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It’s becoming increasingly challenging to secure sensitive data. Cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated, IT infrastructure is becoming more complex, and attack surfaces are increasing. With so much data now stored off-premises, organizations must protect not only their sensitive information but also the platforms that house it.

This is where data security posture management (DPSM) and cloud security posture management (CPSM) come in. Both technologies play critical roles in cloud data security and can be easily confused at first glance. So, let’s explore their key differences and their role in data protection.

Understanding DPSM

As the name suggests, DPSM is a data security tool. It is based on the idea that securing an organization’s sensitive information requires a deep understanding of the data itself. As such, DPSM solutions discover and classify sensitive data in cloud repositories, identifying vulnerabilities and potential risks associated with that data.

DPSM tools work in four phases. First, they discover an organization’s data across all its off-premises (cloud) platforms and classify it by its sensitivity to provide a comprehensive, contextualized data inventory. They then monitor cloud environments in real-time to identify any vulnerabilities or misconfigurations that could present a risk to data—the more sensitive the information, the higher the priority for remediation. By protecting data in this way, DPSM helps organizations maintain compliance with relevant regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS.

Understanding CPSM

Again, as the name suggests, CPSM is a cloud security tool. Rather than focusing on the data stored in cloud environments – as DPSM does – it focuses on securing the cloud infrastructure itself, continuously monitoring for misconfigurations, compliance issues, and security threats to help entities manage data access and data risk.

These solutions scan for misconfigurations – including vulnerabilities in cloud settings, permissions, and access controls – monitor for compliance with regulatory requirements and industry standards like CIS, NIST, CCPA, and GDPR, and ultimately help organizations remediate any issues before they turn into genuine security incidents.

Key Differences Between DPSM and CPSM

Although both DSPM and CSPM play vital roles in cloud security, their focus areas, tools and techniques, and use cases differ as follows:

Focus Area: DSPM is primarily data-centric, concentrating on protecting sensitive information stored in the cloud. In contrast, CSPM focuses on the broader infrastructure, ensuring the cloud environment is secure.
Tools and Techniques: DSPM uses data classification and encryption techniques, while CSPM employs tools for monitoring, detecting misconfigurations, and managing security policies.
Use Cases: DSPM is ideal for protecting data assets and ensuring compliance, especially in heavily regulated industries. CSPM is more suitable for preventing infrastructure-based vulnerabilities and maintaining cloud security hygiene.

These differences highlight that while DSPM ensures that data is properly secured and compliant, CSPM works to keep the underlying cloud infrastructure safe from threats and vulnerabilities.

Real-World Use Cases

To put all this into context, let’s look at a real-world use case for each solution.

DPSM: Most modern healthcare organizations will store at least some patient data in the cloud. DSPM can help ensure that this sensitive data is encrypted, classified correctly, and only accessible to authorized personnel, thereby preventing data breaches.
CPSM: Many larger organizations manage extensive, diverse cloud resources. CPSM is invaluable for detecting misconfigurations, such as open ports or misassigned permissions, that could lead to unauthorized data access or cyberattacks.

The Interplay Between DPSM and CPSM

That said, DPSM and CPSM work best when used in conjunction. Both solutions provide comprehensive cloud security—DSPM protects the data, while CSPM secures the environment in which the data resides.

Enhanced Data Protection: DSPM’s data-centric controls can help identify where sensitive data is stored and who has access to it, which CSPM can then safeguard by ensuring that the cloud environment is configured correctly.
Improved Threat Detection: The combination of DSPM’s data behavior analysis and CSPM’s infrastructure monitoring provides a multi-layered approach to identifying anomalies and potential threats.
Regulatory Compliance: While DSPM directly ensures that data handling meets regulatory requirements, CSPM supports compliance by maintaining a secure and auditable cloud environment.

Why You Need Both DPSM and CPSM

DSPM and CSPM are both critical components of a modern data security strategy, each playing a distinct yet complementary role in protecting cloud environments. While DSPM focuses on securing the data itself, CSPM ensures that the cloud infrastructure is robust and resilient against attacks. Together, they provide a powerful defense mechanism that addresses both data-centric and infrastructure-based threats.

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