What is CNAPP? Cloud Native Application Protection Platform Explained
A comprehensive guide to understanding Cloud Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP), the unified security approach that consolidates cloud security tools into a single, integrated solution.
What is CNAPP?
CNAPP (Cloud Native Application Protection Platform) is a unified security solution that consolidates multiple cloud security capabilities into a single, integrated platform. First defined by Gartner in 2021, CNAPP combines cloud security posture management (CSPM), cloud workload protection (CWPP), cloud infrastructure entitlement management (CIEM), and Kubernetes security posture management (KSPM) to provide comprehensive protection for cloud-native applications.
Instead of managing separate point solutions for each aspect of cloud security, CNAPP provides an integrated approach that secures cloud-native applications throughout their entire lifecycle—from code to cloud to runtime.
The rise of CNAPP addresses a critical challenge in modern cloud security: tool sprawl. As organizations adopt multi-cloud strategies and cloud-native architectures, they often end up with 5-10+ separate security tools that don't communicate with each other. This fragmentation creates security gaps, increases costs, and slows down security teams.
CNAPP solves this by providing a single pane of glass for all cloud security needs, correlating risks across infrastructure, workloads, identities, and applications to deliver actionable insights and faster remediation.
Why CNAPP Matters: The Case for Unified Cloud Security
The Problem: Tool Sprawl
Organizations use an average of 7-10 separate cloud security tools. Each tool has its own console, alerts, and workflows, creating blind spots and alert fatigue.
The Solution: Unified Platform
CNAPP consolidates security capabilities into one platform, correlating risks across the stack and providing unified workflows for detection and remediation.
Faster Threat Detection
By correlating data across infrastructure, workloads, and identities, CNAPP reduces mean time to detect (MTTD) by up to 60%.
Cost Reduction
Organizations save 30-50% on security costs by consolidating from 7+ point solutions to a single CNAPP platform.
Key Benefits of CNAPP
- Single Pane of Glass: Unified visibility across all cloud security domains
- Risk Correlation: Connect vulnerabilities from code to runtime
- Reduced Complexity: One platform instead of 7+ tools
- Lower Costs: 30-50% savings on security tooling
- Faster Remediation: Unified workflows reduce MTTR
- Better Context: Full attack path visibility
- Compliance Automation: Built-in frameworks (SOC2, ISO27001, PCI-DSS)
- DevSecOps Integration: Shift-left with developer-friendly tools
The Four Pillars of CNAPP
CNAPP integrates four core security capabilities that were traditionally separate products. Understanding each pillar helps you evaluate whether a platform truly qualifies as a comprehensive CNAPP solution.
CSPM - Cloud Security Posture Management
Continuously monitors cloud infrastructure for misconfigurations, compliance violations, and security risks across AWS, Azure, GCP, and other cloud providers.
Key Capabilities
- Cloud configuration scanning (S3, IAM, VPC, etc.)
- Compliance benchmarks (CIS, NIST, PCI-DSS)
- Misconfiguration detection and remediation
- Multi-cloud visibility and governance
Example Use Cases
- • Detect publicly exposed S3 buckets
- • Identify overly permissive security groups
- • Ensure encryption at rest for all databases
- • Validate compliance with CIS Benchmarks
CWPP - Cloud Workload Protection Platform
Secures cloud workloads (VMs, containers, serverless) from vulnerabilities, malware, and runtime threats. Provides visibility into workload behavior and enforces security policies.
Key Capabilities
- Vulnerability scanning (OS, packages, libraries)
- Container and image security
- Runtime threat detection (malware, anomalies)
- Serverless function security
Example Use Cases
- • Scan container images for CVEs before deployment
- • Detect cryptocurrency miners in EC2 instances
- • Block unauthorized process execution
- • Monitor serverless function behavior
CIEM - Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management
Manages and governs cloud identities, permissions, and entitlements across multi-cloud environments. Detects excessive permissions and enforces least-privilege access.
Key Capabilities
- Identity and access management visibility
- Excessive permission detection
- Least-privilege enforcement
- Cross-cloud identity correlation
Example Use Cases
- • Identify IAM users with admin access
- • Detect unused or dormant permissions
- • Right-size service account permissions
- • Audit cross-account access
KSPM - Kubernetes Security Posture Management
Specialized security for Kubernetes environments. Monitors cluster configurations, RBAC policies, pod security, and network policies for misconfigurations and compliance violations.
Key Capabilities
- Kubernetes cluster configuration scanning
- RBAC and pod security policy auditing
- Network policy validation
- CIS Kubernetes benchmark compliance
Example Use Cases
- • Detect privileged containers
- • Identify pods running as root
- • Validate network segmentation
- • Enforce admission controller policies
Beyond the Core Four
Leading CNAPP platforms extend beyond these four pillars to include:
CNAPP vs. Traditional Point Solutions
Before CNAPP, organizations assembled cloud security from multiple specialized tools. While point solutions excel in their specific domains, they create significant operational challenges.
| Aspect | Point Solutions (Legacy) | CNAPP (Modern) |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Tools | 7-10+ separate products | Single unified platform |
| Visibility | Siloed, fragmented views | Unified, correlated across stack |
| Alert Fatigue | High - duplicate/uncorrelated alerts | Low - intelligent prioritization |
| Risk Correlation | Manual effort required | Automatic attack path analysis |
| Integration Effort | Complex, custom integrations | Built-in, native integration |
| Total Cost | $150k-$300k+/year (combined) | $50k-$150k/year (30-50% savings) |
| Time to Value | 3-6 months (setup + integration) | 1-2 weeks (single deployment) |
| MTTD/MTTR | Hours to days (manual correlation) | Minutes to hours (automated) |
The Tool Sprawl Problem
A typical enterprise cloud security stack before CNAPP might include:
Result: $200k+/year in licensing, 3+ full-time staff for management, endless integration headaches, and security gaps between tools.
