Why CSP-Native Security Tools Are Not Enough

As companies transition their business, data storage, processing, and management to cloud computing, major cloud provider platforms, such as AWS, GCP, and Azure, offer sophisticated cloud-native security features. However, are these sufficient to protect your data in today’s complex systems?

The cyber threat landscape is changing rapidly, with data breaches, unauthorized access, service disruptions, compliance violations, and other risks posing a continuous concern. The stakes are particularly high, as the average data breach cost reached a staggering $4.88 million in 2024, while the consequences of inadequate cloud security have proven to be far-reaching and detrimental.

Will Native Tools Suffice or Do You Need More?

Adopting additional or more advanced tooling is not always necessary. Below, we propose when your providers’ solutions are enough for your security needs and when some third-party help is recommended.

Situations where native tools suffice:

Small-scale environments: Teams lacking the bandwidth to handle sophisticated protection or with singular cloud environments can rely on native CSP security services to provide some coverage.
Low-sensitivity data: When handling data that is not critical (e.g., marketing content, testing, or development), native cloud security features may be adequate.
Compliance-driven environments: Native compliance tools can streamline the certification process for companies with minimal compliance requirements.

Situations where you need more:

Highly regulated industries: Sectors where data is critical (e.g., finance, healthcare, and government) are vulnerable to breaches resulting in severe damage or financial loss, mandating advanced data protection measures.
Complex architectures: A multi-cloud or hybrid approach often necessitates additional security tools and measures that CSP-native tools don’t provide.
Real-time threat management: Native cloud tools may not offer thorough protection for threat detection and incident response (DDR), including out-of-the-box solutions for data loss prevention (DLP), cloud security posture management, or extended detection and response (XDR).
Centralized visibility: Third-party tools can provide a single pane of glass to view and manage all aspects of security in complex and multi-cloud environments.

Security Offered by Cloud Providers

All major cloud providers, such as Google, AWS, and Microsoft, operate their platforms on a shared responsibility model, where the cloud provider clearly outlines what they are responsible for securing and what you, as the customer, are expected to handle.

The following are some key features provided by all major cloud providers:

Data encryption at rest and in transit: All cloud players provide data encryption at rest and in transit for the majority of their services. For example, for object storage, AWS S3 uses server-side encryption with managed keys, while Microsoft Azure offers encryption-at-rest via Key Vault. Data is transmitted securely using TLS/SSL, and customers must make sure to enable, manage, and store encryption keys.
Identity and access management (IAM): Cloud providers implement IAM to control service access, but misconfigurations can cause breaches. In 2019, Capital One faced an $80 million breach due to overly permissive IAM settings, allowing lateral movement from AWS WAF to EC2 and S3.
Monitoring and logging: AWS CloudTrail, GCP Cloud Audit Logs, and Azure Monitor provide visibility into data access and activities, essential for detecting threats and meeting compliance.
Firewalls and network security: AWS security groups and Azure NSGs control traffic to virtual machines. Per the shared responsibility model, customers must safeguard the resources they expose via security groups. For example, if a customer exposes an EC2 instance to the public (i.e., 0.0.0.0/0 port 22), which is not recommended, the customer is responsible for the misconfiguration, not the CSP.‍
Threat detection and response: Services like AWS GuardDuty and Azure Security Center automate threat detection and response. GuardDuty can detect unusual S3 data exfiltration, alert teams, restrict access, and rotate credentials automatically.

Challenges of CSP-Native Security

There are various limitations of CSP-native cloud security, given today's dynamic, distributed, and complex IT infrastructure:

Lack of comprehensive coverage: CSP-native cloud security mainly protects infrastructure, leaving applications vulnerable. While providers secure and upgrade physical and network layers, application security needs separate attention.
Complexity in multi-cloud environments: Multi-cloud strategies boost resilience and avoid vendor lock-in but complicate security management, as native tools are platform-specific and lack cross-platform support.
Limited customization: CSP-native security tools offer basic features and often miss specific business needs. For example, they may not support custom threat intelligence feeds required by complex environments.
Shared responsibility misinterpretation: While providers secure infrastructure, customers must secure applications, data, and configurations. Native tools don't cover customer-managed encryption keys or application vulnerabilities.
Reactive security: CSP-native tools typically alert users only after an incident has occurred, instead of preventing it in the first place. For example, misconfigured IAM access to S3 may only trigger an alert once exploited.

