Difference between Foundational CSPM and Microsoft Defender for CSPM

Introduction

As cloud computing continues to evolve, securing cloud environments has become a critical concern for organizations. Microsoft Azure, one of the leading cloud service providers, offers a suite of security solutions under the umbrella of Microsoft Defender. This comprehensive blog will explore the features and functionalities of Microsoft Defender, delving into its different versions, specifically focusing on the differences between Foundational CSPM and Defender for CSPM (Cloud Security Posture Management) Paid Version.

Microsoft Defender

Microsoft Defender is an advanced threat protection service integrated with Microsoft Azure Security Center. It provides comprehensive security for cloud resources, offering advanced defenses against various threats and vulnerabilities. Microsoft Defender helps organizations protect their workloads across virtual machines, databases, storage, containers, and more by leveraging Azure’s native security capabilities.

Defender for Cloud combines the following capabilities

• Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM): Provides solutions highlighting actions to prevent breaches.
• Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP): Offers specific protections for servers, containers, databases, storage, and other workloads.
• DevSecOps: Integrates development security operations to unify security management at the code level across cloud, multi-cloud, and multiple-pipeline environments.

Multi-cloud Security

Defender for Cloud enhances security across multi-cloud environments by strengthening security posture and protecting workloads. It provides a single dashboard for managing protection across all environments. Users can connect Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), GitHub, and GitLab to Defender for Cloud to benefit from the DevOps security tab, which highlights vulnerability findings and offers remediation recommendations.

Defender for Cloud's CSPM focuses on

• Security Policies and Standards: These include Microsoft Cloud Security Benchmark (MCSB), regulatory compliance standards, and custom standards.

• Secure Score: Aggregates security findings into a single score, helping assess and improve cloud security posture. Higher scores indicate lower risk levels.
• External Attack Surface Management (EASM): EASM continuously discovers and maps the digital attack surface, providing an external view of online infrastructure. This visibility helps security and IT teams identify unknowns, prioritize risks, eliminate threats, and extend control beyond the firewall.
• Workload Protection through CWPP: Defender for Cloud monitors security vulnerabilities and threats in Azure virtual machines (VMs), Virtual Machine Scale Sets, IaaS containers, and non-Azure (including on-premises) machines.
• Defender for Cloud offers various plans to secure workloads, including:
  • Defender for Servers
  • Defender for Containers
  • Defender for Databases
  • Defender for Storage
  • Defender for App Service
  • Defender for Key Vault
  • Defender for Resource Manager
  • Defender for APIs

• Investigation and Remediation of Security Posture: Defender for Cloud allows for a proactive approach to tackling vulnerabilities, security scores, and alert/incident investigations.
• Security Recommendations: Defender for Cloud assesses resources and workloads against built-in and custom security standards, offering recommendations based on these assessments.

• Attack Path Analysis: Helps address immediate threats with the greatest potential for exploitation and highlights necessary security recommendations.
• Security Alerts and Incidents: Defender for Cloud collects, analyzes, and integrates log data from various sources to detect real threats and reduce false positives. It provides a prioritized list of security alerts with detailed information for investigation and remediation.

Differences Between Foundational CSPM and Defender for CSPM

While both Foundational CSPM and Defender for CSPM provide security for Azure resources, there are several key differences between the two:

Threat Detection and Analytics:

• Foundational CSPM: Offers free multi-cloud CSPM capabilities automatically enabled by default.
• Defender for CSPM Plan: A paid plan providing advanced security posture features.

Security Posture Management

• Foundational CSPM: Provides basic security recommendations and posture management.
• Defender for CSPM: Delivers comprehensive security posture management with continuous assessment, compliance monitoring, and risk management.

Azure recommendation and display of foundational CSPM

Azure recommendation and display of defender for CSPM

Integration with Azure Services

• Foundational CSPM: Integrates with Azure Security Center but has limited integration with other Azure services.
• Defender for CSPM: Offers deep integration with a wide range of Azure services, ensuring comprehensive protection across the entire Azure ecosystem.

Automated Remediation

• Foundational CSPM: Limited automated remediation capabilities.
• Defender for CSPM: Includes advanced automated remediation and orchestration to mitigate risks quickly.

Compliance and Reporting

• Foundational CSPM: Provides basic compliance features and reporting.
• Defender for CSPM: Offers enhanced compliance features, detailed reports, and tools to meet industry standards and regulatory requirements.

Customization

• Foundational CSPM: Limited customization options for security policies.
• Defender for CSPM: Allows organizations to create and customize security policies based on their specific needs.

Conclusion

Its robust feature set and integration with other security solutions make it a valuable asset for improving cloud security. Organizations of all sizes should consider implementing Defender for Cloud to enhance their cloud environment’s security and compliance.

Drop a query if you have any questions regarding Microsoft Defender and we will get back to you quickly.

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