CNAPP Use Cases: When and Why to Adopt
1. Multi-Cloud Security Consolidation
Scenario: Your organization uses AWS for production, Azure for dev/test, and GCP for data analytics. Each cloud has separate security tools.
CNAPP Solution: Unified visibility and governance across all three clouds with consistent policies and centralized reporting.
2. Compliance Automation (SOC2, ISO27001, PCI-DSS)
Scenario: Your company needs SOC2 Type II certification and spends weeks manually collecting compliance evidence.
CNAPP Solution: Continuous compliance monitoring with automated evidence collection, pre-built controls, and audit-ready reports.
3. Cloud-Native Application Security
Scenario: You're migrating from monoliths to microservices on Kubernetes with hundreds of containers and services.
CNAPP Solution: Comprehensive coverage from code (SAST/SCA) to containers (image scanning) to runtime (eBPF monitoring) with Kubernetes-specific security.
4. DevSecOps Integration
Scenario: Developers need security feedback in CI/CD pipelines without slowing down deployments.
CNAPP Solution: Shift-left security with IDE plugins, PR checks, CI/CD integration, and developer-friendly dashboards that accelerate, not hinder, velocity.
5. Security Team Scalability
Scenario: Your cloud footprint is growing 50%/year but you can't hire security engineers fast enough.
CNAPP Solution: Automation and intelligent prioritization allow a lean security team to cover more with less - reducing manual work by 60-70%.
How to Evaluate CNAPP Platforms
Not all CNAPP platforms are created equal. Some vendors rebrand existing CSPM tools as "CNAPP" without full coverage. Use this evaluation framework to assess true CNAPP completeness.
1Core Capability Coverage
Verify the platform includes ALL four pillars:
2Integration & Correlation
Assess how well the platform connects data across domains:
- Does it correlate vulnerabilities with cloud misconfigurations?
- Can it map identity permissions to actual resource access?
- Does it show attack paths from code to runtime?
- Are alerts prioritized by actual risk (not just severity)?
3Multi-Cloud Support
Ensure comprehensive coverage for your cloud providers:
4Deployment Model
Consider agentless vs. agent-based approaches:
Agentless
- + Faster deployment
- + No performance impact
- + No agent maintenance
- - Limited runtime visibility
- - Snapshots only (not real-time)
Agent-Based (eBPF)
- + Real-time runtime monitoring
- + Deep workload visibility
- + Runtime enforcement
- + Compliance evidence
- - Requires agent deployment
Best: Hybrid approach with agentless for discovery + lightweight eBPF agents for runtime protection.
5Compliance & Reporting
Evaluate compliance automation capabilities:
- Pre-built frameworks: SOC2, ISO27001, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, GDPR
- Continuous evidence collection (not manual snapshots)
- Audit-ready reports with timestamped evidence
- Custom policy creation and enforcement
- Integration with GRC tools (Vanta, Drata, etc.)
6Developer Experience
Ensure security doesn't slow down development:
- CI/CD pipeline integration (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins)
- IDE plugins and PR feedback
- Auto-remediation and fix suggestions
- Developer-friendly dashboards (not just security)
7Pricing & ROI
Understand total cost of ownership:
- Transparent pricing model (per-user, per-workload, or flat fee)
- Cost savings vs. current 7+ tool stack
- Free tier or POC availability
- Time saved by security team (quantify hours/week)
Red Flags to Avoid
CNAPP vs. Traditional Security Approaches
Traditional On-Premise Security
Legacy security tools (antivirus, firewalls, SIEM) were designed for perimeter-based defense of static infrastructure. They struggle with dynamic cloud environments.
Limitations
- • Static infrastructure assumptions
- • Perimeter-based security (no cloud context)
- • Agent overhead on VMs
- • No container/K8s support
- • Manual configuration management
CNAPP Advantages
- • Cloud-native architecture
- • API-based agentless scanning
- • Ephemeral workload support
- • Container & serverless security
- • Automated policy enforcement
CNAPP vs. Standalone CSPM
CSPM (Cloud Security Posture Management) tools focus only on cloud infrastructure misconfigurations. CNAPP extends this with workload protection, identity management, and runtime security.
| Capability | CSPM Only | CNAPP |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud configuration scanning | ||
| Workload vulnerability scanning | ✗ | |
| Runtime threat detection | ✗ | |
| Identity & permissions (CIEM) | ✗ | |
| Kubernetes security (KSPM) | ✗ | |
| Attack path analysis | ✗ |
CNAPP vs. SIEM/XDR
SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) and XDR (Extended Detection and Response) focus on threat detection and incident response. CNAPP focuses on prevention and posture management.
Best practice: Use CNAPP for prevention and posture + SIEM/XDR for detection and response. Many organizations integrate CNAPP alerts into their SIEM for unified security operations.
TigerGate: Unified CNAPP Platform
TigerGate delivers comprehensive CNAPP capabilities with runtime-native compliance monitoring via eBPF. Get unified code-to-cloud security with CSPM, CWPP, CIEM, KSPM, code security (SAST/SCA/secrets), and continuous compliance automation (SOC2, ISO27001, PCI-DSS) in one platform.
All 4 CNAPP pillars + code security + runtime protection
Free tier, $29/user/month - 50% less than competitors
1-2 weeks to value vs. 3-6 months for enterprise platforms
No credit card required • 14-day free trial • Full platform access