What is CNAPP?
A Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) is an integrated cloud security solution designed to safeguard cloud-native applications throughout their lifecycle. It combines various cloud native security tools and practices such as Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP), cloud security posture management (CSPM), and Cloud Container Security to provide comprehensive protection across development, deployment, and operational phases in cloud environments.
CNAPP tackles the unique challenges of cloud security, including security misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, and compliance issues, by offering a holistic approach to cloud security posture management that spans from code to cloud.
Importance of Choosing the Right CNAPP:
Enhanced Security Posture: The right CNAPP protects you from cloud native security threats such as container escapes and API vulnerabilities and minimizes the risk of breaches.
Security and Compliance Capabilities: CNAPP solution comes with compliance assurance which helps businesses maintain compliance with regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS (highly important for businesses operating in regulated industries).
Operational Efficiency: CNAPP integrates security with the DevOps process, limiting disruptions and accelerating the deployment of secure applications.
Cost-Effectiveness: If you are choosing the best CNAPP for enterprise it will save your organization from incurring cloud security incidents and compliance penalties, which is critical for enterprise environments.
CNAPP Vendor Reliability: The reputation and support system of the best CNAPP vendors like Fidelis Security can be pivotal in ensuring long-term cloud security and satisfaction.
By now you know that picking the right cloud native application protection solution is important for your company’s cloud security posture management. But before you rush out to choose a CNAPP solution, it is important to audit your organization’s needs.
Understanding Your CNAPP Requirement
Assess Your Cloud Infrastructure: Evaluating your cloud environment and cloud resources as it can be public, private, or hybrid, helps in choosing the right CNAPP solution that matches your security needs.
Identify Security Gaps: Look for vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, or areas where cloud security controls are lacking in your current cloud system.
Determine Compliance Needs: Understand the industry regulations that will be applicable to your business (such as GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI-DSS) so you can choose the appropriate CNAPP features.
Consider Application Lifecycle: Understand where in the application lifecycle (development, deployment, runtime) you need security integration.
Resource Availability: Assess internal cloud resources for deployment, management, and maintenance of the cloud native application protection platform.
To determine compliance needs refer to Navigating Data Compliance: A Guide to Meeting Industry Standards
Key CNAPP Features and Considerations to Look For
Key Factors to Evaluate CNAPP solution
- Vulnerability Management
- Data Security
- Comprehensive Visibility
- Compliance and Governance
- Scalability
- Threat Detection and Response
- Intergration Capabilities
- User Experience and Feedback
- Vendor Reliability and Support
- Cost vs. Value
Take a look at the features that the best CNAPP for enterprise must include.
Vulnerability Management:
Automated Scanning and Remediation: The ability to automatically scan for vulnerabilities in your cloud infrastructure is an essential element of any cloud native application protection. Look for CNAPP platforms that not only detect threats but also automate remediation or at least deliver clear guidance for fixes. Fidelis Halo® shines in this area by providing a tight integration with development tools, catching vulnerabilities as early as possible in the application lifecycle.
Data Security:
Encryption, Data Loss Prevention, and Access management: Robust encryption and access management are the keys to defending data at rest, in transit, and during processing. The chosen CNAPP should also include DLP (data loss prevention) capabilities to help protect sensitive data.
Comprehensive Visibility:
Real-Time Monitoring of Cloud Workloads and Assets: Make sure your CNAPP vendor gives you a real-time visibility into your cloud assets. That visibility assists in gaining an understanding of your cloud security posture management.
Detection of Misconfigurations and Vulnerabilities: In the cloud, misconfigurations can lead to significant cloud security breaches. These should be constantly scanned so that security gaps don’t occur. Fidelis Halo® provides detailed asset discovery and inventory, ensuring no part of your cloud is left unmonitored.
