06/05/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 06/05/2025 11:05
In 2023, a prominent global technology firm experienced a significant security breach when sensitive production data was inadvertently restored in a development environment. This misconfiguration led to the exposure of credentials and customer data, underscoring the persistent challenges even the most advanced tech companies face in securing cloud environments.
This incident is not isolated. According to Gartner, by 2023, 75% of cloud security failures were attributed to security misconfigurations. The primary causes of these failures include disconnected security tools, reactive security strategies and a lack of unified visibility across cloud environments. These issues highlight the critical need for comprehensive and proactive security measures.
Security teams frequently rely on security-information and event-management (SIEM) systems, such as Splunk, and endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools like CrowdStrike Falcon. While these solutions offer centralized log management and real-time threat detection, they often fall short in addressing the speed, scale and complexity inherent in cloud-native environments.
This is where cloud-native application-protection platforms (CNAPPs) come into play. CNAPPs provide an integrated, proactive approach to cloud security, unifying security and compliance into a single platform. Unlike traditional tools that operate in silos, CNAPPs offer continuous monitoring and governance, ensuring collaboration between development, operations and security teams to address risks throughout the lifecycle of modern applications.
As cyberthreats and attacks grow in both frequency and sophistication in today's enterprise landscape, CNAPPs are not just a luxury - they are becoming a necessity. As cloud-native application development continues to grow and cyber threats become more sophisticated, CNAPPs provide the comprehensive, integrated security solutions that modern enterprises need to protect their valuable assets.
The evolution of cloud security leading to CNAPPs reflects the shift towards more dynamic and scalable security solutions, capable of keeping pace with the rapid development practices of cloud-native technologies. As organizations continue to adopt multi-cloud environments, the need for robust and integrated security platforms becomes increasingly critical. The future of enterprise security lies in the adoption of CNAPPs, ensuring that organizations can innovate and scale securely in the cloud.
With organization cloud environment complexity increasing year-to-year, monitoring, detecting, and preventing threats and vulnerabilities in the cloud has also become an even greater challenge. Coupled with the proliferation and fragmentation of security tools, security teams are facing an increasingly intricate challenge when securing their cloud environments. It quickly becomes apparent why cloud-native application-protection platforms (CNAPPs), which provide a comprehensive, unified security across multiple cloud platforms, have quickly gained popularity in the industry. - Hillary Baron, Senior Technical Director, Research, Cloud Security Alliance |
Traditional security solutions ─ including SIEMs, firewalls and endpoint detection ─ excel at monitoring logs and detecting threats post-incident. But they weren't built for cloud-native workloads, Kubernetes clusters, or dynamic, auto-scaling infrastructures.
Figure 1: Traditional Security vs. CNAPP
Key takeaway: CNAPP doesn't replace SIEMs or EDR ─ it fills the security gaps that traditional tools miss in modern cloud environments.
How CNAPP Is Solving Real-World Cloud Security Challenges:
These examples illustrate how CNAPP is addressing critical cloud security challenges, providing organizations with a more efficient and effective approach to safeguarding their cloud environments.
When considering infrastructure-as-code (IaC) security, many organizations focus solely on scanning tools like Terraform or CloudFormation. However, true IaC security extends much further. CNAPP adopts a comprehensive approach, encompassing the following:
A colleague from a large software-as-a-service provider shared an experience in which an insecure Kubernetes deployment YAML granted excessive permissions to application workloads. Though the organization's SIEM failed to flag this issue, CNAPP detected and blocked the misconfiguration before deployment, showcasing its effectiveness in ensuring robust IaC security.
"Security teams often rely on security-information and event-management systems (SIEM) like Splunk or endpoint detection and response tools (EDR), but these solutions weren't built for the speed, scale and complexity of cloud-native environments. This is where cloud-native application-protection platforms (CNAPPs) come in - offering an integrated, proactive approach to cloud security that traditional tools struggle to provide. - Stephen Sargon, Manager, Technology Consulting, Enterprise Cloud, Protiviti |
Adopting CNAPP is not merely about deploying a new security tool; it also represents a fundamental shift in how organizations approach cybersecurity in the cloud. This transition requires a proactive mindset, focusing on integrating security measures seamlessly into the cloud-native environment. Here's how organizations can implement CNAPP effectively:
In today's fast-paced digital landscape, relying on a reactive security model means you're already lagging behind. It's time to shift toward a proactive approach with CNAPP. Here's how you can prepare:
As many organizations leverage a cloud-first enterprise landscape, delaying the adoption of CNAPP can leave organizations dangerously exposed. Traditional security tools, often siloed and reactive, struggle to keep pace with the speed and complexity of cloud-native environments.
CNAPP offers a unified, proactive approach that integrates security across the entire application lifecycle - from development to deployment - ensuring that vulnerabilities are identified and mitigated before they can be exploited. The benefits offered are numerous and include the following:
Finally, the reputational and financial risks of inaction are too great to ignore. Misconfigurations, data breaches and compliance failures can result in significant damage -in terms of both cost and customer trust. CNAPP helps prevent these outcomes by continuously monitoring cloud infrastructure and enforcing security policies at scale.
Don't wait until a breach occurs to take action. Embrace CNAPP today to secure your cloud infrastructure, protect your data and stay ahead in the ever-evolving cybersecurity landscape.
For additional information, examples and insights, visit Protiviti's Cybersecurity Page. Protiviti is not a law firm, and nothing within this paper should be relied on for legal purposes. Clients should always seek legal advice from inside or outside counsel.
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