided the conceptual framework for this study. A purposeful sampling strategy was used to select 10 IT leaders to participate in the study. Data were gathered through open-ended, semi-structured individual face-to-face interviews, asynchronous discussions through e-mails, and reviews of company-provided documents. An inductive thematic analysis was used to analyze all the data collected in the study. The following six major themes emerged from the data relating to descriptions of the data security threats and vulnerabilities facing IT leaders in the cloud, and the strategies they may use to avoid a breach of their data: (1) managing the human factor, (2) managing the network environment, (3) types of data security threats, (4) people pose the most significant risk, (5) elements of an effective strategy, and (6) addressing password issues. The results indicated that IT leaders face multifaceted data security threats in the cloud and these could be addressed through a combination of strategies including user education, securing the network, limiting user access to IT resources, and addressing password issues.</p><p>
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