The security world is perpetually engaged in conflict. Cybercriminals find new ways to circumvent defenses, such as with polymorphic malware and AI-powered tools, while cybersecurity professionals scramble to find ways to stop them. Being on the defensive side puts legitimate organizations on the back foot.

However, every now and again new technologies come along that level the playing fields. Data Security Posture Management (DPSM) and Cloud Security Posture Management (CPSM) are two such technologies. Let’s explore the two tools, how they differ, and how they work together to secure modern organizations.

What is DPSM?

DPSM solutions protect sensitive business data in diverse technology environments. They constantly monitor and identify data to assess its security and vulnerabilities, enabling security teams to make more informed decisions.

These solutions focus on protecting sensitive data stored off-premises, helping organizations secure data across SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS environments, and minimizing the risk of data exposure by securing financial data, health-related metrics, PII, and intellectual property rather than just devices, endpoints, systems, apps, and APIs.

Key capabilities of DPSM include:

• Data Discovery and Classification: DPSM automatically discovers and classifies sensitive data across various data stores, including on-premises databases, cloud storage, and SaaS applications, to help organizations understand where their critical data resides and the level of protection it requires.
• Risk Assessment: DPSM solutions assess data security by evaluating vulnerabilities, such as misconfigurations or weak access controls, that could lead to data exposure.
• Access Management: DPSM enforces strict access controls, ensuring only authorized users can access sensitive information.
• Real-Time Monitoring and Threat Detection: DPSM continuously monitors data activities to detect suspicious behavior in real-time.

What is CPSM?

CPSM solutions, however, focus on securing cloud environments. They continuously monitor cloud setups—be they public cloud like AWS, multi-cloud, or even hybrid environments—for misconfigurations, compliance issues, and security threats to help organizations manage data access, cloud security, and data risk.

Ultimately, CPSM tools identify any gaps in cloud security and provide actionable steps to fix them, reinforcing security measures, remediating risks, lowering the chance of breaches, improving risk management and threat detection, and maintaining control over cloud security posture.

Key capabilities of CPSM include:

• Cloud Configuration Management: CPSM tools scan cloud infrastructure to identify misconfigurations that could expose the environment to cyber threats, including checking for vulnerabilities in cloud settings, permissions, and access controls.
• Compliance Monitoring: CPSM ensures compliance with regulatory requirements and industry standards such as GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS through automated compliant checks that identify areas in need of attention and streamline auditing processes.
• Threat Detection and Response: CPSM solutions can detect anomalies or suspicious activities that may indicate a security threat in cloud environments through continuous scanning.

What’s the Difference Between DPSM and CPSM?

While the two technologies share some similarities in that they are both data protection tools, it’s crucial to understand that DPSM and CPSM are distinct tools with distinct functions.

DPSM, for example, is primarily concerned with securing sensitive data across all environments, while CPSM focuses entirely on securing cloud infrastructure and ensuring it is configured correctly. Similarly, DPSM covers data protection wherever data is stored, but CPSM is limited to cloud systems. Moreover, DPSM ensures compliance by ensuring that data handling practices align with regulatory standards, whereas CPSM ensures compliance related to cloud security configurations and infrastructure management.

Why You Need Both DPSM and CPSM

However, although DPSM and CPSM are distinct tools, they work best when used in tandem with one another. As IT environments grow increasingly complex and the cybersecurity threat landscape becomes increasingly intense, DPSM and CPSM help organizations maintain compliance and protect sensitive data.

Many modern organizations have hybrid IT architectures that combine on-premises, cloud, and multi-cloud deployments. Combining DPSM and CPSM is the only way to cover all bases; again, DPSM secures sensitive data across diverse environments, while CPSM ensures the security of the cloud infrastructure itself.

DSPM and CSPM also play a significant role in reducing an organization’s attack surface by identifying and addressing vulnerabilities before cybercriminals can exploit them. Companies can proactively manage risks and strengthen their defenses by implementing these solutions.

With data privacy regulations becoming stricter, organizations must have robust mechanisms in place to ensure compliance. DSPM and CSPM help organizations meet these requirements by providing visibility into data handling practices and cloud security configurations.

Finally, DSPM and CSPM provide automation capabilities that help organizations respond quickly to potential threats, minimizing damage and reducing recovery time amidst an increasingly treacherous threat landscape.

DPSM and CPSM: A Vital Part of Your Security Strategy

CPSM and DPSM technologies have quickly become essential to any security strategy, ensuring data security and compliance across a modern organization’s diverse environments. If you’re struggling to secure your ever-more complicated IT environment, consider these tools.

Josh is a Content writer at Bora. He graduated with a degree in Journalism in 2021 and has a background in cybersecurity PR. He’s written on a wide range of topics, from AI to Zero Trust, and is particularly interested in the impacts of cybersecurity on the wider economy.