Compliance and Governance:
Tools that Help Maintain Regulatory Compliance: Making sure your cloud environment is compliant with the regulation is a must. A CNAPP must provide features that comply with frameworks such as GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI-DSS. Fidelis Halo® comes with pre-configured compliance support templates and continuous prevention and detection to help you stay compliant without constant manual intervention.
Built-in Compliance Frameworks: Pre-built templates for major compliance standards reduce the complexity of maintaining governance.
Continuous Auditing and Reporting Capabilities: Automated audits and comprehensive reporting help in maintaining compliance and providing evidence during audits. Fidelis Halo® supports this with automated policy enforcement and detailed reporting, easing the burden of compliance management.
Scalability:
How Well Does the Solution Scale with Your Cloud Growth?: As your cloud usage expands, your cloud native application protection platforms should scale seamlessly. It should manage increased cloud workloads without performance degradation or additional complexity.
Considerations for Future Expansion or Changes in Cloud Strategy: The CNAPP should be adaptable to changes in your cloud security strategy, whether you’re moving to multi-cloud, expanding services, or adopting new cloud security technologies.
Threat Detection and Response:
Real-Time Monitoring and Threat Intelligence: The ability to monitor your cloud environment in real-time is very critical so that you can promptly respond to any potential threats. Seek CNAPPs with integrated threat intelligence to provide context to alerts.
Rapid Response to Cloud-Specific Threats: Your CNAPP (Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform) must facilitate rapid detection and mitigation of cloud-specific threats, such as container escapes or API attacks. Built with advanced machine learning, Fidelis Halo® not only detects known threats but also detects anomalous activity that suggests a breach has occurred or is underway, allowing for fast and effective response to reduce impact.
Find out how automation helps you:
- Detect and mitigate threats instantly
- Strengthen security with AI-driven insights
- Optimize response times with intelligent automation
Integration:
Compatibility with Existing Tools and Workflows: A CNAPP must work well with your current tech stack, from development tools to security operations platforms.
API Supports Seamless Integration Across Various Environments: APIs are crucial for integrating cloud security into CI/CD pipelines and other automated workflows.
User Experience:
Intuitiveness of the Interface: An easy to use and easy to understand interface increases user productivity and reduces the learning curve.
Training and Support Provided by the Vendor: Choose CNAPP vendors such as Fidelis Security that provide robust training and responsive support.
Ease of Deployment and Management: The CNAPP should be easy enough to deploy and manage that it disrupts existing processes as little as possible.
Vendor Reliability and Support:
Reputation, Customer Reviews, and Case Studies: A CNAPP vendor’s reputation in the industry can be a good indicator of reliability. Fidelis Security is often highlighted for its customer satisfaction and successful case studies making it the best CNAPP vendor in the industry.
Level of Customer Support, Including Response Times and Support Channels: Quick, effective support can be crucial when your security team dealing with security incidents. Fidelis Security is considered number one in these aspects, providing unparalleled support to its clients.
Cost vs. Value:
Pricing Models (Subscription vs. One-Time Purchase): Assess if the CNAPP’s pricing model matches your budgeting style—subscription for continual updates or one-off for a designated investment.
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Including Training, Support, and Maintenance: Beyond the upfront cost, factor in other costs such as training, support, and maintenance which will impact the total cost of ownership.
Choosing the right cloud native application protection platforms like Fidelis Halo® involves balancing these features and considerations to meet your organization’s specific security demands while ensuring scalability and operational efficiency.
Actionable Tips for Effective Decision-Making
Conduct a Proof of Concept (PoC):
Test the CNAPP in Your Environment: Before Committing to a CNAPP, run a Proof of Concept in your actual infrastructure. This will give your security team a sense of how this holistic security solution works in your own environment and how it fits in with your workflows. Consider not only the technology, but also usability and effectiveness on your operations.
Involve Key Stakeholders: The entire stakeholder groups including security teams, DevOps, and IT should be part of PoC. This will give you a well-rounded view of how the CNAPP can fulfill various needs even within your organization, as we will be bringing in people from each perspective of your organization.