Real-World Breaches

Let’s review some prominent breaches caused by misconfigurations in the cloud.

Capital One Data Breach (2019): A misconfigured AWS S3 bucket resulted in poor access controls and monitoring, leading to the exposure of sensitive data belonging to more than 80 million individuals.
Toyota Motor Data Breach (2023): A significant data breach at Toyota Motor was caused by a misconfiguration of its cloud infrastructure. The breach exposed over 3.8 million files, including confidential customer data.
Pegasus Airline data breach (2022): A misconfigured security setting in an S3 bucket hosted by Pegasus Airline led to the breach of a 6.5TB data set; 23 million files, such as flight charts, navigation materials, and the crew’s personal information, were inadvertently made publicly accessible and modifiable.

These incidents illustrate that relying solely on CSP-native security measures without a comprehensive security strategy leaves organizations vulnerable to costly breaches and severe reputational damage.

Enhancing CSP-Native Security with Third-Party Solutions

To ensure robust security, companies need to integrate their cloud-native security tools with third-party solutions that have the following capabilities:

Data loss prevention (DLP) solutions: These monitor any data moving in and out, making sure no sensitive information leaves without permission.
Cloud security posture management (CSPM) tools: These check continuously for cloud vulnerabilities or misconfigurations that could compromise your data
Data encryption and key management tools (e.g., Thales CipherTrust): These go beyond the basic encryption offered by native cloud services, offering advanced encryption capabilities and key management.
Zero-trust architectures: These enable a "trust but verify" approach to data access; every single request is verified and authenticated, meaning only authorized parties can access your sensitive data.

Sentra for Data Security

Sentra focuses on developing a comprehensive data protection and security strategy that applies regardless of where the data is stored, whether in the cloud or on-premises.

With its data security posture management (DPSM) framework, Sentra offers data discovery and classification capabilities, data risk assessment functionalities, and real-time monitoring and alerting mechanisms for potential security threats or policy violations within its platform.

Its unified platform empowers organizations to achieve complete visibility and control over their data across their entire ecosystem—cloud, on-premises, SaaS, and other environments. To address the challenges posed by modern technology and safeguard data in today’s era, Sentra has harnessed the potential of its platform by integrating AI and machine learning capabilities.

Below are some key features that Sentra provides that distinguish it from cloud-native security tools.

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Conclusion

Organizations will continue to implement cloud environments more and more, making data paramount. While cloud provider platforms like AWS, GCP, and Azure offer robust native security tools, these solutions often fail to address the evolving security landscape comprehensively. Inadequacies in cross-platform visibility, advanced threat detection, and proactive risk management highlight the urgent need for supplementary security measures.

Solutions such as Sentra offer an advanced approach to data security by harnessing the power of AI and machine learning to automatically classify data. Sentra provides comprehensive solutions that surpass the capabilities of native tools, offering features such as unified multi-cloud data discovery, AI-driven threat detection, and cross-cloud compliance management, securing data effectively in complex and dynamic environments.

Implementing a comprehensive security strategy that integrates both CSP-native and third-party tools is essential for mitigating risks, ensuring regulatory compliance, and safeguarding valuable organizational assets in today’s cyber-threat environment. By adopting robust and proactive security measures, companies can effectively leverage the power of cloud technologies, reduce vulnerabilities, and ensure operational resilience.

If you're interested in learning how Sentra's data security platform can help you understand and protect your data to drive success in today’s competitive landscape, request a demo today.