What Is CSPM? 

Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) is a security approach that detects and mitigates risks within public cloud environments. A CSPM tool scans your cloud infrastructure to identify potential vulnerabilities due to misconfigurations. It identifies misconfigurations across cloud services, such as SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, containers, and serverless code.

Let’s say your current storage bucket is set to “public.” With this setting, anyone online can view, download, or modify sensitive data, which could result in data breaches, compliance violations, and significant reputational damage. 

According to a survey by Snyk, 80% of companies reported they dealt with security incidents at least once in 2023. 

In another survey by Vmware, it was found that at least 1 in 6 companies have experienced security incidents like breaches due to misconfiguration in cloud environments.

With Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), such risks are detected early and mitigation methods are initiated immediately to protect critical assets.

Why CSPM Is More Crucial Than Ever

Before we understand why CSPM is a must-have for cloud security,  it’s important to know the most common cloud security vulnerabilities: 

Before CSPM, organizations relied on security measures like firewalls, IDS/IPS, and encryption to secure the cloud from threats. 

These tools were perfect for mitigating threats like unauthorized access, malware, and data exfiltration. Yet, some security segments like misconfigurations, insufficient identity management, lack of visibility, and compliance gaps weren’t managed effectively. This is because traditional tools focus on perimeter defenses and reactive approaches. 

Due to a lack of proper security businesses had to spend a hefty amount on data breach incidents. According to IBM, companies in the US spent  4.35 million US dollars on average for data breaches. 

To secure a cloud environment businesses require continuous monitoring and proactive strategy.  That’s how a CSPM came into the picture. 

With CSPM, you can automatically detect and fix misconfigurations, enforce consistent security policies, and monitor access permissions. This reduces the risk of data breaches and ensures compliance while minimizing security gaps.

How Does CSPM Work? 

To use a CSPM tool to its full potential, it’s crucial to know the way it works. 

There are 4 different stages in which a CSPM works:

1. Connect to the Cloud Environment

First and foremost for the CSPM to work, you have to integrate it into the cloud infrastructure. 

Gartner recommends choosing an agentless CSPM since they are . 

You don’t have to install agents on your system. The CSPM will directly access the cloud service provider’s API to access your environment. 

Most CSPM service providers ensure that their solution supports renowned cloud service providers including: 

AWS

Azure

Google Cloud

Oracle

Alibaba etc.

Most service providers have guidelines and a support team to help you install the CSPM without any challenges. 

During integration, CSPMs request appropriate permissions (read-only or higher, depending on the functionality) to access your cloud resources, configurations, and logs.

2. Visibility

This is where the real work begins. Once connected, the CSPM gathers data on your inventory of assets. They monitor the permission setting, configuration, and encryption policies of servers, databases, and networks. 

Once the CSPM retrieves this information it shows an at-a-glance view of your overall security posture. It highlights which areas are secure and points out any vulnerabilities that need attention.

In simple words, you have visibility to everything that’s happening and around your environment. 

3. Identify Misconfigurations and Threat Detection

The CSPM does not stop at showing what’s happening. It identifies misconfigurations and potential risks. 

For example, it detects insecure configurations like open security groups, exposed storage buckets, and improper IAM permissions that could lead to unauthorized access or breaches.

Furthermore, the platform analyses traffic and user behavior to detect unusual patterns like data exfiltration and too many login requests. 

If you are wondering how effective these threat detection methods are, let us tell you: if you choose a good tool, they can be quite accurate. 

It’s because instead of using software above the cloud provider to find threats, it relies on your cloud provider’s built-in data. This way, CSPM continuously scans for anomalies and alerts your security team when anything suspicious arises.

If something doesn’t match, like a server setting that’s too open or a weak security rule, it flags it as a threat or risk. 

Not just that, a CSPM offers automated or guided risk mitigation. For example, they can automatically initiate responses to insecure configurations like revoking excessive permissions or applying security patches to prevent further exposure.

4. Monitoring and Reporting

While all the above stages are executed, the CSPM never stops monitoring your security posture. It keeps track of changes in your cloud infrastructure. If anything unexpected happens the above process is repeated. 

A CSPM also provides detailed reports on your cloud security posture. These reports are designed to be easy to understand, even for non-technical stakeholders. They summarize every important metric like the number of resolved misconfigurations, any ongoing risks, and compliance status with industry standards (such as HIPAA, PCI-DSS, or GDPR).

These reports are also useful during audits. CSPM tools can generate compliance reports automatically, helping you demonstrate that your cloud environment meets all necessary security requirements without the usual hassle.

The Benefits of CSPM

Gartner research found that CSPM implementations can reduce cloud security incidents caused by misconfigurations by up to 80%. 

