Cloud Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP)

Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is increasingly being employed for developing and delivering business applications and reengineering existing ones. Despite the shared nature of security between cloud providers and customers, many security incidents arise due to customer misconfigurations, exacerbated by the adoption of Generative AI (GenAI) and Machine Learning (ML). Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) integrate tools like Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP), and Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) into a cohesive solution. They aim to mitigate risks by managing entitlements, identities, and vulnerabilities in cloud environments. With the ephemeral nature of cloud resources, the traditional security approach is inadequate; policies must enforce best practices automatically. As organizations adopt GenAI, new risks emerge, including “Shadow AI” use without proper assessments. CNAPP solutions now include AI Security Posture Management (AI-SPM) to address GenAI-related risks. These platforms ensure an overarching view of cloud resources, promoting secure configurations and compliance with regulations. They assist at various application lifecycle stages, ensuring security integration, monitoring, vulnerability detection, and incident response. Key use cases for CNAPP solutions include comprehensive lifecycle security, GenAI security, cloud identity governance, multi-cloud compliance, and cyber risk management. Selecting an appropriate CNAPP entails considering identity and entitlement management, storage, and network security, while also evaluating capabilities for incident response and addressing cloud-specific challenges like scalability.