Solve the gap in modern cloud protection: Unify cloud security with CNAPP

As cloud-native architectures continue to evolve, so is the complexity of protecting them. Traditional security approaches, often built around static infrastructure and peripheral defenses, strive to keep pace with the speed and scale of modern cloud deployments. Enter the Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPPS), a term coined by Gartner® to describe an integrated security approach that combines multiple functions into a single cohesive solution: “CNative Application Protection Platform (CNAPPS) is a unified and tightly integrated security and compliance capability designed to protect the basic cloud infrastructure and applications.”¹

The evolution of CNAPP

Initially, CNAPP came from the convergence of two major security features: Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP) and Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM). CWPP focuses on ensuring workload at runtime, detecting vulnerabilities and providing behavioral anomaly detection. CSPM, on the other hand, aims to identify misconfigurations and execute security policies across cloud environments. However, over time, CNAPP has expanded to merely fuse these two functions, combining the following elements:

• Identity security – Cloud Infrastructure Rights Management (CIEM) to prevent excessive permissions and abuse of privileges
• Application Security – Software composition analysis (SCA) and static application security testing (SAST) to detect vulnerabilities in open source and proprietary code
• API security – Protect API threats that have become key attack vectors in cloud environments
• Attack surface management – Continuously monitor cloud resources to identify and mitigate potential risks

Together, these features provide a holistic approach to ensuring cloud-native applications from development to production.

Meeting the challenges of specific clouds

Many businesses are adapting their traditional security tools for their cloud environments, and most traditional solutions lack the agility and scalability required for today’s dynamic cloud workloads. Unlike on-premises environments, the cloud runs using transient resources, i.e., startup and dismantling quickly – constituting a static security measure that is invalid.

More challenging is that cloud security responsibilities are often assigned between teams. This shared responsibility model means that while the task of cloud providers is to ensure infrastructure, organizations must ensure the security of their workloads and data. This requires a unified approach that can be seamlessly integrated with the DevOps pipeline to embed security into the development process rather than being seen as an afterthought.

The role of CNAPP in safe operation

For the SECOPS team, visibility remains the most concerned issue. To address this challenge, CNAPP provides centralized security insights across cloud and on-premises environments. More importantly, by providing automatic remedies, they go far beyond merely pure popularity. Advanced CNAPP solutions utilize behavioral analysis, anomaly detection, and threat intelligence to identify malicious activities and enable rapid response.

In addition, integration with the Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) platform allows automatic remediation workflows to ensure security teams can quickly control and mitigate threats before upgrading. In the wider security ecosystem, CNAPP can also connect with Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB), next-generation firewall (NGFWS), and security information and event management (SIEM) systems to provide a unified security posture.

Enable DevSecops and left and right security

The core purpose of modern cloud security is the left-wing approach – early security of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). CNAPPS facilitates this shift by integrating directly into the developer toolchain, scanning code repositories, and ensuring infrastructure AS-AS-CODE (IAC) templates adhere to security best practices.

By providing real-time feedback in integrated development environments (IDEs) and version control systems, CNAPP enables developers to identify and remediate security issues before they arrive in production. This can enhance security and reduce the time and costs associated with late-development cycle resolution.

Unified local and cloud security policies

For enterprise operation hybrid environments, not all CNAPPs have the same equipment to support hybrid cloud environments. A comprehensive customer-centric CNAPP understands that applications can live on-premises and in the cloud based on customer needs and strategies. These advanced CNAPPs can also play a vital role in bridging the gap between on-premises security operations and cloud security. Their ability to correlate threat intelligence among environments enables security teams to apply consistent policies and, overall, respond to events even in complex, distributed environments.

The ultimate goal of CNAPP is to ensure that organizations do not have to view their cloud security as an isolated feature. Instead, they enable security as a continuous and integrated process that aligns with modern cloud architectures, DevSecops approaches, and enterprise security policies.

The future of cloud security is built on CNAPPS

As organizations continue to expand their cloud footprint, the need for comprehensive, unified security solutions has never been more powerful. CNAPPS represents the next evolution of cloud security, providing the necessary visibility, automation and integration to address modern security challenges. By combining multiple security features into one platform, CNAPPS authorizes organizations to proactively manage risks, simplify security operations, and align with the speed and scale of cloud-native development.

CNAPP should also be part of a wider cloud security platform so that organizations can see and protect all content in hybrid and multi-cloud. In particular, CNAPP should work seamlessly with cloud networks, web applications and API security and secure operation solutions to provide effective real-time security.

When business driving ensures the complexity of their multi-cloud and hybrid environments, adopting a CNAPP approach can be a key driver for achieving resilient and adaptive safe postures.

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