Security policies and compliance standards aren’t enough to protect digital assets these days. Almost every company runs into cloud security challenges; cloud storage is a critical part of your cloud footprint, and the right policies must also be enforced.
Choosing the best cloud security tools for your organization can dramatically improve your cloud security posture. As enterprises shift to Agile cloud setups and go multi-cloud, using the right security tools makes a big difference. This guide will cover everything you need to know about them.
What is a Cloud Security Tool?
A cloud security tool is a dedicated security solution that will perform a complete inventory of all your cloud data, assets, and applications. It will conduct automated asset inventory and give the organization visibility of its cloud resources. Cloud security tools can mitigate shadow IT attacks and handle unmanaged services. They can prioritize securing assets by assigning risk scores and responding effectively to protect them. Security teams can develop appropriate risk mitigation plans for managing these risks and test the effectiveness of their actions.
Here’s an overview of what to look for in a cloud security tool:
- Business requirements: Your cloud security tool must align with your business requirements. It involves understanding your industry concerns and client requirements and finding solutions that align with them.
- Team’s knowledge and experience: Some cloud security tools can have a steep learning curve, while others are more beginner-friendly. You want cloud security tools that streamline compliance. Your cloud security tools should be easy to use and feature simple dashboards. A unified console can consolidate security features, minimize risks, and reduce the need for ongoing maintenance.
- Budget and pricing considerations: Startups with strong in-house teams may prefer open-source cloud security tools. The more expensive paid options will give you access to advanced, normally unavailable features with free solutions.
- Integrations and preventive controls: Your cloud security tool should support third-party integrations, be compatible with multi-cloud setups, and work with cloud-native apps and services.
Need for Cloud Security Tools
Over 20% of businesses have yet to learn what aspects of their business costs relate to the cloud. Cloud apps remain unsanctioned, and organizations focus on reducing the total cost of ownership by migrating their business to the public cloud. Most organizations use a mix of multiple public and private clouds. With the rise of remote work, cloud usage adoption is increasing, which means there is an imminent need for cutting-edge cloud security tools. Choosing the right tools can help organizations protect their data, secure customers, and safeguard assets.
It is more than just the company’s reputation at stake; it is also its financial future. Good cloud security tools can ensure information integrity and authenticity and verify sources. They also optimize business processes and help organizations function much more effectively.
Cloud Security Tools in 2024
Look at the top cloud security tools based on Gartner Peer Insights ratings and reviews. Uncover their key features, cloud integrations, and overall ease of use.
#1. SentinelOne
SentinelOne is a global leader in enterprise cybersecurity powered by AI. It features one platform that protects all endpoints, clouds, and data. SentinelOne has been a Magic Quadrant™ Leader four years in a row. The company ranks #1 for protection across all MITRE evaluations. It offers the industry’s most awarded cloud security suite and the first AI security platform to protect the entire enterprise. SentinelOne breaks down security silos and grants enterprise-wide visibility and control. It eliminates risks, puts your data to work, and consolidates multiple security products to maximize business value.
Platform at a Glance
- SentinelOne Singularity™ Platform enables unfettered visibility, industry-leading detection, and autonomous response. It builds the right foundation for enterprise-wide security.
- Singularity™ Cloud Security from SentinelOne is the ultimate integrated CNAPP solution for enterprises. It offers features like Kubernetes Security Posture Management (KSPM), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP), Cloud Detection and Response (CDR), AI Security Posture Management (AI-SPM), External Attack Surface and Management (EASM), Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM), Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) Scanning, and Vulnerability Management.
- Singularity™ Identity provides active protection for your cloud identity infrastructure. It responds to in-progress attacks, deceives network adversaries, and offers holistic Active Directory and Entra ID solutions. Singularity™ Cloud Workload Security provides real-time hybrid cloud workload protection across AWS, Azure, GCP, and your private cloud or data center. It secures cloud servers, VMs, containers, and Kubernetes. You will auto-discover unprotected cloud compute instances and get support for 15 Linux distros, 20 years of Windows servers, and 3 container runtimes.
