What is Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP)

Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP) is a workload security tool designed to monitor and protect applications, services, and processes that run on cloud infrastructures. Web applications, databases, machine learning training models, and containers are some examples of workloads shielded by CWPPs. By providing comprehensive visibility and control, CWPPs play a crucial role in maintaining the integrity and security of cloud-based operations.

Key functionalities of a CWPP include:

• Visibility and Monitoring: Continuous observation of workload activities to detect anomalies and potential threats.
• Threat Detection and Response: Identifying and mitigating security incidents in real-time to minimize impact.
• Compliance Management: Ensuring workloads adhere to industry standards and regulatory requirements.
• Integration with DevOps: Seamless incorporation into development and operational workflows to promote security best practices.

Awareness of Threats

Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) published ‘Top Threats to Cloud Computing 2024,’ emphasizing the caution that needs to be taken regarding asset misconfigurations, insecure APIs and third-party resources, and traffic of unencrypted data, for example. These vulnerabilities often result from human errors, underscoring the need for automated security measures.

Additionally, cloud workloads are also susceptible to Distributed Denial Of Service (DDoS) attacks that are intentionally orchestrated by cybercriminals, conducting a network of compromised devices to make a server unable to serve any type of request. Within the time that the server is down, a chain effect can happen depending on the others relying on the service. The targeted company loses money and market reputation each second that their server can’t operate normally. 

Key Investment

Stop the attack before it happens. That is the key to a secure cloud environment. To effectively safeguard cloud workloads, organizations must adopt proactive security strategies, including:

• Real-Time Monitoring: Continuous surveillance of workloads to identify and address threats.
• Strengthened Access Controls: Implementing robust identity and access management (IAM) policies to prevent unauthorized access. 
• Data Encryption: Ensuring all data at rest and in transit is encrypted to protect against traffic interception.
• Micro-Segmentation: Dividing the network into isolated segments to limit the lateral movement of threats.

Multi-Cloud security deals with securing all assets everywhere, and doing this the zero trust way is not as simple as it may sound.

CWPP Dashboard

Common Cloud Security Challenges

Source: Statista

According to Statista, among common cloud security challenges, misconfiguration constitutes 65% of the top threats in public cloud security in 2023. To safeguard against this, AccuKnox’s Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) continuously scans cloud environments to detect misconfigurations, such as improperly configured access policies or open storage buckets, that could expose sensitive data. It supports over 30 compliance frameworks—including PCI-DSS, HIPAA, CIS, SOC2, STIG, MITRE, and NIST—providing pre-built checks to ensure cloud configurations adhere to these standards and promptly identify violations. Upon detecting a misconfiguration, the platform generates alerts and auto-populates ticket summaries for relevant teams, facilitating swift remediation to prevent potential security breaches. Examples of common cloud workload threats include:

• Misconfigurations: Improperly configured policies, firewalls, or credentials can enable unauthorized access to cloud resources.
• Multi-Tenancy Risks: Shared cloud infrastructure can lead to data breaches if security segregation and monitoring are insufficient.
• API Vulnerabilities: Insecure APIs may allow unauthorized access or breaches due to weak design, authentication, or encryption.
• Insider Threats: Internal users may misuse credentials or privileges to exploit data or resources for malicious purposes.
• Unauthorized Access: Attackers may use stolen credentials to bypass weak access controls, gaining access to cloud-hosted data.
• Data Breaches: Weak passwords, unpatched software, or poor access controls may allow unauthorized data access or modification.

For more information on common cloud workload threats, check out What Is Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP)?

Impact of Security Breaches

In 2023, the U.S. experienced 3,205 data compromises, marking a 78% increase compared to 2022 and a 72% rise from the previous peak in 2021, sourced by Statista. Although the percentage is alarming, the attack rate continues to grow affecting companies from all different sectors including government, financial, and healthcare.
The consequences of a security breach can vary depending on numerous factors, however, are certainly extremely damaging to the targeted company.

Downtime and data breaches can lead to significant monetary losses. A service downtime can affect, for example, business advertising revenue, stock market value, and also the losses of potential business opportunities. According to a 2014 study done by Gartner, the average cost of downtime was $5,600 per minute. A more recent report of 2016 done by Ponemon Institute raised that value to $9,000 a minute. Microsoft’s security report, ‘US Healthcare at risk: Strengthening resiliency against ransomware attacks’ asserts that in the last four years, the average is $900,000 daily in downtime alone for the healthcare industry.

Market trust is a concept that involves building relationships and trust with customers and other stakeholders. Security breaches certainly damage a company’s reputation and also break the company’s market trust with its customers.

