As businesses undergo digital transformation, their security must also evolve. Organizations face the dual challenges of exponential data growth, massive cloud migration, and increasingly complex environments filled with diverse data types such as financial, intellectual, and regulated data like Payment Card Industry (PCI) and Protected Health Information (PHI).

These shifts are seeing businesses move from traditional infrastructure-focused security tools like Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) to more specialized, data-centric tools like Data Security Posture Management (DSPM).

While CSPM is critical for cloud infrastructure security, DSPM is now viewed as a solution for organizations that prioritize data protection and regulatory compliance.

This shift from CSPM to DSPM also reflects a broader trend toward data-centric security and solutions that keep up with the complexity and diversity of today's data environments.

Why We Need to Move from Infrastructure to Data-Centric Security

The move from CSPM to DSPM can be linked to several challenges that are fueling the need for more targeted data security measures:

Exponential Data Growth: With continuous data generation, traditional security can’t keep up. Rapid growth diminishes visibility and control over sensitive data, opening doors to cyberattacks.

Data Migration to the Cloud: The shift to cloud infrastructure has enhanced flexibility and cut costs but introduced new risks. Cloud environments operate under shared responsibility models, where security is split between providers and customers. While CSPM solutions secure cloud infrastructure, other tools are needed to secure the data within the cloud.

Diverse Data Types in Complex Environments: Organizations handle varied data across cloud, on-premises, and hybrid setups, complicating security. A data-centric security model allows firms to manage data securely, regardless of location.

Understanding CSPM: An Infrastructure-Centric Approach

CSPM is a critical tool for securing cloud infrastructure. It continuously monitors and assesses a firm’s cloud environments against industry standards and regulatory requirements. It focuses on ensuring that the settings and configurations governing an entity’s cloud environment align with security policies and best practices.

Key Functions of CSPM:

• Identifying Misconfigurations: These tools scan cloud infrastructure for security misconfigurations that can lead to vulnerabilities, such as unsecured storage buckets or improperly configured databases.
• Automated Remediation: Some CSPM solutions feature automation capabilities so organizations can detect and correct misconfigurations instantly, limiting human error and potential security gaps.
• Compliance Monitoring: CSPM helps maintain compliance with industry standards like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS by evaluating cloud environments on an ongoing basis and providing insights for compliance reporting.
• Cloud Security Visualization: These tools give an overarching view of cloud security risks, so it is easier for security teams to prioritize and address issues.

In a nutshell, CSPM solutions give firms a holistic understanding of their cloud environments, pinpointing potential vulnerabilities and maintaining secure infrastructure.

The Shift to Data-Centric Security

DSPM represents a shift from an infrastructure-focused approach to a data-centric one. It is designed to discover, classify, and secure sensitive data wherever it resides. Unlike CSPM, DSPM prioritizes data security to protect sensitive information across complex, distributed environments.

Key Functions of DSPM:

• Data Discovery and Classification: These solutions automatically locate sensitive data in real-time, whether it is stored in databases, file-sharing platforms, or cloud storage, and classify it according to type and sensitivity.
• Access and Permissions Management: DSPM monitors data access patterns to identify potential misuse or unauthorized access, ensuring that only authorized personnel can access sensitive information.
• Data Security Enforcement: Because these tools enforce encryption, anonymization, and other security measures, they help companies comply with regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA.
• Data Risk Insights: DSPM provides a full view of data-related risks so security teams can make informed decisions about managing and protecting sensitive information.

The Benefits of a Data-Centric Approach

Data-centric security provides distinct advantages:

• Comprehensive Data Visibility: DSPM gives entities real-time insights into their data assets. This visibility helps them effectively manage sensitive information and identify vulnerabilities for informed decision-making regarding data protection.
• Improved Data Governance: It enhances regulatory compliance by encrypting, anonymizing, and managing data according to industry standards.
• Enhanced Security Control: DSPM focuses on data security so organizations can detect and prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information, regardless of its location.

Which Security Strategy is Right for Your Organization?

Choosing between CSPM and DSPM depends on your company’s needs and priorities. If your primary focus is on cloud infrastructure security, CSPM may be the ideal solution. However, if you need to secure sensitive data across diverse environments and meet compliance requirements, DSPM is the answer.

For many firms, the best approach is leveraging both of these tools for a comprehensive security posture that addresses infrastructure vulnerabilities and data-specific risks, too. Either way, in a shifting landscape, security strategies must adapt to keep pace, and by using CSPM for infrastructure security and DSPM for data protection, businesses can build a more resilient security framework.