Best Features
- Unified data lake: Singularity™ Data Lake by SentinelOne centralizes and transforms your data into real-time threat intelligence for rapid investigations. Its AI-driven unified data lake can perform lightning-fast queries, ingest data from any first-party or third-party source using pre-built connectors, and automatically normalize using the OCSF standard—Automate response with built-in alert correlation and custom STAR Rules.
- Gen AI analyst: Purple AI accelerates SecOps using Generative AI and enhances data privacy and protection. It supports the Open Cybersecurity Schema Framework (OCSF) to query native and partner data instantly in a normalized view.
- Offensive Security Engine™: SentinelOne helps organizations outsmart attackers with its unique Offensive Security Engine™ and Verified Exploit Paths™. Its patented Storylines technology empowers organizations with deep visibility.
- Digital forensics: Singularity™ RemoteOps Forensics accelerates incident response with unified digital forensics and streamlines investigation workflows.
Core Problems that SentinelOne eliminates:
- Stops fileless attacks, malware infections, ransomware, and phishing threats
- Eliminates social engineering activities and removes unauthorized access privileges
- Solves multi-cloud compliance challenges for all industries and fixes inefficient workflows
- Ensures business continuity and prevents downtimes
- Identifies vulnerabilities in CI/CD pipelines, container registries, repos, and more
- Discovers unknown cloud deployments and fixes misconfigurations
“Provides excellent workload telemetry, hunting capabilities, and deep visibility. The most valuable feature is the ability to gain deep visibility into the workloads inside containers. The visibility of workload telemetry is excellent, and the hunting capabilities are second to none.
When no human intervention is required Singularity Cloud Workload Security detects and remediates nearly instantaneously. Our MTTD is sub 30 days. Our MTTR is seven days after detection for most instances. The interoperability with third-party solutions is great!” -Senior Software Engineer, PeerSpot Reviews
Look at Singularity™ Cloud Security’s ratings and review counts on peer-review platforms such as Gartner Peer Insights and PeerSpot.
#2. Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Microsoft Defender for Cloud integrates with Azure, offering visibility and threat protection across multi-cloud environments. In contrast, SentinelOne’s Singularity Cloud Security uses AI-driven threat detection and automated response capabilities that robustly protect complex ecosystems. SentinelOne also has a lower setup cost, another significant factor to consider.
Features:
- Protects multi-cloud and hybrid environments with integrated security from code to cloud
- Unifies visibility across Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, and hybrid clouds
- Prevents, detects, and responds to attacks across multi-cloud security workloads with integrated extended detection and response (XDR) protection.
- Applies multi-cloud compliance policies, attack path analysis, and prevents Infrastructure-as-Code security misconfigurations
See how Microsoft Defender for Cloud fares in the cloud security landscape by going through the various reviews at PeerSpot.
#3. Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks
Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks analyzes web-based threats and remediates malware attacks. It secures high-performing connectivity for remote workers and is a Cloud Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) for code-to-cloud security. It secures every application lifecycle stage and eliminates risks across code/build, infrastructure, and runtime. Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks is one of the leading cloud security tools in the industry.
Features:
- Real-time cloud security posture management (CSPM) for multi-cloud environments
- Attack path analysis, AI-powered risk prioritization, vulnerability intelligence, and code to cloud dashboard
- DevSecOps adoption and guided investigations and responses
- Cloud workload protection and AI Security Posture Management services
Assess Prisma Cloud’s effectiveness as a cloud security tool by taking a look at the number of reviews on PeerSpot.
#4. Aqua Security
Aqua Security is a Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) that secures AWS workloads and apps. It protects your assets in real-time and entire cloud estates. You can use Aqua Security to monitor CIS benchmarks and remediate risks from code to protection. Aqua Security is among the recommended cloud security tools for those who want to mature their organization’s DevSecOps practices.
Features:
- Offers granular runtime protection for cloud applications
- Software supply chain security, compliance management, and configuration management
- Vulnerability scanning, response automation, and infrastructure assurance
- Complete lifecycle container security and full-stack cloud-native security solution
See how Aqua Security compares to SentinelOne and how effective it is for remote organizations at PeerSpot.
#5. Trend Micro Cloud One™
Trend Micro Cloud One™ is a Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) that inspects ingress and egress mid-flows. It offers immediate protection from lateral movements, command and control (C&C), and internal or external threats. You can use it to filter out threats undetectable by traditional firewalls.
