CNAPP vs CSPM: Choosing the Right Cloud Security Solution

Cloud security risks are increasingly common as enterprises run 20% more workloads in the cloud than they did just two years ago. And it’s not just increased cloud usage that heightens risk: poor authentication practices, insecure APIs, privilege escalation, and misconfigurations all create growing opportunities for bad actors to exploit cloud environments. 

With the increasingly complex attack surface, numerous tools have risen to the forefront of cloud security – including cloud-native application protection platforms (CNAPP) and cloud security posture management (CSPM). In this article, we will break down the key benefits of both, as well as key differences.

What is CSPM? What is CNAPP?

CSPM stands for Cloud Security Posture Management. It’s a security platform that scans cloud ecosystems for misconfigurations (a sensitive data storage bucket open to public access), compliance violations (a cloud database holding non-encrypted customer payment information), and security risks (an exposed identity with excessive permissions). CSPM tools also provide remediation guidance and policy enforcement.

CNAPPs are cloud-native application protection platforms. They’re unified security solutions that combine CSPM, as well as features of cloud workload protection platforms (CWPP) and identity and access management. A CNAPP protects cloud applications and workloads, though sometimes also on-premises infrastructure, across build, deployment, and runtime phases, making it a comprehensive cloud security solution with integrated protection across the ecosystem

Key Differences Between CSPM and CNAPP

CSPM prevents infrastructure misconfigurations before and after deployment, while CNAPP covers application and workload security from build to runtime.

So, while CSPM is more focused on static cloud posture, CNAPP is broad, encompassing CSPM and offering runtime and workload security across the cloud lifecycle.

Here’s what their features and distinctions look like:

	CSPM (Cloud Security Posture Management)	CNAPP (Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform)
Core Focus	Cloud infrastructure security	Application & workload security
Security Coverage	Misconfigurations, compliance	Workloads, containers, runtime
Pre-Deployment (Shift Left)	Scans IaC, cloud configs	Scans code, images, IaC for vulnerabilities
Post-Deployment (Runtime)	Detects misconfigurations in cloud settings	Monitors workloads and detects active threats
Primary Risks Addressed	Misconfigurations, compliance drift	Misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, and runtime threats
Threat Detection	Limited (focuses on posture, not active threats)	Strong (detects and responds to runtime attacks)
Compliance and Audit Support	Strong (can map to frameworks like GDPR, SOC 2)	Strong (enforces compliance across full app lifecycle)
Use Cases	Cloud security posture management, compliance monitoring	End-to-end cloud app security, runtime threat detection

CSPM vs. CNAPP: Which Should You Choose?

In addition to noting use cases, teams need more specific ways to decide between the 2 solutions. The answer depends on security priorities, risk tolerance, cloud maturity, and resources like budget and team expertise. While CNAPP contains CSPM capabilities, not every team benefits from a full CNAPP deployment. Here’s when to choose CSPM:

• Your main concern is compliance. If misconfigurations are the problem, CSPM is the solution. It makes sure you have proper IAM settings, encryption, and networking policies to avoid violations.
• You need simple deployment. CSPM integrates via cloud provider APIs with minimal interruption.
• You lack DevSecOps expertise. CSPM won’t require deep CI/CD integration.

Choose CNAPP when:

• You deploy cloud-native workloads. If you use containers, Kubernetes, and serverless functions, CNAPP will protect your workloads.
• You deploy workloads in a hybrid or multi-cloud environment. CNAPP extends to provide on-premises server protection along with VMs and hybrid workloads.
• You need runtime threat detection. If you’re worried about live attacks on workloads, you’ll need the protection CNAPP provides.
• You require an automated threat response. CNAPP can automatically isolate compromised workloads, block malicious API calls, and kill processes.

You want CI/CD security. CSPM doesn’t scan code or build artifacts, so CNAPP serves developers better in this regard.

The Rising Age of Consolidation 

CSPM and CNAPP both manage risk in cloud environments but take different approaches and have different scopes. CSPMs can either be a stand-alone tool, or a focused tool within a CNAPP which manages misconfiguration prevention, detection, and remediation to ensure compliance. CNAPPs on the other hand, are a broad-scope platform that includes runtime protection, visibility, and vulnerability management in addition to CSPM features.