Additionally, companies facing data breaches commonly need to face legal and compliance repercussions that result in fines and legal actions. 

The Necessity for Proactive Security Measures

To minimize the security risks mentioned above, the best strategy is to apply proactive security. This can be achieved by:

• Real-Time Threat Detection and Response: Real-time identification and neutralization of threats minimize potential damage.
• Compliance with Industry Standards and Regulations: Adhering to frameworks such as NIST, MITRE, and CIS ensures robust security postures.

Adoption of Zero Trust Principles: Assuming no entity is inherently trustworthy reduces the attack surface and enhances security.

Exploring AccuKnox’s CWPP Solution

AccuKnox offers a comprehensive Cloud Workload Protection Platform designed to address modern cloud security challenges. Our CWPP toolkit integrates with the open-source KubeArmor project to provide robust runtime security. This integration enables real-time monitoring and enforcement of security policies across various workloads, including containers and virtual machines (VMs).

Security Implementation Matrix

Implementation Framework

This matrix shows the new security challenges where there is a strong necessity for both kernel-level enforcement and cloud-native architectures for a multi-layered approach. What separates this implementation is that deep security controls can be delivered with no performance trade-offs or operational complexity trade-offs. To protect against supply chain attacks, the system verifies the container images at build time, monitors runtime behavior with eBPF programs, and enforces network policies through kernel hooks. Thus, the system creates several layers of protection without any performance penalty because of efficient kernel integration.

A key differentiator of this offering is that its security policy can evolve based on application context. Instead of applying a one-size-fits-all restriction, the system will understand some of the workload behavior patterns and will only adjust the controls on such behavior, ensuring there is robust security with no unnecessary false positives or performance issues that have an impact on the operations teams. The implementation framework really stands out in regulatory environments where compliance requirements overlap with a modern-day cloud-native architecture. Controls can be inserted at the kernel level yet remain nimbly agile just as needed in this approach and still achieve security and agility goals without trade-offs.

For further details, refer to the  AccuKnox Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP) – An Inside Look ebook.

Case Study: Implementing AccuKnox CWPP at the 5G Open Innovation Lab

The 5G Open Innovation Lab, a key player in advancing government and public sector cybersecurity, sought to elevate its security posture by enhancing data security, operational efficiency, and regulatory compliance. The Lab approached AccuKnox with specific requirements to address challenges across workload security, container and host protection, and static code analysis.

Identified Challenges

• Advanced Workload Security – Needed a solution to conduct comprehensive Docker Hub image and VM STIG scans, coupled with real-time VM threat detection, providing CISOs with instant visibility into potential risks.
• Robust Container and Host Protection – Required a secure environment for Docker Swarm and host vulnerabilities, alongside a unified platform capable of detecting multi-platform malware threats.
• Optimized Static Code Analysis – Aimed for seamless SonarQube integration within AccuKnox SaaS, with Jenkins CI/CD support for automated SAST reporting and JIRA ticketing.

Solutions

AccuKnox deployed its Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP), leveraging cutting-edge technologies like eBPF for detailed forensics and real-time threat mitigation, directly addressing the Lab’s need for robust VM workload protection. 

The CWPP solution enabled comprehensive incident response capabilities that went beyond standard security practices, adding a layer of assurance for sensitive government data. 

The Application Security Posture Management (ASPM) solution was responsible for solving the client’s challenge of CI/CD integration with Jenkins and also automated Security Posture Management.  This allowed for seamless report forwarding and automated ticket creation in JIRA, providing the Lab with real-time alerts and visibility into code-level vulnerabilities. 

Outcome

The outcome of this case study was a successful approach to  5G Open Innovation Lab pains, according to the CEO, Jim Brisimitzis: ‘As 5G starts getting broad industry adoption, security is a very critical challenge. It is delightful to see an amazing innovator like SRI work with AccuKnox to deliver critical innovations’

Further details of this case study and other case studies can be found at Case Studies. 

Conclusion 

Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) are crucial for securing modern cloud environments. AccuKnox’s CWPP provides proactive threat detection, Zero Trust security, and seamless multi-cloud support, empowering organizations to protect sensitive data and strengthen their security posture. In a world of evolving threats, AccuKnox helps businesses stay resilient and secure. Stop the attack, before it happens. Schedule a CWPP demo with AccuKnox. 

FAQ

How does AccuKnox’s CWPP differ from others?
Check out our Comparison page to identify how AccuKnox solutions are differentiated from other cloud security vendors.

Can AccuKnox CWPP integrate with existing security tools?
Take a look at our Integrations page for a list of services that can be integrated into your existing technology ecosystem.