Understanding Cloud Workload Protection (CWP)

What is Cloud Workload Protection?

Cloud Workload Protection (CWP) is the process of monitoring for and responding to cybersecurity risks that impact applications or data in the cloud.

In some respects, CWP is similar to securing any type of workload. For example, scanning applications for vulnerabilities is important whether the applications run on-prem or in the cloud. That said, cloud workload security is different because cloud workloads differ from on-prem workloads in several critical ways:

• Cloud workloads typically operate on infrastructure controlled by a third party, which restricts the types of monitoring data that businesses can collect when securing cloud workloads.
• Access to cloud workloads is managed using cloud service providers’ Identity and Access Management (IAM) frameworks, rather than access controls implemented on-prem.
• Cloud workloads are always connected to the Internet (at least indirectly, as a firewall may isolate cloud-based apps from the Internet). This heightens security risks because there is always a potential for threat actors to access cloud workloads remotely.
• Cloud workloads can be deployed using many different types of cloud services – such as cloud servers, serverless functions, or container orchestrators, to name just a few options. Each type of deployment service poses unique security risks and challenges, which complicates security operations because there is no uniform set of best practices that can guarantee security across all types of cloud workloads.

CWP addresses challenges like these to help keep cloud workloads secure.

Why is CWP important?

Cloud workloads are subject to unique types of risks and challenges, and traditional security tools and techniques don’t always address them well.

This issue is far from theoretical. For example, consider the data breach that AT&T announced in the summer of 2024. AT&T says that the breach, which affected about 110 million customers, occurred because customer data “was illegally downloaded from our workspace on a third-party cloud platform.”

Like most businesses impacted by cloud security breaches, the company has not shared detailed technical data about exactly what happened. But based on the statement above, it appears that AT&T stored data on a public cloud platform, and that threat actors found a way to bypass the security controls that were supposed to protect that data from unauthorized access. In this case, Cloud Workload Protection might have helped to prevent the breach by identifying the access control misconfigurations that presumably led to the incident.

This is just one example of a major data breach that CWP could potentially have helped to prevent, and we can’t fault AT&T in any particular way for the incident. The cloud is a complex place, with many moving pieces and configurations that are often byzantine in nature. Given all of this complexity – and the fact that cloud resources can be easily accessed over the Internet – it’s all too easy to make a mistake that leads to breaches like the one described above.

CWP challenges

Beyond the sheer complexity of the cloud, implementing effective Cloud Workload Protection can be challenging for several specific reasons:

• Shared responsibility models: Cloud service providers operate based on a shared responsibility model. Under this type of model, the providers handle some aspects of security, while expecting their customers to address others. Sometimes, customers misunderstand these requirements and fail to take appropriate steps to secure cloud workloads.
• Constant change: In the cloud, workloads tend to change frequently. Resource consumption patterns fluctuate as applications scale up and down, for example, and developers may push out application updates on a regular basis. Because of this rapid change, there is no “normal” baseline against which security teams can identify anomalies in cloud security. You can’t simply assume, for instance, that a sudden spike in CPU usage correlates with an attack. It might, but it could also just mean your workload scaled up.
• Multiple security risks: Security issues can appear in cloud workloads in many different ways – from malware in cloud environments, to insecure configurations within the application itself, to IAM misconfigurations and beyond. Because of this diversity, there is no single type of tool or scan that can catch all cloud workload security issues.

Types of CWP

To implement CWP, businesses typically use a Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP), which provides CWP capabilities that work across cloud environments.

All CWP tools function in the same basic way: They scan and monitor cloud workloads to detect security risks, and then alert teams as needed. That said, there are several ways to implement CWP, each with different pros and cons. The most common techniques include:

• Host-based: CWP software runs on the cloud server that hosts applications. This method is straightforward to deploy, but it doesn’t work when dealing with types of cloud services (like serverless functions) where you can’t directly access the underlying servers.
• Container-based: CWP software runs in containers, typically using a sidecar model (which means that the CWP agent runs in a “sidecar” container alongside the application containers it monitors). This is more complex to implement, but it’s effective for monitoring applications that run across a cluster of servers. It’s also possible to embed CWP software directly into containers or serverless functions using solutions like Aqua’s MicroEnforcer. This approach can improve performance while simplifying deployment.
• Kernel-based: Using technologylike eBPF, it’s possible to monitor cloud workloads directly through operating system kernels. This method is more efficient than running traditional CWP agents on hosts or in sidecar containers, but it requires low-level access to host servers, which isn’t always available in the cloud.

Each type of CWP has implications for how difficult it is to deploy and how much resource “overhead” it imposes (overhead means the CPU and memory resources consumed by CWP software, which can increase the load – and the costs – associated with a cloud environment). However, all CWP deployment methods provide access to the same types of information for detecting and mitigating cloud security risks.

That said, some CWP software offers advanced features – like AI-driven security controls and the ability to enforce zero-trust security models for cloud workloads – that aren’t available from other solutions. Thus, when comparing types of CWP, it’s important to look not just at the deployment model, but also at features and capabilities.

CWP benefits

CWP benefits organizations by reducing their risk of experiencing cloud security breaches. As noted above, traditional security methods and tools don’t excel at addressing the special security risks that arise in the cloud. CWP closes this gap, helping to ensure that businesses can benefit from the scalability of the cloud without compromising on security.

In addition, CWP can help software developers, security analysts, and IT staff to operate more efficiently. That is because CWP helps to identify risks proactively. Rather than waiting for a breach to occur and finding themselves responding under stressful, emergency conditions, teams can use CWP tools to find and fix flaws before threat actors exploit them.

Best practices for Cloud Workload Protection

To get the most out of CWP, consider the following best practices.

Leverage all CWP capabilities

Because cloud security risks come in many forms, it’s not enough only to scan applications or only to validate their configurations. Instead, use all available CWP capabilities to maximize your chances of detecting all relevant risks, no matter where they reside.

Prioritize risks

Not all cloud workload security risks are equally severe. For instance, a vulnerability in an application that runs inside a dev/test environment in a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) and is not accessible publicly is typically less severe than one that affects a public-facing app. To ensure that your teams know which problems to tackle first, prioritize risks based on the level of potential harm that could stem from an uncorrected issue.

Centralize CWP

The many types of workloads and services that exist in the cloud can make it challenging to identifya and manage all risks efficiently. To simplify the process, centralize CWP such that you can track insights and alerts from a central control plane. You don’t want to have to toggle between different tools to manage different types of workloads, for example.

Integrate CWP into the SDLC

CWP delivers the greatest level of protection when cloud workload scans and tests are embedded into the software development lifecycle (SDLC). Rather than testing or monitoring applications only after you’ve deployed them into the cloud, begin testing early, as part of a shift-left security strategy.

Aqua’s approach to CWP

As a complete Cloud Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP), Aqua provides the CWP capabilities businesses need to secure e workloads in a cloud-centric world. Whether you deploy applications to the cloud using cloud servers, containers, serverless functions, or virtually any other type of cloud service, Aqua provides the workload testing, scanning, and validation features you need to identify, prioritize, and respond to cloud security risks.

To see for yourself, schedule a demo.