But that’s not the only benefit a CSPM has. There are multiple ways why having a CSPM platform can benefit your business. Let’s have a look at these benefits: 

Cost Efficiency

CSPM helps cut costs by removing the need for expensive security hardware and large internal teams. Since it’s cloud-native, there’s no need for long-term contracts or big upfront investments. As your business grows, CSPM scales with. 

Increased Availability

CSPM makes sure your cloud data and apps are always accessible to the right people. It blocks misconfigurations that could lead to breaches. This keeps your services running smoothly, even when threats arise, reducing downtime.

Firewalling and DDoS Protection

Clouds are prime targets for DDoS attacks. CSPM tools offer strong firewall protection to keep out unauthorized traffic. By stopping these threats, CSPM minimizes the chances of data breaches and ransomware that could hurt your business.

Unified Visibility Across Platforms

CSPM gives you a clear view of your entire cloud setup, from hybrid to multi-cloud environments. It spots configuration errors and compliance risks across all platforms. This makes it easier to find and fix issues fast, keeping your cloud secure and giving you more control.

Compliance Management

Meeting regulations like HIPAA, PCI DSS, and GDPR can be tricky. CSPM constantly checks your cloud for compliance issues and alerts you to any gaps. It also makes audits easier by offering detailed reports, helping you avoid costly fines.

Limitations of CSPM

While Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) takes most security burden from your team, there are some security issues that can arise in your organization’s cloud. It’s due to the limitations of CSPM we have mentioned below: 

Dynamic Cloud-Native Environments

While developing an application in a cloud environment, there are frequent additions or removal of resources like containers. CSPM struggles to keep pace with this dynamic infrastructure as it’s static. 

A better way to secure them will be by adding a runtime security tool to your security strategy. With it you can monitor live workloads, providing real-time threat detection and response.

Alert Fatigue

CSPM tools send alerts for almost every small issue. These high numbers of alerts, especially if your cloud environment is complex, lead to alert fatigue. 

All the alertss a CSPM sends don’t necessarily need attention from your team. Moreover, it makes prioritizing threats much more difficult and your team might miss genuine threats compromising efficiency.

A way to cut loose from alert fatigue is to customize the alert settings within the CSPM tool. You can adjust the sensitivity of alerts by configuring rules to focus on high-priority misconfigurations or threats. 

Additionally, setting thresholds for alert triggers and grouping similar alerts can help reduce the volume. 

Compliant Doesn’t Mean Secure 

Compliance no doubt is important for your organization. However, perfect compliance doesn’t necessarily guarantee security. Some CSPM tools focus too much on compliance making the entire security strategy compliance centered.

This can lead to less focus on practical security issues unique to an organization’s specific setup. One way to improvise if you add contextual risk assessment or combine CSPM with additional multi-layer security tools like extended detection and response (XDR). 

Integration Challenges

Integrating CSPM tools with your existing security systems can feel overwhelming and take up a lot of resources. It’s common to face challenges when trying to pull security data from different sources or when the systems don’t easily work together.

These integration issues can make it harder for CSPM tools to give you a clear, full picture of your security, making it tough to develop a solid strategy.

To make integration easier, start by picking a CSPM solution that works well with your current setup. Instead of connecting everything at once, focus on getting it to work with the most critical systems first.

It’s also helpful to choose a solution with strong customer support so you have experts available when things don’t go as planned.

Security Requires a Hybrid Approach

When it comes to securing cloud environments, relying on a single approach is no longer enough. A hybrid approach that combines static and dynamic security measures is essential for full protection.

Static security, like the kind provided by CSPM, is great for identifying misconfigurations, policy violations, and compliance issues. It ensures that your cloud setup is secure based on known rules and standards. But that’s only half the picture.

Cloud environments are highly dynamic, with containers and workloads frequently added or removed. This is where dynamic security comes in. By adding runtime security tools, you can monitor live workloads, detect real-time threats, and respond quickly to suspicious activity.

The combination of static analysis (preventative measures) and dynamic security (real-time monitoring) gives you full visibility into your cloud infrastructure, helping you address both long-term risks and immediate threats. It’s this hybrid approach that keeps cloud environments secure amidst constant change.

Who Needs A CSPM and when is it not required? 

Still the question “Do I need a CSPM for my organization popping up?”

Well here’s your answer:

Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) is really important for organizations using dynamic cloud environments. It helps by automatically spotting misconfigurations, keeping track of compliance, and responding to threats before they escalate. 

As cloud setups get more complicated, having CSPM is key to lowering security risks, staying compliant with regulations, and safeguarding valuable assets. 

However, if a business has a simple cloud setup or relies entirely on on-premises infrastructure, it might not need CSPM right away. That said, it’s a good idea to reevaluate their needs as things change.