Cloud workloads are protected by a cloud workload protection platform (CWPP) from a variety of dangers, including malware, ransomware, DDoS attacks, cloud misconfigurations, insider threats, and data breaches.
To safeguard resources designed to function in a cloud-based application or service, CWPP solutions offer standard visibility and control for real computers, virtual machines (VMs), containers, and serverless applications.
Utilizing a CWPP enables businesses to improve their security posture and decrease the risk of data breaches and other security events, in addition to increasing visibility and control over cloud workloads.
In this article we will discuss the top 10 cloud workload protection platforms along with their pros and cons.
Table of Contents
- What is a Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP)?
- Understanding the functioning of CWPP
- Best Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP Tools) in 2024
- Selecting the best CWPP Tool
- Conclusion
What is a Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP)?
The processing, storage, and networking resources required by cloud applications are included in cloud workloads. These workloads have specific security requirements that differ from traditional IT systems, and Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPPs) are designed to provide security customized to the demands of workloads deployed in public, private, or hybrid cloud environments. By providing security for the application and all of the related cloud capabilities, a CWPP aims to keep the applications secure.
Understanding the functioning of CWPP
Micro-segmentation and bare metal hypervisors are the two main strategies for workload protection with CWPP.
Implementing the network security method known as micro-segmentation is one way to make sure workloads are safeguarded. Security architects can break the data center into discrete security segments, down to the level of each individual task, by using micro-segmentation, and then specify security rules for each segment. Physical firewalls are replaced with network virtualization technology, which enables micro-segmentation to establish customizable security policies that isolate and safeguard particular workloads.
Micro-segmentation stops malware from spreading from server to server within the environment, whereas endpoint protection is intended to keep threats from entering the environment.
Hypervisor running on bare metal: A hypervisor running on bare metal might provide more workload protection. A hypervisor is a kind of virtualization software that enables the construction and administration of virtual machines by distancing the software and hardware of a computer.
Between the hardware and the operating system on a physical machine, a bare metal hypervisor is deployed. As a result of a hypervisor’s ability to construct virtual machines that are isolated from one another, workloads on other virtual machines are unaffected if one virtual machine encounters an issue or is attacked.
Best Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP Tools) in 2024
#1 PingSafe
PingSafe is a comprehensive tool for cloud security that provides protection for companies of all sizes and in all sectors. It can aid in eliminating all risks and challenges, both known and unknown.
Features:
- In the cloud, configuration errors are automatically addressed and repaired. Misconfigurations across resources, lateral movement pathways, and impact radius are displayed in graphs.
- Monitoring continuous security posture of new or current cloud services, focusing on security concerns and recommended practices, and notifying of security defaults.
- Infrastructure as a Code: Comparing IaC configuration and implementation to other standards like CIS benchmark and PCI-DSS. In order to prevent merge and pull requests with hardcoded secrets, support for CI/CD integration can be employed.
- Find the cloud resources/assets that have known CVEs (Intelligence from 10 or more sources with thorough coverage) to handle vulnerabilities.
- Threat Watch: A dashboard for monitoring any problems with the zero-day vulnerabilities in your environment.
- Bill of materials (BOM) reporting for agentless applications and security vulnerability testing for virtual machine snapshots.
Pros
- The implementation process is straightforward, and the user interface is highly intuitive.
- It provides seamless integration with Jira, Slack, PagerDuty, and other platforms.
- Users can create custom security policies and ensure compliance with popular standards like SOC2, ISO, HIPAA, CIS, and PCI/DSS.
- The platform is supported by renowned security researchers and leading venture capitalists worldwide.
- It offers multi-tenancy support, role-based access control, and history tracking for enhanced security and accountability.
Cons
- No cons as of the moment.
PingSafe’s Starter plan commences at 2000 USD per month.
#2 AWS GuardDuty
AWS GuardDuty is a managed threat detection service offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS). It is designed to provide continuous monitoring and intelligent threat detection for AWS accounts and workloads. GuardDuty helps organizations protect their AWS resources and data by identifying potential security threats and suspicious activities.
Features:
- Amazon GuardDuty offers efficient compromised account threat detection, which can be challenging to identify rapidly if you are not continuously monitoring relevant parameters in close to real-time. GuardDuty is able to spot indications of account compromise, such as access to AWS resources from an odd location or at an unusual time of day.
- AWS account and workload data from AWS CloudTrail, VPC Flow Logs, and DNS Logs are continuously monitored and assessed by Amazon GuardDuty. By connecting your AWS accounts, you may aggregate threat detection rather than working account by account.
