What is CNAPP?

A Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) is a unified security solution that protects modern, cloud-native applications from development through production. It integrates multiple cloud security functions into a single platform, helping organizations identify misconfigurations, vulnerabilities and excessive permissions early in the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC).

This “shift-left” approach embeds security into CI/CD pipelines, enabling teams to scan containers and cloud configurations for vulnerabilities in code and fix them before they reach production. By detecting issues during development rather than at runtime, CNAPP reduces remediation costs, minimizes operational disruption and supports faster application delivery.

Why cloud-native environments need CNAPP

Since cloud-native environments rely on scalable technologies like containers and serverless functions, having this architecture spread across multiple cloud providers introduces security vulnerabilities that expand attack surfaces. Challenges like shifting permissions, misconfigurations and unevenly distributed resources can make maintaining consistent security policies even more difficult in cloud-native environments.

CNAPPs are designed to meet these demands by providing teams with full visibility across cloud workloads and configurations, enabling security teams to detect and respond to threats in real time. Full visibility is essential in runtime environments, where active threats like ransomware or privilege escalation can exploit exposed workloads. CNAPPs continuously monitor dynamic cloud infrastructure and enforce security controls throughout the CI/CD pipeline.

Key components of a CNAPP

A CNAPP combines multiple cloud security capabilities into a unified platform to secure cloud-native applications across the SDLC. Each component addresses a different layer of the cloud stack to reduce overall security risk and improve operations.

Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)

Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) continuously monitors cloud configurations to identify and remediate compliance gaps, policy violations and misconfigurations. It provides real-time visibility into multi-cloud environments, helping teams avoid issues like unencrypted databases or over-permissioned accounts. As part of a CNAPP, CSPM enforces security and compliance from the beginning stages of development.

Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP)

A Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP) secures containers and Virtual Machines (VMs) against runtime threats by using behavioral analysis to detect suspicious activity, such as malware infections or unauthorized file changes, in real time. Within a CNAPP, a CWPP ensures that cloud-native applications remain protected even after deployment, as traditional perimeter-based security becomes increasingly ineffective.

Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM)

Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) manages access and permissions across cloud services, giving visibility into both human identities and Non-Human Identities (NHIs). It enforces least-privilege access, identifies unused or overprivileged accounts and reduces the risk of lateral movement. As a crucial part of a CNAPP, CIEM ensures that access to cloud resources is closely monitored and continuously evaluated.

How CNAPP works

Instead of relying on separate tools for misconfiguration scanning and Identity and Access Management (IAM), a CNAPP consolidates cloud security functions — mainly CSPM, CWPP and CIEM — into a unified platform. By combining these capabilities, a CNAPP reduces tool sprawl, enhances visibility and enables security teams to enforce policies more efficiently across cloud-native environments. A CNAPP closes identity security gaps that can emerge in fast-moving, multi-cloud environments, ensuring policies are not only defined at the organizational level but also consistently enforced in regular practices.

In addition, a CNAPP plays a crucial role in complementing Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) platforms. While IGA manages the full user access lifecycle, a CNAPP focuses on real-time policy enforcement and misconfiguration monitoring across the entire cloud environment. Together, CNAPP and IGA combine top-down and bottom-up approaches to secure identity access across cloud-native infrastructure.

Benefits of CNAPP for cloud security

CNAPPs provide comprehensive security coverage for cloud-native applications by unifying visibility, policy enforcement and real-time monitoring in one platform. This approach to cloud security offers several benefits for security teams operating in multi-cloud environments:

Full visibility from code to runtime: CNAPPs monitor every stage of the application lifecycle, from container images to live cloud workloads. By assessing security risks across configurations and runtime behavior, security teams can minimize the attack surface.
Contextual risk scoring: CNAPPs use contextual factors, such as workload sensitivity or lateral movement potential, to determine the risk severity of critical vulnerabilities. This scoring helps teams focus their efforts where they’re needed most.
Built for dynamic, scalable environments: Designed specifically for cloud environments, CNAPPs scale across public, private and hybrid cloud providers. They easily adapt to ephemeral workloads without requiring constant reconfiguration.
Supports DevSecOps practices: CNAPPs integrate into CI/CD pipelines, allowing DevOps security to become a staple of the development process. Security teams can scan code, containers and configurations before deployment without slowing an application’s release.
Faster incident response and compliance: With real-time visibility and automated policy enforcement, CNAPPs enhance threat detection, streamline remediation, and simplify auditing to meet regulatory frameworks such as HIPAA and PCI DSS.