Features:
- Enterprise-grade virtual patching and protection
- Advanced threat intelligence and protocol analysis
- Network layer security, container security, and runtime protection
- Workload security, cloud visibility, and file security
Evaluate Trend Micro’s effectiveness as a cloud security tool in 2024 by reading its many reviews at PeerSpot.
How to Choose the Right Cloud Security Tools
Select the right cloud security tools to protect your data, infrastructure, and applications in the cloud. Here is a step-by-step guide to help you make an informed decision:
1. Understand Your Needs
Begin by evaluating your organization’s security needs. Those needs are always very particular to the kind of cloud environment you are operating in —public, private, or hybrid. Additionally, they change depending on the nature of data handled—sensitive or otherwise—and the level of regulatory compliance, as exemplified by GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI-DSS. So try to understand what kind of data you are handling, what kind of threats might face your organization, and what resources you need to protect.
2. Evaluate Core Features
Consider cloud security features like encryption, IAM (identity and access management), threat detection, and incident response. Encryption will ensure your data is safe at rest and in transit. IAM ensures that only authorized personnel access your resources. Threat detection products, including IDS or IPS, will monitor your network traffic for malicious activity. Incident response tools should automate and speed up your reaction to security incidents.
3. Scalability and Integration
Cloud security tools should scale with your growing business. In a multi-cloud or hybrid environment, the tools must integrate seamlessly across different platforms and make it easier to manage from a single dashboard. They should also integrate well with your existing infrastructure, such as SIEM, and simplify your security operations.
4. Compliance and Certifications
The cloud security tool must comply with all industry standards and certifications. Popular frameworks for a baseline of security and compliance are SOC 2, ISO 27001, and NIST. Using tools with built-in compliance features will make it easier to adhere to those standards without complexity.
5. Ease of Use
When security tools add too much unnecessary complexity to operations, that is not a good thing. Think more about user-friendly tool simplicity and ease of deployment with clear dashboards and reporting facilities. With cloud security platforms that have intuitive interfaces, you can save time and reduce your team’s learning curve.
6. Vendor Support
It matters what your vendor’s reputation is. Research customer reports and industry case studies further, and look for vendors that offer strong customer support, frequent updates, and robust documentation so that you can resolve issues immediately.
The selection of proper cloud security tools should start with considering the security needs, technical environment, and compliance requirements. Which vendors are reliable for this decision? Scalability and easy integration must be prioritized for effective protection without hindering operations.
Conclusion
When choosing the best cloud security tools, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Your organization’s unique needs will determine the right solution. The ideal way to assess your regulatory requirements, team skills, and current business needs is to determine the right solution.
Begin with easy-to-use cloud security tools like SentinelOne that are highly scalable, flexible, and adaptive to dynamic environments. As your cloud security practices evolve, so will your need for different features. You can focus more on your organization’s vision and mission and less on manual workflows. SentinelOne also implements AI-driven threat protection and enhances automated responses. Its 1-click remediation will help you address critical vulnerabilities and achieve your core security objectives. Book a free live demo to learn more.
FAQs
1. What is a cloud security tool?
Cloud security tools are software and services that protect cloud-based systems, applications, and data against cyber threats. These services manage security risks with features like data encryption, access control, threat monitoring, and rule compliance. They are valuable tools for organizations that store sensitive information or process it in the cloud to ensure privacy, integrity, and availability.
2. Which three areas are generally part of a cloud security tool?
Cloud security tools cover three major areas, which include:
- Identification and Access Management (IAM): Providing security ensures that only the correct user can access the cloud resources.
- Data Encryption: Converting data into an unreadable format without key decryption for both at-rest and in-transit protection.
- Threat Detection and Response: They alert the administrator and mitigate the threats through automated or manual interventions.
3. How does a cloud security tool work?
They work through continuous surveillance of a cloud environment, implement security policies, and apply protection mechanisms. Cloud security tools facilitate access control through IAM, which verifies the credentials and permissions of every user. They also ensure data safety through encryption for storage and transit. Some deploy AI and ML to identify anomalies within network traffic and highlight suspicious activities or threats. Another area where cloud security tools assist is compliance; they audit activities on the cloud and maintain adherence to stringent requirements and regulations.