- Three levels of severity are available in Amazon GuardDuty to help clients organize their responses to potential assaults.
- If your resource is marked as having “Low” sensitivity, this signifies that suspicious or harmful behavior was stopped before it might endanger it.
- A “Medium” level risk indicates questionable conduct. For example, there was behavior that wasn’t right, or a large amount of traffic was routed to a distant host that was hidden by the Tor network.
- A resource with a “High” severity level, such as an Amazon EC2 instance or a set of IAM user credentials, has been hacked and is currently being used for evil.
Pros:
- Your AWS Account Is Safe From All Threats
- Checks every event often to let you know when your account has been used.
- Multiple AWS Accounts Can Be Managed for You by AWS Guardduty
Cons:
- Costly in comparison to other similar services, and it depends on other AWS services to perform at its peak
You can enjoy a free trial for the initial 30 days, allowing you to explore and utilize all the functions without any charges. Once this trial period expires, your billing will depend on the number of CloudTrail Events, DNS Logs, and Flow Logs you generate. The payment structure ensures that you only pay for the detection capacity you actively utilize, aligning with your usage pattern.
#3 Orca
The third on the list of Cloud Workload Protection Platforms is Orca Security. By locating and fixing vulnerabilities in a variety of apps and operating systems in cloud settings like AWS and Azure, Orca Security is primarily utilized for cloud security management. It enables the monitoring of the security posture of the cloud and offers corrective actions and compliance reports.
Features:
- API
- Access Controls/Permissions
- Activity Dashboard
- Activity Monitoring
- Alerts/Notifications
- Anomaly/Malware Detection
- Anti Virus
- Application Security
Pros:
- Scanning
- CSPM
- IAM Roles
Cons:
- Kubernetes
- Docker containers
- Serverless
Orca security is priced at USD $50000 for a year. You can also get a free trial.
#4 Aqua Security
A strong cybersecurity platform specifically designed for cloud-native and containerized apps is Aqua Security. It excels at protecting cloud environments from online dangers and guaranteeing the security of your containerized applications.
Key features:
- Comprehensive protection for containerized applications is provided by container security.
- Identifies and fixes potential security flaws through vulnerability scanning.
- Runtime Protection: Ongoing container monitoring and threat detection in real time.
Pros:
- Specialized Focus: Addressing certain security requirements while being tailored for containerized environments.
- Full Security: Provides a comprehensive set of security capabilities for cloud-native apps.
- Real-Time Monitoring: Offers capability for ongoing threat identification and reaction.
- Integration: Easily integrates with current CI/CD and container orchestration workflows.
Cons:
- Complexity: For novices, setting up and configuring security policies might be difficult.
- Resource-intensive: Needs more resources for ongoing protection and monitoring.
- Learning curve: It could take some time for users to become comfortable with container security ideas.
Contact Aqua security team to get pricing quote.
#5 Sophos
For network security and unified threat management, Sophos is a cybersecurity system that provides detection and response, firewall, cloud, and managed service solutions.
Key Features:
- Provides powerful, real-time protection against the most recent malware, viruses, ransomware, malicious software, hacking attempts, and more, going well beyond typical antivirus.
- Additionally, it offers choices for parental web filtering and remote antivirus administration for as many as ten devices.04
Pros:
- A simple interface for configuring rules, VLANs, etc.
- The price of the units is acceptable.
- If any problems occur, contacting and communicating with Sophos Support is simple.
Cons:
- Implementing and managing multiple Sophos solutions may require more technical expertise and resources.
- It may require manual intervention to resolve false positives.
Sophos pricing plan ranges from $34.99 to $44.99 per year..
#6 Prisma Cloud
For multi-cloud systems, Prisma Cloud is what gives users visibility, security, and compliance monitoring. Inadequate infrastructure-as-code (IAC) setups can be found and vulnerabilities can be found with the use of Prisma Public Cloud. To evaluate security concerns, it takes advantage of machine learning.
Features:
- This service is compatible with central payer accounts for Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure (Azure), and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
- The service will be actively watched over by ISO, who will alert administrators if a problem is found.
- Extends cloud-based vulnerability monitoring and intrusion detection.
Pros:
- Comprehensive Cloud Security
- Threat Intelligence and Behavioral Analytics
Cons:
- Limited Network-level Security
- Prisma Cloud’s pricing structure can be complex
#7 Microsoft Defender
In order to provide integrated defense against complex assaults, Microsoft 365 Defender is a unified pre- and post-breach enterprise defense package that natively coordinates detection, prevention, investigation, and response across endpoints, identities, email, and applications.
