Mastering Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)

Key Features

• Choose the right CSPM tool to rectify cloud security misconfigurations based on organizational requirements
• Optimize your security posture with expert techniques for in-depth cloud security insights
• Improve your security compliance score by adopting a secure-by-design approach and implementing security automation
• Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free PDF eBook

Book Description

This book will help you secure your cloud infrastructure confidently with cloud security posture management (CSPM) through expert guidance that’ll enable you to implement CSPM effectively, ensuring an optimal security posture across multi-cloud infrastructures.

The book begins by unraveling the fundamentals of cloud security, debunking myths about the shared responsibility model, and introducing key concepts such as defense-in-depth, the Zero Trust model, and compliance. Next, you’ll explore CSPM's core components, tools, selection criteria, deployment strategies, and environment settings, which will be followed by chapters on onboarding cloud accounts, dashboard customization, cloud assets inventory, configuration risks, and cyber threat hunting.

As you progress, you’ll get to grips with operational practices, vulnerability and patch management, compliance benchmarks, and security alerts. You’ll also gain insights into cloud workload protection platforms (CWPPs). The concluding chapters focus on Infrastructure as Code (IaC) scanning, DevSecOps, and workflow automation, providing a thorough understanding of securing multi-cloud environments.

By the end of this book, you’ll have honed the skills to make informed decisions and contribute effectively at every level, from strategic planning to day-to-day operations.

What you will learn

• Find out how to deploy and onboard cloud accounts using CSPM tools
• Understand security posture aspects such as the dashboard, asset inventory, and risks
• Explore the Kusto Query Language (KQL) and write threat hunting queries
• Explore security recommendations and operational best practices
• Get to grips with vulnerability, patch, and compliance management, and governance
• Familiarize yourself with security alerts, monitoring, and workload protection best practices
• Manage IaC scan policies and learn how to handle exceptions

Who this book is for

If you’re a cloud security administrator, security engineer, or DevSecOps engineer, you’ll find this book useful every step of the way―from proof of concept to the secured, automated implementation of CSPM with proper auto-remediation configuration. This book will also help cybersecurity managers, security leads, and cloud security architects looking to explore the decision matrix and key requirements for choosing the right product. Cloud security enthusiasts who want to enhance their knowledge to bolster the security posture of multi-cloud infrastructure will also benefit from this book.

Table of Contents

1. Cloud Security Fundamentals
2. Understanding CSPM and the Threat Landscape
3. CSPM Tools and Features
4. CSPM Tool Selection
5. Deploying the CSPM Tool
6. Onboarding Cloud Accounts
7. Onboarding Containers
8. Exploring Environment Settings
9. Exploring Cloud Asset Inventory
10. Dashboard Overview
11. Major Configuration Risks
12. Investigating Threats with Query Explorers and KQL

(N.B. Please use the Look Inside option to see further chapters)

Qamar Nomani is a cybersecurity expert and Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT). He is currently working as a cloud security architect for one of the world's leading mobility companies from their Paris office. With over 10 years of experience as an IT professional in various domains, his expertise lies in security architecting and design for multi-cloud infrastructure. With his passion for solving complex problems, Qamar has worked for security product companies, financial institutions, and automotive companies with their security teams, helping to achieve top-notch industry-standard security practices for multi-cloud environments. Along with his master's degree in computer applications from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, Qamar also holds several cloud security certifications. Being an avid learner and a passionate technology trainer, he has trained thousands of professionals across the globe on cloud security topics. Qamar is an active member of various cybersecurity communities and forums and often gets invited to universities and NGOs to speak about cybersecurity awareness and career guidance topics. In his free time, Qamar writes articles on Infortified, his personal tech blog, and a bi-weekly LinkedIn newsletter.