As a category, CSPM first appeared in 2014 to meet the needs of securing increasingly popular infrastructure as a service (IaaS), software as a service (SaaS), and platform as a service (PaaS) offerings. Early offerings focused on governance and detecting misconfigurations. 

Later, as innovations to protect workload gained traction, CNAPP emerged to cover combined needs in a new category. CNAPP is a newcomer that has enabled the consolidation of CSPM tools and the visibility they offer, with workload protection tools and entitlement management. 

Today, companies often purchase CSPM as part of a CNAPP, as part of a trend toward synchronizing cybersecurity tools into a single platform, an evolution crucial to filling holes in security across processes, clouds, and systems. 

Benefits of CNAPP and CSPM for Cybersecurity

Cloud security tools are rapidly evolving in order to keep pace with accelerated changes in cloud adoption and usage. Meanwhile, cloud usage continues to rise with 75% of tech leaders building all new products and features in the cloud, and almost 50% of companies saying they’re cloud-native or fully cloud-enabled.

Consequently, cloud security is changing, too. It’s the fastest-growing segment in information security and the top spending priority, highlighting the reality that the cloud poses unique vulnerabilities that can mean greater risk for data stored there, including denial of service (DoS) and distributed denial of service (DDoS) cyberattacks. 

From 2022 to 2023, there was a 75% increase in cloud environment intrusions.

CSPM Reduces Attack Risks

CSPM reduces exposure to these threats since identity and credential misconfigurations are responsible for 80% of exposures in the cloud environment, with 33% of those putting critical assets at risk. 

With the average financially-motivated breach costing $46,000 per incident, reducing misconfigurations can significantly lower the cost of breaches. CSPM identifies common access-related misconfigurations, such as overly permissive roles and improper access controls.

CNAPP Adds Workload Protection for Comprehensive Coverage

With CSPM, DevSecOps teams have already integrated security in the earliest phases. With CNAPP, they build on that foundation, embedding security throughout the application lifecycle from development through deployment and runtime.

CNAPP can tell organizations more about their potential threats than CSPM alone since it incorporates components of the cloud infrastructure across the lifetime of apps with access management, vulnerability management, and threat detection.

What are the Features of CSPM?

CSPM is a cloud security tool focused on managing the security posture of cloud environments. Key points include:

• CSPM identifies and remediates misconfigurations and compliance risks
• CSPM offers monitoring and static threat detection for cloud assets
• CSPM features include risk assessments, security audits, and enforcement compliance
• CSPM integrates with other tools, like DevOps tools, to provide unified visibility and threat detection in cloud environments

What are the Benefits of CNAPP?

CNAPP is a unified platform that has multiple security capabilities. In a CNAPP, you’ll find:

• CSPM features of configuration and compliance management
• CWPP capabilities for runtime workload protection
• CIEM for identity and access management
• Proactive and reactive capabilities
• Artifact scanning, including container and image scanning
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC) scanning
• Cloud network security, including network topology mapping
• Risk detection, prioritization, and contextual analysis
• Behavior analytics and anomaly detection
• DevSecOps collaboration and collaboration features
• Software composition analysis, including software bill of materials (SBOM) creation

Other Tools to Consider

While CSPM and CNAPP are two of the most popular cloud security tools, an organization’s security policies, pipelines, and security challenges can all require different frameworks. Let’s go deeper into a few possibilities.

How is a Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP) Different?

Often considered CSPM’s “other half,” CWPP shifts right to focus on workload and cover the parts of the development process that CSPM does not.

CWPP protects cloud workloads like virtual machines, serverless environments, and containers. 

What about Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM)?

CIEM focuses on access and identity management. In a secure cloud, CSPM manages how cloud environments are configured securely, while CIEM manages who can access them. CNAPP is a comprehensive, unified platform that combines CIEM, CSPM, and other features to secure cloud-native environments.

What is CASB and How is It Different?

Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) is another tool for cloud security — but in this case, it’s not typically packaged in CNAPP.

Like CSPM, CASB has a hand in managing access to cloud resources. However, CASBs secure user access to cloud applications and services. They enforce security policies by preventing data exposures, tracking user behavior, detecting unauthorized use, and verifying identity.

CSPM monitors cloud infrastructure configurations, not user behavior, in these environments. 

Organizations add CASBs when they need security in cloud applications and visibility into how their users behave in apps. Some CASB features are included in a CNAPP like Upwind, such as access control.

