Evolving threats to cloud, code, and artificial intelligence are bringing new tools from leading security industry vendors.
As threats targeting cloud environments and AI-driven applications continue to increase, the demand for cloud security tools and code that leverage the latest advances in detection and prevention is likely to continue unabated. Analysts at research firm Gartner recently forecast that security software spending will grow 14.2 percent in 2025, year over year, to reach $100.69 billion. Notably, increased spending is expected to be driven in part by GenAI-enabled attacks, as predicted by Gartner.
(Related: Top 10 Cloud Security Startups of 2024 (So Far))
An executive at cybersecurity powerhouse Optiv told CRN it's not surprising to see significant growth in cybersecurity spending expected for 2025. “I think the second half (of 2024) will be strong, and I think next year will be even stronger,” Scott said. Jori, senior vice president of partners, alliances and ecosystems at Denver-based Optiv, is No. 25 on CRN's 2024 Solution Provider 500 list.
When it comes to cyber threats impacting customers, Gori pointed to the expansion of emerging threat vectors such as GenAI-enabled attacks as a growing focus.
Meanwhile, adoption of CNAPP, or Cloud Application Protection Platform, remains a growing priority for many organizations. CNAPP combines cloud and code security capabilities into a unified platform, improving cloud threat prioritization and making it easier for security teams to manage tools, according to Gartner, which coined the term. CNAPP's core capabilities include a variety of tools: Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), Cloud Workload Protection (CWP), Cloud Infrastructure Entitlements Management (CIEM) and more.
CNAPP is critical in part because when it comes to protecting the cloud and applications, it has become clear that tools for improving cloud visibility by detecting misconfigurations are not able to fully protect an organization, experts told CRN.
As part of CRN's 2024 Cybersecurity Week, we've collected details on 10 recently launched cloud and code security products that have been on our radar, including from vendors like Palo Alto Networks, Wiz, SentinelOne, and CrowdStrike.
Here are 10 cool new cloud and token security tools to know about in 2024.
Aqua: LLM-based application security
In May, Aqua Security launched the latest enhancements to its “code-to-cloud” security offering with the launch of LLM-based application protection. The new capabilities will enable organizations to secure LLM-based applications in terms of development and operation, the company said. Key functionality includes code integrity through the deployment of scanning technology as well as real-time monitoring of LLM-based workloads and GenAI assurance policies to provide guardrails against risky use of LLM, according to Aqua.
CrowdStrike: Falcon Cloud Security AI-SPM
In September, CrowdStrike announced major updates to its Falcon Cloud Security offering, including the introduction of artificial intelligence security posture management (AI-SPM). The cybersecurity giant said the new tool will monitor security issues related to AI services and LLMs running in the cloud – providing misconfiguration detection, vulnerability identification and remediation capabilities. Additionally, CrowdStrike unveiled its Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) offering for Falcon Cloud Security, leveraging the company's acquisition this year of Flow Security.
Microsoft: Defender of cloud updates
During the Build 2024 conference in May, Microsoft announced that it had upgraded Defender for Cloud to provide enhanced protection for AI applications. The company said the product features AI security posture management capabilities to find AI services, AI tools, and vulnerabilities. Defender for Cloud has native integration with Azure AI Content Safety so teams can monitor Azure OpenAl applications for direct and indirect zero-hour injection attacks, sensitive data leaks and other threats, according to Microsoft.
Netskope: SaaS security powered by GenAI
Netskope has unveiled new updates to its CASB (Cloud Access Security Broker) offering that provides greater GenAI capabilities to protect SaaS usage. With the addition of generative AI to its CASB offering on the Netskope One platform, the vendor said it is the “first” security services provider (SSE) to combine CASB and GenAI. The functionality involves integrating a GenAI-powered engine into Netskope's SaaS security risk classification, which enables the offering to extract application context and then correlate that information with more than 50 SaaS application attributes, the company said.
Orca Security: Detect and respond to cloud threats
Orca Security announced that it has expanded its cloud detection and response capabilities, including offering an enhanced user experience featuring an “event-driven” security dashboard. Orca also said it has unveiled a cloud-neutral taxonomy that categorizes security events using “cloud-neutral” terminology, in order to provide a common language for security teams covering their CDR workflows. Additionally, Orca said unified event data streaming and event-based alerts are now available.
Palo Alto Networks: Cortex XSIAM for the Cloud
Palo Alto Networks has unveiled a product offering aimed at delivering new cloud security functionality through its XSIAM (Extensible Security Intelligence and Automation Management) security operations platform. The offering, Cortex XSIAM for Cloud, includes a new cloud command center that provides end-to-end visibility into cloud assets, according to the cybersecurity giant. Meanwhile, the company said the inclusion of a new cloud security agent as part of XSIAM for Cloud enables core capabilities such as cloud detection and response (CDR). In addition, besides bringing together multiple cloud security tools, XSIAM For Cloud also brings cloud security data into one central data lake, the company said.
SentinelOne: Cloud-native security
In May, SentinelOne announced the launch of the Singularity Cloud Native Security platform, which the company said combines agent-based and agentless CNAPP capabilities to protect against cloud threats. Key functionality includes an “offensive security engine” that provides simulation of attacker tactics that can enable detection and remediation of exploitable cloud assets, according to the company. The platform was built after SentinelOne's acquisition earlier this year of application security company PingSafe.
Snake: AppRisk Pro
Building on Snyk's first offering of Application Security Posture Management (ASPM) last year, AppRisk, the developer security platform vendor, has announced the launch of AppRisk Pro. The company said the offering includes basic capabilities such as the ability to trace insecure parts of applications to specific components in the code that need to be fixed. Other key capabilities include combining a “unique level of prioritization” with developer-focused tools to address and prevent vulnerabilities, according to Snake.
Defensible: Vulnerability Intelligence and Exposure Response
Tenable announced that it now offers additional “context-based” prioritization and response features – including in its Tenable Cloud Security platform – called Vulnerability Intelligence and Exposure Response. The features represent an advancement by providing context to vulnerability data, according to the company. This includes context from internal and external sources, “enabling organizations to close exposures that pose the greatest risks to their business,” Tenable said in a press release.
Code Wiz
In September, fast-growing cloud security and AI company Wiz unveiled its new offering for tracking security risks down to application code. The offering, Wiz Code, links potential attack paths and other risks associated with the cloud with the specific source code (and its developer), according to the company. Wiz Code also makes it possible to address discovered issues “directly within the code,” Wiz co-founder Yinon Costica wrote in a blog post. The end result is an agile process for remediating cloud- and code-related risks that is also more efficient and implemented “straight from the source,” Kostica wrote.