Compare Multiple Vendors:
Create a Shortlist of Vendors: Don’t settle for the first option. Research and identify several CNAPP vendors whose solutions might meet your needs. Look at their feature sets, customer testimonials, and industry reputation.
Use a Scoring System: Implement a structured evaluation method where each vendor is scored based on predefined criteria like features, integration capabilities, support quality, and cost. This objective approach helps in making an informed decision.
Leverage Free Trials and Demos:
Take Advantage of Free Trials: Most vendors offer trial periods allowing you to test their CNAPP platforms. Use this time to dive deep into functionalities that are critical for your environment.
Request Personalized Demos: Ask for demonstrations tailored to your specific scenarios or use cases. This can give you insights into how the CNAPP solution will handle your unique challenges.
Free demos and trials can only show so much. See how Fidelis performs in a real-world scenario:
- Simulate sophisticated attacks on your network
- Identify vulnerabilities in your current defenses
- Experience Fidelis' advanced threat detection in action
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Choosing a CNAPP
Overlooking Integration Challenges:
Often, the focus is on features rather than how well the CNAPP will work with existing cloud systems. Neglecting integration can lead to costly and time-consuming adjustments down the line.
Focusing Solely on Cost:
While budget constraints are real, choosing a CNAPP based only on price can be shortsighted. A cheaper option might lack scalability or necessary features, leading to higher costs in the long run due to security breaches or compliance issues.
Ignoring User Feedback:
If the end-users, who will interact daily with the CNAPP, are not involved in the decision-making, you might end up with a solution that’s technically sound but practically inefficient, leading to resistance and poor adoption rates.
Neglecting Future Needs:
It’s critical to consider where your organization is heading. A CNAPP that fits today’s needs but can’t evolve with your business growth or changes in cloud security strategy might become a limitation rather than an asset.
By keeping these actionable tips and common pitfalls in mind, you can navigate the complex landscape of CNAPP solution selection to find a solution that not only meets your current security teams requirements but also supports your organization’s future growth and innovation.
Why Fidelis Halo® is the Right Choice?
If you have reached this part of the blog, you already have a clear idea of what you want from your cloud native application protection solution. Now, all we need is 30 seconds to convince you that Fidelis Halo® is the best CNAPP for enterprise.
Here are five key reasons why Fidelis Halo® is the optimal choice for your organization:
- Protect and Manage Hybrid and Multi-cloud Environments: Fidelis Halo® consolidates everything onto one platform, discovering, inventorying, assessing, and managing all assets with a steady heartbeat across your diverse cloud landscapes.
- Reduce Cloud Security Risk: With Fidelis Halo®, adversaries won’t find their way into your network through misconfigured or unsecured cloud assets, as it provides real-time protection.
- Harness Secure Cloud Agility: Move your cloud workloads and containers freely between on-premises and cloud environments, scaling up or down without the headache of reconfiguring security settings.
- Enable Secure DevOps: Fidelis Halo® shifts compliance monitoring left into your deployment pipeline, fostering a culture of security and compliance awareness from the get-go.
- Achieve Continuous Compliance: Say goodbye to last-minute audit scrambles with Fidelis Halo®‘s centralized policy management, continuous compliance monitoring, and a unified source of truth for all your compliance needs.
Choosing Fidelis Halo® means opting for a CNAPP solution that not only meets today’s security demands but also brings together diversified tools and functions, including CSPM (Cloud Security Posture Management), CWPP (Cloud Workload Protection Platform) and Cloud Container Security to scales with your future cloud security strategies. With us, you’re not just investing in security; you’re investing in a partner that grows and adapts with your business, ensuring your cloud native applications are protected against the current and emerging threats.
Get expert guidance on:
- Evaluating security and compliance risks
- Essential criteria for cloud security platforms
- Making an informed buying decision
