Critical Evolution of Cloud Detection and Response

When Conventional Security Meets Modern Cloud Threats

As organizations face these cross-domain attacks, the inability to connect cloud context with detection and alerting is reaching its breaking point. Most organizations begin their cloud security journey focused on visibility through CNAPP solutions. CNAPP identifies misconfigurations, excessive permissions and vulnerabilities before they can be exploited — essential capabilities for reducing risk and maintaining a strong security posture. However, the nature of modern cloud environments and sophisticated attack patterns creates challenges that require additional real-time detection and response capabilities.

Meanwhile, traditional threat detection tools, built for on-premises environments where infrastructure is largely static, predictable and centralized, struggle with cloud architecture. These tools cannot effectively track and protect distributed, ephemeral resources like containers and auto-scaling VMs that may exist for only minutes or seconds. 

For security teams, this creates a perfect storm. Differentiating between true positives, false positives and intentional activity is increasingly complex in today’s cloud environments; stopping attacks quickly is more difficult when resources are ephemeral; and implementing long-term preventive measures requires new approaches.

Defining Modern Cloud Detection and Response

These challenges demand a new approach to cloud security. Modern CNAPP solutions must evolve to include CDR capabilities. CDR enhances CNAPP’s proactive security foundation by providing autonomous detection and response capabilities designed for cloud-native environments. It offers real-time threat detection through advanced behavioral analysis, focusing on runtime protection and adversary behavior alongside configuration and posture management. Together, CNAPP’s proactive controls and CDR’s runtime protection provide comprehensive coverage against sophisticated threats.

The relationship between CNAPP and CDR creates a virtuous cycle of continuous improvement: CDR enhances CNAPP’s proactive security foundation while feeding valuable runtime insights back into preventive controls. When runtime protection is truly contextualized, it provides deeper visibility than posture management alone. This helps teams understand what’s exploitable, detect deviations from the norm and continuously strengthen their security posture.