Traditional security solutions often fall short of meeting the dynamic needs of cloud environments, which is where cloud native application protection platforms come into play. CNAPP is a cloud security solution that unifies multiple security functions to protect applications built in cloud-native architectures, such as containers, serverless functions, and microservices.
A cloud-native application protection platform is a security platform that integrates several security capabilities to protect cloud-native applications throughout their lifecycle. Unlike standalone tools like cloud security posture management (CSPM) or cloud workload protection platforms (CWPP), CNAPP combines these and more into a single platform. This allows for cohesive security management across the entire cloud stack—from infrastructure to workloads and data.
What sets CNAPP apart from other solutions is its ability to provide end-to-end security by addressing multiple layers of the cloud environment, including identity, workloads, configurations, and network communications. While CSPM focuses on the security posture of cloud configurations and CWPP provides protection for workloads, CNAPP encompasses both while adding deeper functionality, including real-time threat detection and vulnerability scanning.
By consolidating these tools, CNAPP offers a holistic approach that reduces the complexity of managing cloud security while improving the visibility and control needed to safeguard dynamic environments.
One of the biggest advantages of CNAPP is its ability to combine multiple security functionalities into a single platform. These include cloud security posture management, workload protection, vulnerability scanning, identity and access management (IAM), compliance enforcement, and more. Having an integrated approach ensures that organizations don’t need to manage multiple disparate tools which simplifies their security operations while covering all bases.
CNAPP helps safeguard every component of a cloud-native application, whether it’s protecting containers against attacks, scanning workloads for vulnerabilities, or ensuring that cloud infrastructure settings follow best practices.
One of the most significant challenges of managing cloud security is the complexity that arises when applications span multiple environments, such as hybrid or multi-cloud infrastructures. CNAPP offers unified visibility, which provides security teams with a single view that allows them to manage all cloud-native assets in real time. This visibility extends to containers, microservices, serverless functions, and virtual machines, for seamless security across the entire cloud-native stack.
Given the speed at which cloud-native applications operate, you need to have automated security processes in place. CNAPP improves security by automating threat detection and responses through continuously scanning for vulnerabilities and misconfigurations across the cloud environment. It can also automatically enforce security policies and compliance rules, which reduces the time between detection and remediation.
CNAPP doesn’t just identify vulnerabilities, it also assesses risk in context and evaluates how specific vulnerabilities could impact a given environment. By understanding the relationships between workloads, users, and cloud infrastructure, CNAPP helps prioritize the most critical risks, which enables security teams to focus on the most urgent threats. Taking a context-aware approach ensures that resources are allocated efficiently and reduces the noise of less significant vulnerabilities.
CNAPP provides comprehensive security by consolidating multiple tools into one platform, which simplifies security management. Instead of juggling CSPM, CWPP, vulnerability scanning tools, and threat detection systems separately, CNAPP brings them all together and leaves no gaps in the coverage.
Cloud-native applications are dynamic and highly scalable which makes them difficult to secure with static tools. CNAPP’s real-time protection and monitoring capabilities ensure that applications remain secure as they scale and evolve, with continuous scanning and enforcement of security policies.
With data privacy regulations like GDPR, NIS2, DORA, and PCI-DSS becoming more stringent, maintaining compliance is vital. CNAPP helps enforce compliance requirements across cloud environments by monitoring configurations, workloads, and data storage to ensure they meet regulatory and industry standards.
CNAPP is designed to scale with growing cloud environments, offering protection that adapts to increasing workloads, containers, and serverless architectures. Whether your environment consists of a few containers or thousands, CNAPP provides the flexibility and scalability needed to protect it effectively.
By detecting threats early, CNAPP minimizes the risk of damage from cyberattacks. It continuously scans for vulnerabilities and misconfigurations and provides actionable insights to help organizations address security issues before they are exploited.
Managing security across multi-cloud and hybrid environments is inherently complex. CNAPP simplifies this challenge by providing a unified view of all assets and security measures across cloud platforms, which reduces the administrative overhead and complexity typically associated with cloud security.
In modern development workflows, security must be integrated from the beginning. CNAPP enables DevSecOps by incorporating security checks into development pipelines to protect the entire software development lifecycle. This integration helps prevent vulnerabilities from being introduced into production environments.
Compared to Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) and Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP), CNAPP offers a more holistic solution. While CSPM focuses on cloud configurations and CWPP centers on protecting workloads, CNAPP integrates these capabilities and extends protection to the entire application lifecycle. This integration of security functions, combined with real-time monitoring and context-aware risk assessment, makes CNAPP a powerful tool for organizations seeking comprehensive cloud security.
Organizations with complex cloud environments—especially those using containers, serverless functions, and microservices—are prime candidates for CNAPP. If your cloud infrastructure spans multiple platforms or includes dynamic workloads, CNAPP’s unified visibility and automated threat detection can streamline your security efforts.
Certain industries, such as healthcare, finance, and e-commerce, are subject to stringent regulations and frequent attacks. For these sectors, CNAPP’s real-time monitoring, compliance enforcement, and unified protection make it a great choice.
Managing multiple disparate security tools can be costly and inefficient. CNAPP reduces complexity by consolidating these tools into a single platform for a cost-effective solution that scales with your cloud infrastructure.
Looking for a powerful security solution for your applications? Request a free trial of PreEmptive to harden your application against potential threats.