What is a cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP)?

What is a cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP)?

A cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP) is a software solution for cloud-native security and compliance. A CNAPP usually enforces secure configuration and governance to protect cloud workloads from being targeted or exploited. CNAPP services aim to integrate the abilities represented by several other types of cloud security services, including:

• Cloud security posture management (CSPM)
• Cloud workload protection platform (CWPP)
• Identity and access management (IAM)
• Cloud infrastructure entitlement management (CIEM)

A CNAPP combines data from this multitude of security and compliance capabilities into a single platform. Ideally, this is simpler to manage than having to work with several different tools.

Because organizations tend to build applications using multiple different cloud services, their cloud resources tend to be scattered. And with so many cloud resources to configure, security misconfigurations can slip through the cracks. Compounding the problem, legacy security solutions designed for on-premises data centers can be difficult to adapt to cloud deployments. In contrast, a CNAPP is 1) cloud-native, and 2) a consolidated platform for identifying security misconfigurations across all cloud resources.

CNAPPs can help as organizations move to cloud-native application development. Many applications today are entirely cloud-based, with infrastructure that scales up on demand and changes regularly. CNAPPs assist organizations with implementing a cloud-native security strategy to protect these applications.

CNAPP vs. CSPM vs. CWPP: Understanding CNAPP components

CNAPPs aim to deliver the capabilities covered by these product categories (which can overlap somewhat — hence the advantage of using a CNAPP):

• Cloud security posture management (CSPM) is the automated inspection of cloud infrastructure for misconfigurations and potential compliance violations.
• Cloud infrastructure entitlement management (CIEM) is like access control specifically for cloud infrastructure, ensuring no component has more access or entitlements than is strictly necessary (which reduces the impact of compromise).
• Cloud workload protection platforms (CWPP) detect threats present inside of cloud workloads, including vulnerabilities, suspicious activity, malware, and intrusion.

CNAPPs can also include:

• Data security posture management (DSPM), which assesses the security of sensitive data stores and helps to classify data
• SaaS security posture management (SSPM), for validating the security configuration of software-as-a-service applications
• Kubernetes security posture management (KSPM), which manages the security posture of Kubernetes orchestration (for containers)
• Artificial intelligence security posture management (AISPM), for artificial intelligence and machine learning models and applications

CNAPPs also check cloud-native identity and access management (IAM) roles, making sure roles are not overly permissive. (IAM verifies and authenticates users, servers, and apps, in addition to controlling what those entities can view, alter, and extract.)

CNAPPs bring these capabilities together into one platform to help organizations manage their security posture from a single pane of glass (meaning, a unified platform or dashboard).

What are the benefits of a CNAPP?

The overall benefit of using a CNAPP is that cloud-native environments can be made more secure, with a reduced chance of compliance violations as well. Some of the most important specific benefits include the following.

1. Vulnerabilities are identified during development

CNAPPs help developers identify vulnerabilities in their applications by being embedded into the development lifecycle. This reduces the chances that insecure or vulnerable application components will reach production. With many organizations embracing a continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) approach, early vulnerability detection helps developers secure their applications as they build them. (The term for moving security and other quality control processes earlier in the application development lifecycle is "shift left.")

2. Centralized risk management

CNAPPs provide one place where risks across an organization's entire cloud infrastructure can be identified and cataloged. All cloud assets can be identified and their security measures reviewed from a centralized tool, instead of separately.

3. Unified security across multi-cloud deployments

Many organizations rely on multiple public cloud providers. Their infrastructure may be spread across several clouds, each of which has its own attack surface. Security tools that are compatible with one cloud may not be compatible with another. CNAPPs are able to provide a unified view of cloud security risks across multiple providers and multi-cloud deployments.

4. (Relatively) simple to use

Data security is always complicated, particularly when networking and cloud technologies are involved. But a CNAPP makes it simpler by having all the described capabilities in one interface, making it easier for security teams to do their jobs.

Cloudflare offers a full range of cloud security services, including misconfiguration detection, access control, data protection, and compliance solutions in one unified dashboard. Cloudflare is infrastructure-agnostic and can protect any cloud deployment. Learn how Cloudflare connects and protects cloud-native infrastructure.