What Is CSPM? Guide to Cloud Security Posture Management

CSPM definition

Modern cloud security posture management (CSPM) continuously monitors cloud environments for risks, which include misconfigurations, compliance violations, vulnerabilities, and more. CSPM provides risk remediation for the entire cloud infrastructure, including SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS environments.

Legacy CSPM solutions provide static assessments of misconfigurations and compliance violations, while modern CSPM tools provide real-time monitoring and consider context when determining risk prioritization.

The popularity of security posture management tools has led to the development of several security posture solutions for managing risk alongside CSPM. Other popular options include data security posture management (DSPM) and Kubernetes security posture management (KSPM).

With CSPM, organizations can discover security gaps, new attack surfaces, and other blind spots that arise from implementing dynamic and complex cloud environments.

CSPM is an integral aspect of any cybersecurity strategy due to the proliferation of risk from misconfiguration and compliance. Organizations can adopt discrete CSPM tools or get CSPM features through security solutions like cloud-native application protection platforms (CNAPP).

Why CSPM is important

CSPM is important because cloud environments are complex and misconfigurations plentiful, no matter how hard organizations try. This leads to too many alerts, which results in security teams not being effective at solving true issues. 

‍So, CSPM tools help security teams identify risks and provide the context around them, which helps teams address critical risks before they become an attack vector. Understanding the context around risks in a cloud environment means that security teams aren’t racing to fix every issue immediately, but rather prioritizing the active risks that matter. 

For example, misconfigured S3 buckets continue to be a problem because sometimes sensitive data is accessible from them, but not always. Without context about whether the S3 bucket is in use and contains data, then security teams spent time remediating a risk they really didn’t need to.

Many organizations rely on multi-cloud deployments and ephemeral cloud environments, which can result in limited visibility and siloed resources. CSPM helps get that visibility back and determine where risks exist.

History of CSPM

CSPMs have come a long way since they were first introduced. As the cloud landscape has expanded, CSPMs have evolved their functions beyond just monitoring cloud instances for misconfigurations and improper settings.

Today's CSPMs not only detect cloud misconfigurations but also manage applications, control identity access, identify vulnerabilities, and automatically remediate cloud misconfigurations.

This evolution is significant because it's part of a shift towards proactive rather than reactive security measures. By actively managing access controls, applications, and vulnerabilities, CSPMs help organizations prevent security breaches before they occur.

Modern CSPM vs. legacy CSPM

One key CSPM innovation deserves extra focus: The change from reactive snapshot assessment of cloud environments to proactive, real-time monitoring.

Legacy CSPMs relied on periodic posture assessments, which reviewed static risks (like the configuration of high-privilege users, or S3 buckets with internet exposure) on a fixed schedule. This approach misses real-time activities and changes and generates too many alerts to effectively prioritize.

In today's hyper-speed cloud environment, attackers aren't just knocking on the door. They're breaking in before we can even finish our morning coffee. With cloud workloads hurtling into production at breakneck speed, the "old school" approach of point-in-time assessments simply doesn't cut it anymore.

With more cloud workloads moved to production, attackers have exploited the speed of cloud automation to launch attacks in minutes.

So, modern CSPM solutions shifted from periodic point-in-time assessments to continuous posture assessments. This change was critical for security teams to identify, prioritize, and mitigate active cloud risks, and to prevent attacks from spreading.

Rather than relying on static snapshots, modern CSPM solutions dynamically detect active cloud risks by maintaining a vigilant watch 24/7. They swiftly identify and prioritize risks in real time, preempting potential havoc. Think of it as having a round-the-clock security detail that swiftly contains and neutralizes threats.

What problems does CSPM solve?

