Palo Alto Networks has launched code-to-cloud intelligence capabilities as part of the Prisma Cloud Darwin release, a significant step in cloud security. This innovation addresses the increasing security risks introduced by the rapid growth of cloud applications and offers a comprehensive solution to protect applications from code to cloud.
23 October 2023 – Over the past decade, organizations have witnessed a rapid proliferation of cloud applications, and this trend shows no signs of slowing down. According to Gartner, 65% of application workloads are projected to be optimized for cloud delivery by 2027, a substantial increase from the 45% reported in 2022.
Today, Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) has revolutionized the approach to cloud security with the introduction of code-to-cloud intelligence as a part of the Prisma Cloud Darwin release. This marks a significant turning point in cloud security, as Prisma Cloud encourages organizations to move beyond individual solutions and adopt a comprehensive strategy that provides a unified source of truth.
While the cloud offers unparalleled agility and efficiency, it also introduces substantial security risks that have grown increasingly prevalent. A staggering 80% of security exposures are detected in cloud environments, potentially leading to large-scale breaches. The escalating frequency of cloud attacks, coupled with the rapid pace of cloud application development, is outpacing the ability of security teams to safeguard their organizations effectively.
Traditional approaches to code-to-cloud security are fragmented, with the average organization relying on six to ten tools solely for securing cloud infrastructure. This fragmented toolset results in an incomplete security posture and places a significant operational burden on security teams. Prisma Cloud’s Code-to-Cloud intelligence capabilities, as the industry’s most comprehensive Cloud Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP), offers a unified repository that connects insights from the developer environment through the application runtime. This enables security teams to contextualize alerts and identify remediation points. This intelligence effectively preempts risk and halts breaches, enhancing the end-user experience and facilitating collaboration between developers and security teams.
Ankur Shah, Senior Vice President of Prisma Cloud at Palo Alto Networks, stated, “The only way to secure applications from code to cloud is by intercepting risk before it enters the development pipeline and preventing application breaches in production. This can only be achieved through an intelligent CNAPP platform like Prisma Cloud. Our CNAPP platform accumulates intelligence throughout the application lifecycle, allowing security teams to precisely trace vulnerabilities and misconfigurations back to their source in the source code. Prisma Cloud’s Darwin release streamlines cloud security, enhancing productivity and collaboration across code, infrastructure, and runtime security.”
In many organizations, the ratio of developers to security professionals stands at 100 to 1, leading to understaffed teams. The conventional approach of working in isolation does not guarantee comprehensive code-to-cloud security, a gap that will widen as developers increasingly employ AI to expedite code creation and deployment. Prisma Cloud, now equipped with code-to-cloud intelligence, fosters collaboration between developers and security professionals by associating production security issues with specific remediation recommendations in the code.
Melinda Marks, Practice Director of the Enterprise Security Group, emphasized, “Today, we face a cybersecurity skills shortage, particularly in cloud security, while organizations increasingly leverage cloud services to accelerate application development for customer satisfaction and business growth. Simultaneously, the evolving threat landscape increasingly targets cloud workloads. Therefore, it’s imperative to invest in an effective security solution that supports enhanced development productivity from code to cloud, enabling security teams to optimize risk mitigation and protect applications to foster business growth.”
Amit Dhawan, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and Data Protection Officer (DPO) of Quantiphi, shared his experience: “As Quantiphi’s multi-cloud environment expanded, we required a unified solution to enhance security, visibility, assurance, and compliance. Prisma Cloud provides real-time misconfiguration and security insights. With clients in sectors like banking, healthcare, and finance, Prisma Cloud has helped us effortlessly meet stringent compliance standards. Evidence retrieval, typically a manual process, is now automated and proactive with Prisma Cloud.”
