Secure Your Windows Environments with Runtime CNAPP
▼ Summary
– Sweet Security has extended its Runtime CNAPP sensor to include Windows environments, enabling cloud workload and application security for this widely used OS.
– The Windows sensor was specifically developed for the cloud using Rust, minimizing resource use and covering attack vectors like DLL injection and PowerShell scripting.
– It utilizes behavioral baselining to detect both known attacks and misuse of legitimate tools, cross-correlating signals with cloud audit logs and identities for context.
– In a customer evaluation, the sensor identified a credential-dumping attempt in seconds and completed full investigation in under two minutes, demonstrating rapid threat detection.
– This extension provides full-stack cloud protection, integrating capabilities like CADR, CSPM, and vulnerability management, addressing a historical blind spot in runtime protection.
Businesses relying on Microsoft Windows for their cloud operations now have a powerful new tool for safeguarding their digital assets. Sweet Security has expanded its Runtime CNAPP sensor to include comprehensive protection for Windows environments, enabling companies to defend their Windows-based workloads and applications in the cloud with the same robust capabilities previously available only for Linux. This development delivers critical visibility, live threat detection, intelligent risk prioritization, and automated investigative functions to one of the most pervasive and intricate operating systems used in enterprise cloud infrastructures.
Securing cloud workloads on the Windows platform has traditionally presented significant difficulties. The operating system’s inherent complexity and the multitude of potential attack pathways create a broad surface for malicious actors to target. Many current security offerings depend on Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents that were retrofitted for cloud use. However, these tools were originally engineered for on-premise attack scenarios, leaving them ill-equipped to handle the unique challenges of cloud-native threats.
Engineered from the ground up for cloud deployment, Sweet’s Windows sensor is built using the Rust programming language to ensure a minimal consumption of system resources. This specialized sensor monitors a comprehensive range of attack vectors, including DLL injection attempts, unauthorized registry modifications, and suspicious PowerShell script activities. It also captures application-level requests and responses, providing deep insight into application behaviors at Layer 7 of the network stack.
Similar to all Sweet runtime signals, the Windows sensor utilizes the company’s advanced behavioral baselining technology. This approach allows it to identify not only recognized attack methods or malicious signatures but also the weaponization of legitimate system tools for harmful purposes. These security signals are further enriched by cross-referencing them with cloud audit logs and identity data, incorporating Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) and Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) for superior contextual awareness and observability.
During a recent evaluation by a prospective client, Sweet’s Windows sensor successfully identified a credential-dumping attack within seconds of its initiation. The sensor correlated anomalous PowerShell execution, registry export activities, and unexpected file creation, subtle indicators that conventional security tools completely missed. The complete process, from initial detection to a fully detailed investigation, concluded in under two minutes. This demonstrates how Sweet’s behavior-based and AI-driven detection mechanisms drastically shorten response times and filter out irrelevant investigative noise.
A representative from a Fortune 500 enterprise confirmed the solution’s effectiveness, stating, “Sweet’s Windows runtime sensor gives us complete visibility into activity across all our workloads. We can now identify and neutralize potential threats more rapidly and with increased confidence, which is essential for protecting our most critical workloads and ensuring uninterrupted business operations.”
With this Windows integration, Sweet Security now applies its patented, LLM-powered correlation and investigation engine, behavioral baselining, and Layer 7 application monitoring to deliver full-stack cloud protection through its runtime CNAPP. The platform’s extensive security coverage now encompasses:
- Cloud Application Detection and Response (CADR)
- Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)
- Kubernetes Security Posture Management (KSPM)
- Cloud Infrastructure Entitlements Management (CIEM)
- Compliance and governance frameworks
- Vulnerability management
- CI/CD pipeline security hardening
- Identity security (ITDR)
- API security
- Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)
- Data Security Posture Management (DSPM)
Orel Ben Ishay, Vice President of Research and Development at Sweet Security, described the launch as a pivotal moment for the cloud security sector. “Windows has consistently represented a major blind spot for runtime protection. By extending the same deep behavioral insights, AI-powered detection, and real-time investigative power we provide for Linux over to Windows, we are closing one of the most substantial visibility gaps in cloud security. Achieving detection and a complete investigation in less than two minutes provides security teams with actionable intelligence faster than ever before. This is a fundamental advancement toward our goal of delivering universal runtime protection for every cloud workload.”
(Source: HelpNet Security)