The developments in CSPM software over time have been game-changers in tackling critical challenges for security practitioners. So now, let's dive into those specific challenges that modern CSPM solutions are tailor-made to solve:

• Slow, manual processes: CSPMs automate security workflows, sparing teams from manual evaluations and remediation tasks. By continuously parsing through cloud configurations, CSPMs promptly detect risks with minimal human effort.
• Visibility gaps across cloud environments: Cloud environments often result in siloed data, which makes it difficult to gain a view of the entire landscape. CSPMs address this challenge by providing a comprehensive inventory and risk assessment for all cloud assets, including IaaS, PaaS, hosts, containers, vulnerabilities, and identities.
• Alert fatigue: Legacy CSPMs inundated security teams with alerts that had no context or prioritization, which overwhelmed them. Modern CSPMs solve this by prioritizing top risks that are actively exploitable, such as in-use software packages with critical vulnerabilities.
• Infrequent risk snapshots: Modern CSPMs have moved away from periodic scans to continuous assessments, providing real-time visibility into posture drift, configuration changes, and live events. This empowers teams to swiftly detect new risks or impending attacks in mere seconds.

Benefits of CSPM

Now that we've navigated through the challenges that CSPMs address, let's uncover the benefits they bring to the table. With a CSPM by your side, you're not only securing your cloud environment but also empowering your team, optimizing resources, and paving the way for smoother operations.

• Enhanced security: CSPMs boost your defense against cyber threats by automating security workflows, quickly spotting risks, and prioritizing active threats for fast resolution.
• Improved compliance: With continuous assessments and real-time monitoring, you'll always stay one step ahead of audits and compliance checks. CSPMs make sure your cloud configurations meet industry standards and regulatory requirements.
• Reduced expenses: CSPMs help optimize cloud resources by identifying and eliminating unused resources, right-sizing instances, and minimizing the risk of costly security breaches. It's a win-win for your security and your budget.
• Streamlined operations: By automating security workflows, giving you clear visibility, and enabling you to proactively manage cloud risk, CSPMs streamline your security operations and boost your team's efficiency.
• Improved flexibility: As your cloud environment evolves, so too does your CSPM. Whether you're scaling up or down, CSPMs adapt to your needs, offering flexibility and scalability to accommodate your changing workloads and requirements.

5 Essential Capabilities for a Modern CSPM Solution

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How CSPM works

At this point, you're probably wondering, "How does this magic happen?" Let's break it down into a fundamental four-step CSPM process:

1. Define CSPM requirements

Getting started involves outlining the security risks your team wants to address. While most CSPM platforms offer a healthy starter set of preconfigured rules for spotting common security slip-ups, you can also create custom definitions that are tailored to your specific needs or compliance requirements.

2. Continuously scan cloud environments

CSPM tools act like diligent detectives, constantly combing through your cloud environment for any signs of trouble. They tirelessly scan and analyze configurations, searching for potential security risks and vulnerabilities. If a new configuration appears or an existing one changes in a way that could pose a security risk, your CSPM will promptly detect it.

3. Assess risk severity

So, the CSPM has identified a potential threat — what's next? The tool evaluates how severe the risk is and assigns it a priority level. Since CSPMs vary in their approaches to prioritization, it's crucial to use a modern CSPM that prioritizes based on active risk. This involves using runtime insights to understand security risks that are correlated with applications, services, and other resources that are currently running in your cloud environment. By prioritizing risks based on what's actively in use, you can effectively manage your cloud security and avoid alert overload.

4. Remediate risks

The CSPM's final and most important task is to facilitate resolution of those high-risk issues. Using insights from CSPM tools, you can pinpoint the root cause of an issue and make the appropriate configuration adjustments. While some risks may need manual intervention, a good CSPM tool can automatically fix certain issues. For example, if a user has excessive permissions, the CSPM should be able to enforce recommended identity and access management (IAM) policies.

And there you have it: the blueprint of a CSPM. Let's now dig into the key capabilities that make it all possible.

