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Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)

Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) is a category of tools that continuously monitor cloud environments for misconfigurations, compliance risks, and security gaps, helping organizations reduce the likelihood of breaches in public and hybrid cloud.

What is CSPM?How it typically works?Common techniquesImpactFurther reading

What is CSPM?

Cloud adoption has transformed IT, but it has also created new risks. Misconfigured storage buckets, exposed databases, and overly permissive roles are among the most common causes of cloud breaches. CSPM tools address this challenge by automatically scanning configurations in platforms such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. For SecOps teams, CSPM provides continuous visibility into whether cloud resources comply with best practices and regulatory frameworks, reducing the attack surface created by human error.

How it typically works?

  1. Integration: CSPM connects to cloud provider APIs without deploying agents.
  2. Discovery: it inventories resources across accounts and regions.
  3. Assessment: configurations are checked against benchmarks like CIS and NIST.
  4. Alerting: non-compliant resources are flagged for remediation.
  5. Remediation: some CSPM tools auto-fix issues such as enabling encryption or closing ports.

Common techniques

  • Compliance monitoring: check resources against GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS standards.
  • Misconfiguration detection: alert when cloud storage is publicly exposed.
  • IAM role analysis: detect excessive permissions and privilege escalation risks.
  • Network visibility: identify open ports or unprotected endpoints.
  • Drift detection: monitor for changes that break compliance after deployment.
  • Integration with CI/CD: shift-left security by scanning templates before deployment.

Impact

CSPM reduces the risk of cloud breaches by catching misconfigurations early, often before attackers can exploit them. It also streamlines compliance audits by providing continuous evidence of controls.

However, CSPM is not a complete solution. It does not detect runtime attacks or application-level vulnerabilities, which is why it should be paired with workload protection and application security. For SecOps, CSPM is an essential foundation of cloud security hygiene.

Further reading

Related topics

CASBContainer SecurityZero Trust Security