Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP)
A Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP) is a security solution that provides comprehensive threat detection, vulnerability management, and runtime protection for workloads running across cloud environments, including virtual machines, containers, and serverless functions.
Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) are designed to secure the diverse range of compute workloads that organizations deploy in the cloud. Unlike perimeter-based security tools, CWPPs focus on protecting the workloads themselves, regardless of where they run, providing consistent security across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
CWPPs offer several core capabilities including vulnerability assessment, which scans workloads for known CVEs and misconfigurations. They provide integrity monitoring to detect unauthorized changes to files, configurations, or system binaries. Network micro-segmentation capabilities allow fine-grained control over traffic between workloads, limiting lateral movement opportunities for attackers.
Runtime protection is a key differentiator of CWPP solutions. By monitoring system calls, process execution, and network activity, CWPPs can detect and block malicious behavior in real time. This is particularly important for container and serverless workloads where traditional endpoint protection agents cannot be deployed. Leading CWPP solutions also integrate with CI/CD pipelines to shift security left, scanning container images and infrastructure-as-code templates before deployment. Organizations adopting cloud-native architectures should evaluate CWPPs as a critical layer in their defense-in-depth strategy.