The key capabilities of CSPMs

• Out-of-the-box policies
  Offers numerous pre-developed policies from common cybersecurity frameworks, such as GDPR, SOC2, HIPAA, and NIST, making it fast and easy to implement robust security.
• Agentless scanning
  Swiftly scans cloud assets, configurations, permissions, vulnerabilities, and more without installing agents.
• Agentless detection
  Detects near real-time events and configuration changes using cloud logs.
• Agent-based detection
  Prevents mistakes from cascading and thwarts attacks from spreading with the help of agent-based detection.
• Runtime enrichment
  Identifies in-use assets and packages to prioritize risks and minimize noise, ensuring you can focus on what truly matters.
• Multi-domain correlation
  Uncovers the riskiest combinations across various assets and users, providing a comprehensive view of potential threats.
• Inventory search
  Identifies and filters assets across multiple clouds and platforms in just a few clicks, streamlining asset discovery.
• Attack path analysis
  Visualizes interconnected risks and exploitable links across resources, enabling proactive risk mitigation.
• Vulnerability prioritization
  Prioritizes in-use packages with critical and exploitable vulnerabilities, ensuring you can address the most pressing threats.
• Remediation at source
  Automates infrastructure as code (IaC) template changes for seamless remediation, reducing manual intervention.

How to choose a CSPM

In addition to the four-step blueprint and key capabilities list provided earlier, it's essential that your CSPM is equipped to help you identify active risks and prioritize them based on their urgency.

To support this, look for a CSPM solution that can provide:

Real-time detection of active risk

Active risk includes real-time activities and dynamic changes in your environment, such as a user actively logging in without multi-factor authentication (MFA). By selecting a solution that provides continuous posture assessments rather than periodic snapshots, you'll equip yourself with a robust CSPM that quickly identifies security issues.

Prioritization based on runtime insights

Alerts prioritized with runtime insights — that is, with an understanding of what's actively running in your production environment is crucial. This ensures that your issues are prioritized based on what's most relevant. With access to real-time information, you can effectively manage your cloud security posture by directing your focus where it's most needed.

Questions to ask your vendor

As you begin the process to select a CSPM vendor, it's essential to get a clear understanding of each vendor's offerings. Here are some key questions to ask vendors that will help guide your discussion, and ensure you find the right fit for your needs:

• Does your CSPM provide continuous posture assessments to see active risks, or does it still use periodic, point-in-time assessments?
• Can your solution detect and prioritize active risks in real time based on what's actively running and in use?
• Does your CSPM support both an agentless and agent-based approach?
• How does your CSPM solution ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations?
• What mechanisms does your solution have in place for threat detection and incident response?
• How does your solution handle scalability and adaptability to different cloud environments and workloads?
• Can you provide a demo, and do you offer a trial of your CSPM solution?
• Can you provide customer references and testimonials for your CSPM?
• What is the vendor onboarding process like, and what level of support do you provide to customers?

CSPM helps with compliance

In the fast-changing world of cybersecurity compliance, staying ahead of the curve is crucial. With SEC disclosure requirements to regulations like EU’s Network and Information Security Directive (NIS2 Directive) and Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), prompt disclosure of security events is now essential.

To navigate this complex landscape and stay compliant, it's crucial to understand your cloud assets and associated risks. This is where a CSPM provides significant value in helping you ensure your cloud assets comply with regulations.

CSPMs go beyond simple scanning, instead it meticulously catalogs hosts, cloud services, Kubernetes clusters, and containers. This organized inventory simplifies the complexity of your cloud assets, making it easier to quickly identify vulnerabilities and prioritize based on risk indicators across your multi-cloud services.

Of course, compliance is more than just ticking boxes. It involves continuously assessing and auditing your cloud estate to meet regulatory standards. With its prepackaged security and compliance policies, a CSPM makes it easy for you to seamlessly assess and maintain compliance across your entire cloud ecosystem.

Prioritize and address cyber hygiene with Sysdig

Sysdig’s CSPM solution identifies and prioritizes the top combinations of active risk across your cloud environments. By correlating real-time posture drift detections, in-use permissions, misconfigurations, and known vulnerabilities, you're equipped to proactively safeguard your cloud infrastructure.

Powered by a graph-based data engine and supported by Sysdig Sage, Sysdig’s AI cloud security assistant, our CSPM solution helps users zero in on risks across your entire inventory of cloud assets. Get real-time visibility for real risk reduction with Sysdig CSPM.