Upwind’s Approach Secures Your Whole Cloud

Upwind’s CNAPP leans into holistic cloud security with an emphasis on runtime and shift-right security while incorporating CSPM components to ensure comprehensive cloud infrastructure security. With real-time traffic and data information, advanced CNAPPs like Upwind can not only see the whole cloud landscape and app lifecycle, but they can also create cloud baselines by observing normal cloud activities and proactively alerting users to deviations.

Upwind prioritizes risks based on the highly individual data of a company’s own assets, ensuring comprehensive cloud security for your unique cloud environment. To learn more, book a demo today.

FAQ

Is CSPM free? Do Clouds Have a CSPM?

Some cloud services offer limited CSPM features that security teams can use for free:

• Microsoft Azure offers Azure Security Center with a free tier, with foundational posture management within Azure.
• AWS Trusted Advisor includes free security checks for best practices and configuration issues.
• Google Cloud offers basic security in the Security Command Center.

All security features in native CSPM solutions are designed primarily to secure resources on their own platforms and don’t work natively across clouds. For that reason, commercial CSPMs are a better choice for organizations with assets across multiple clouds.

Why is CSPM Not Enough?

CSPM secures cloud configurations but can’t protect all cloud assets or provide complete security for teams working in the cloud. Here are the key reasons:

1. No runtime protection. CSPM focuses on configuration issues in development, but none while running in a dynamic cloud environment.
2. No vulnerability management. CSPMs don’t secure applications running in the cloud, like container and Kubernetes security.
3. No focus on data security. CSPM doesn’t monitor sensitive data or data exfiltration.

CSPM is one layer with one focus: misconfigurations. A multilayered cloud environment requires a multilayered solution.

Can I Use CSPM and CNAPP Together?

You don’t need to. CNAPP includes CSPM functions, plus other tools to protect from security issues across different types of environments and at different stages of deployment. CNAPP is a security platform that builds on CSPM.

Do Both CSPM and CNAPP Support Multi-Cloud Environments?

Native CSPM and CNAPP providers like AWS Security Hub are natively designed to support just one cloud environment. Historically, CSPM also focused on specific cloud platforms.

However, more CSPM tools are becoming multi-cloud as organizations often adopt a multi-cloud strategy and require visibility across their cloud environments. CNAPP today also largely supports a multi-cloud environment. 

How do CSPM and CNAPP solutions align with our compliance requirements (GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2, etc.)?

Both solutions align with compliance norms in that, working together, they ensure secure configurations, continuous monitoring, and automated remediation. Here are the key compliance benefits of each:

• CSPM can map cloud configurations to compliance frameworks, such as SOC 2 or HIPAA, as well as CIS benchmarks.
• CSPM detects misconfigurations, such as open S3 buckets, that violate the GDPR’s data protection principles.
• CSPM provides audit logs and policy enforcement for regulatory reporting.
• CNAPP scans for vulnerabilities in workloads, aligning with GDPR data security and HIPAA integrity rules.
• CNAPP monitors runtime activity for threats that could violate SOC 2 security principles.
• CNAPP enforces least privilege and identity security for HIPAA and GDPR access control norms.

What is the typical ROI timeframe for CSPM vs. CNAPP investments?

Investing in either CSPM or CNAPP comes with different return on investment (ROI) time frames, depending on the size and speed of the implementation. Both can offer ROI within one year, but there are differences:

• CSPM ROI can be realized quicker (3-6 months) since it can address compliance gaps and address misconfigurations immediately.
  • CSPM brings immediate cost savings in manual compliance audit processes.
  • CSPM reduces organization risk quickly as it fixes misconfigurations.
  • CSPM delivers additional ROI over time through automated alerts and a quicker time to remediation.
• CNAPP ROI can be realized over the long term (6-12 months).
  • With fewer breaches and reduced downtime, ROI is more difficult to quantify.
  • CNAPP also offers a return on investment (ROI) in the form of enhanced DevSecOps efficiency, thereby reducing security bottlenecks.
  • CNAPP reduces risk more quickly by remediating workload issues and offering runtime protection.

How do CNAPP and CSPM integrate with our existing DevOps and CI/CD pipelines?