Features:
- Threat detection and response
- Management of security posture
- Identity and access management
Pros:
- Real-Time Protection
- Cloud-Based Protection
Cons:
- There may be compatibility problems between some third-party security programs and Microsoft Defender.
- Limited Customizability
Microsoft cloud defender pricing has multiple options. It ranges from $0.007server/hour to $15/instance/month. There are different kinds of pricing plans available and you can choose what fits you best.
#8 Sysdig
With Docker and Kubernetes integrated into its cloud, container, and microservices-friendly design, Sysdig offers a unified platform to deliver security, monitoring, and forensics.
Features:
- Security auditing solution monitors the behavior of containers, hosts, and networks.
- You can continuously examine your infrastructure for problems, identify irregularities, and receive alerts regarding any Linux system calls.
Pros:
- Sysdig provides deep visibility into system behavior, allowing users to monitor and analyze system activities at a granular level.
- Container-centric approach
Cons:
- Cost may be a factor for organizations with limited budgets or smaller deployments.
- Dependency on agents.
Pricing starts from $20 per month. There is a free trial available too.
#9 Wiz
Wiz is a CNAPP that combines container and Kubernetes security, vulnerability management, vulnerability scanning, CIEM, DSPM, and CSPM, KSPM, and CWPP into a single platform.
Features:
- Snapshot Scanning
- Inventory and Asset Management
- Secrets Scanning and Analysis
Pros:
- For development teams, Wiz offers direct visibility, risk prioritization, and remediation recommendations so they can handle issues in their own infrastructure and applications and ship more quickly and safely.
Cons:
- Limited platform support
- Cost considerations
Wiz has not provided pricing information for this product or service. Contact Wiz to obtain current pricing.
#10 VMWare Carbon Black Workload
The incident response and threat hunting solution VMware Carbon Black EDR (formerly Cb Response) is made for security operations center (SOC) teams with offline environments or on-premises needs.
Features:
- Ensures the security of virtualized workloads, containers, and cloud instances, effectively protecting valuable assets from potential threats and vulnerabilities.
- Advanced behavioral analysis and machine learning
Pros:
- Carbon Black Workload detects and thwarts attacks in real time.
- It seamlessly integrates with other VMware products, providing a streamlined and efficient security management experience.
Cons:
- Using VMware Carbon Black might need some training.
- Due to its unique user interface users familiar with alternative platforms might benefit from additional training to navigate and effectively utilize the system.
Pricing details for this product from VMware are currently unavailable, but you can get in touch with their sales team to request personalized quotes and pricing information.
#11 Redlock
RedLock is a cloud security and compliance platform with an emphasis on securing public cloud infrastructure. It provides helpful insights and compliance automation. RedLock is currently a part of Palo Alto Networks.
Key features:
- Analytics for cloud security: Provides information on the dangers of cloud security.
- Threat detection: The immediate detection of dangers and suspicious activity.
- Automation of compliance: Checks and reporting are automated.
- Protects assets across several cloud providers with multi-cloud support.
Pros:
- An all-encompassing perspective of the cloud security posture is provided through comprehensive visibility.
- Rapid response to security problems is made possible by real-time threat detection.
- Compliance Automation: Facilitates management of compliance.
Cons:
- Cost: The complete feature set could have a hefty price tag.
- Complexity: Skill may be needed to implement all aspects properly.
- Integration difficulties: Integrating with current security tools can occasionally be difficult.
Contact Redlock team to get pricing details.
Selecting the best CWPP Tool
As businesses progress, the demand for a CWPP (Cloud Workload Protection Platform) continues to rise. The market offers numerous options, but not all of them provide comprehensive features. Hence, when comparing different cloud workload protection vendors, it’s essential to consider the following points:
- As enterprise infrastructure evolves, with a growing emphasis on hybrid and multi-cloud architectures, effective Cloud Workload Protection Platforms should safeguard physical machines, VMs, containers, and serverless workloads.
- It should be possible to centrally manage a CWPP from a single console, utilizing a unified set of APIs for streamlined administration.
- A comprehensive CWPP solution should offer API accessibility for all its functionalities, facilitating automation in cloud environments.
- CWPP vendors should be capable of sharing their roadmap and architectural design for protecting serverless environments.
Conclusion
In this article, you have learned about Cloud Workload Protection Platforms. You also saw the top 10 cloud workload protection platforms that you might need.
In conclusion, the landscape of cloud security is evolving at a rapid pace, and the need for robust protection measures is paramount for organizations entrusting their workloads to the cloud. Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) offer a comprehensive solution for safeguarding cloud-based applications and data against an ever-expanding array of threats.
