What is CNAPP? The cloud-native application protection platform

CNAPP stands for Cloud Native Application Protection Platform. GartnerTM introduced the term to describe an integrated set of security and compliance capabilities designed to secure and protect cloud-native applications across development and production. CNAPPs consolidate previously siloed capabilities, including container scanning, cloud security posture management, infrastructure as code scanning, cloud infrastructure entitlement management, runtime cloud workload protection, and runtime vulnerability/configuration scanning.

In simpler terms, a CNAPP is a single consolidated platform that provides security over every aspect of the software development lifecycle – from build time through runtime. This cloud security platform includes functions like Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), Cloud Workload Protection Program (CWPP), Infrastructure as Code (IaC) security, Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM), Vulnerability Management, Cloud Detection and Response (CDR).

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CNAPP for Dummies

CNAPP promises to solve key cloud security challenges and break free from years of siloed, unscalable, and inefficient solutions by delivering an integrated and automated approach that combines multiple capabilities — all in a single platform.

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Why do we need CNAPP?

As organizations move their applications to the cloud, they need to ensure that their applications and data are secure. Cloud-native applications are built using a microservices architecture, where each microservice is deployed as a container. This approach provides greater flexibility and scalability, but it also introduces new security challenges.

For example, traditional security tools are not designed to handle the dynamic nature of containerized environments, where containers can be spun up and down in seconds. Similarly, container orchestration platforms like Kubernetes have their own security challenges, such as securing the Kubernetes API server and ensuring the integrity of the Kubernetes control plane.

CNAPPs address these challenges by providing a comprehensive set of security and compliance capabilities that are specifically designed for cloud-native applications. They enable organizations to secure their applications from development to production, providing visibility and control over their entire cloud infrastructure.

Key features of CNAPP

CNAPPs offer a wide range of features that enable organizations to secure and protect their cloud-native applications. Some of the key features include:

1. Container security – CNAPPs provide container scanning capabilities that enable organizations to detect and remediate vulnerabilities in their container images.
2. Cloud security posture management – CNAPPs provide CSPM capabilities that enable organizations to monitor their cloud infrastructure for misconfigurations and compliance violations.
3. Infrastructure as code security – CNAPPs provide IaC scanning capabilities that enable organizations to detect and remediate security issues in their infrastructure as code templates.
4. Cloud workload protection – CNAPPs provide CWPP capabilities that enable organizations to protect their cloud workloads from attacks and unauthorized access.
5. Vulnerability management – CNAPPs provide vulnerability scanning capabilities that enable organizations to detect and remediate vulnerabilities in their cloud infrastructure and applications.
6. Cloud detection and response – CNAPPs provide CDR capabilities that enable organizations to detect and respond to security incidents in real-time.
7. Cloud infrastructure entitlement management (CIEM) – CNAPPs provide CIEM capabilities that enable organizations to enforce the principle of least privileges when building, deploying, using, and managing cloud infrastructure services.

Benefits of CNAPP

By adopting a CNAPP, organizations can realize a number of benefits, including:

1. Comprehensive security – CNAPPs provide a holistic approach to security, enabling organizations to secure their cloud-native applications from development to production.
2. Simplified management – CNAPPs consolidate a large number of previously siloed capabilities, reducing complexity and simplifying management.
3. Improved compliance – CNAPPs enable organizations to ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations.
4. Faster remediation – CNAPPs provide real-time visibility into security issues, enabling organizations to remediate issues quickly.
5. Saved time and money – CNAPPs deliver multiple security functions in a single platform, reducing the number of licenses to renew, tools to manage, and improving collaboration across teams.

Conclusion

CNAPPs offer a comprehensive and integrated set of security and compliance capabilities specifically designed for cloud-native applications. As organizations move to the cloud, they face new security challenges that require a holistic and automated approach to security. CNAPP automates cloud security, from how the platform is deployed, to how it ingests data, analyzes it, correlates it, and delivers insights directly into existing security, developer, and operations workflows .CNAPP enables organizations to combine a wide range of previously siloed functions in a single platform for continuous visibility into events and activities from development to production. By adopting a CNAPP, organizations not only simplify management and improve compliance, they can ensure that their applications and data are secure, enabling them to focus on their core business objectives without worrying about security.