Both tools integrate into DevOps and CI/CD pipelines, though CSPM focuses on cloud infrastructure misconfigurations, and CNAPP extends the protection to workloads, identities, and runtime environments as well. Here’s what integration will look like:

• CSPM uses API-based integration with cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and GCP to scan configurations. It hooks into IaC templates in CI/CD pipelines, and uses policy-as-code to enforce compliance before infrastructure is provisioned.
• CNAPP scans container images, such as those used with Kubernetes or Docker, by integrating with Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or GitLab. And it uses agent-based, sensor-based, or agentless API-based scanning for VMs, bare metal, and Kubernetes clusters. CNAPPs also deploy sensors or agents for real-time workload and network scanning across hybrid environments.

Overall, both pre-deployment CSPM and end-to-end workload and application security with CNAPP cloud security solutions come with solutions to integrate into DevOps without disrupting workflows.

How effectively can CNAPP solutions detect and respond to zero-day threats compared to CSPM?

CNAPP is much stronger than CSPM at detecting zero-day threats. Here’s how:

CSPM can detect misconfigurations, like open S3 buckets or weak IAM policies, that could expose systems to zero-day attacks. But CSPM can’t detect an active exploit unless it results in a known misconfiguration.

CNAPP uses behavioral anomaly detection to set baselines for assets and flag suspicious processes, even when they aren’t associated with known vulnerabilities.

CNAPP also uses technologies like eBPF sensor monitoring to track abnormal workload activity, and it can integrate threat intelligence and machine learning to detect unknown exploits and security threats. Finally, CNAPP responds with automation that contains threats immediately.

While CSPM reduces risks, CNAPP actively detects and mitigates zero-day threats.

How do CNAPP and CSPM tools handle alert prioritization and reduce alert fatigue?

Both CSPM and CNAPP address alert fatigue with prioritization and automation to bring the most pressing issues to the fore, minimize false positives, and fix simple issues without manual intervention. But they differ in how they work, so let’s look at each on its own:

CSPM uses risk-based scoring, assigning severity to compliance violation alerts. It can use contextual alerts, which group related misconfigurations. And it can fix low-risk issues automatically. CSPM can send only critical alerts to SIEM and SOAR systems to prevent overwhelm.

CNAPP utilizes runtime monitoring and behavioral analysis to prioritize real threats in the deployment environment, focusing on issues that are exploitable. These platforms can also correlate risks across containers, identities, and networks to identify those that are genuinely critical. CNAPP also automatically isolates compromised workloads to shut down issues quickly.

How do we transition from CSPM to CNAPP without disrupting our security operations?

Gradual transitions are typically less disruptive. To take an incremental approach, start with this checklist:

1. Assess current CSPM use. Know which misconfiguration risks your CSPM covers and what compliance requirements map to current systems. Set up a CNAPP with continuity in mind.
2. Set up integrations with a new CNAPP incrementally. Start with vulnerability scanning for containers, VMs, and Kubernetes. Connect CNAPP to the CI/CD pipeline without replacing CSPM alerts initially.
3. Enable runtime protection, turning on a sensor or agent in a test environment. Then validate runtime threat detection and automated responses.
4. Move to correlate CSPM misconfigurations and CNAPP exploitation risks and prioritize alerts that link configuration drift with active threats. Evaluate CSPM redundancy before pulling the plug on these security controls entirely.
5. Automate and continually optimize. Allow automated responses to gradually replace manual oversight. Integrate both CSPM and CNAPP with SIEM or SOAR tools to unify security alerts.

What metrics should we track to measure the effectiveness of our CNAPP or CSPM implementation?

Each of these cloud-native tools comes with its own key measures of effectiveness.

For CSPM, measure:

• Misconfiguration Rate: The percentage of cloud assets with critical misconfigurations.
• Mean Time to Remediate (MTTR): The average time it takes to fix non-compliant configurations.
• Policy Compliance Score: The percentage of cloud resources meeting frameworks (e.g., GDPR, SOC 2).
• Automated vs. Manual Fix Rate: The percentage of misconfigurations fixed automatically.

For CNAPP, measure:

• Vulnerability Detection & Exploitability: The percentage of exploitable vulnerabilities vs. total detected.
• Runtime Threat Detection Rate: The percentage of real-time threats blocked before impact.
• False Positive Rate: The accuracy of alerts to reduce noise.
• Workload Security Coverage: The percentage of containers, VMs, and identities protected.