01Introduction
Posture tools check how a workload is configured. Workload protection watches what it is actually doing, which matters once an attacker is already running code inside it.
02What is CWPP?
A cloud workload protection platform (CWPP) secures compute workloads, including virtual machines, containers and serverless functions, through vulnerability scanning, hardening, runtime behavior monitoring and threat prevention.
03How CWPP works
CWPPs combine pre-runtime checks with in-workload sensors.
- 1.
Inventory workloads
Discover every instance, container and function across accounts.
- 2.
Assess
Scan images and hosts for vulnerabilities and hardening gaps, feeding vulnerability management.
- 3.
Monitor runtime
Use agents or eBPF sensors to watch processes, file access and network connections.
- 4.
Respond
Alert, block or quarantine on suspicious behavior, and forward events to the SIEM.
04Threats and risks
Runtime protection targets what happens after the first mistake.
Cryptomining
Compromised workloads repurposed to mine, often the first visible sign of a breach.
Container escape
Breaking out of a container to the host and then to neighboring workloads.
Exploited services
Unpatched software on internet-facing instances used for code execution.
Sensor gaps
Serverless and short-lived workloads that agents struggle to cover.
05How Parameter helps
Parameter doesn't run runtime sensors. It reduces what a CWPP has to catch.
Fewer reachable workloads
Cloud Security finds the exposure and identity paths that make a workload worth attacking, and closes them in Terraform.
Proven exploitability
The pentesting agents show which exposed services can actually be exploited, so patching starts there.
Cleaner images
Supply Chain catches vulnerable and malicious dependencies before they ship.
