Cloud application security: Best practices & tools

​​"We'll just move it to the cloud" has become a common refrain in business planning discussions. But beneath that simple phrase lies a complex security challenge. 

From collaborative work platforms to HR platforms and customer relationship systems, businesses now entrust their most sensitive operations to cloud applications. But the cloud security paradox is simple: the same features that make cloud applications so valuable (anywhere access, seamless sharing, and constant updates) also create their most significant vulnerabilities. 

We live in a time where businesses face a threat landscape where attackers don't need to breach your physical defenses; they simply need to find the weak points in your cloud application security. Understanding this new reality is the first step toward effective protection.

This guide will equip you with the essential knowledge to protect your cloud assets, regardless of your technical background or role in your organization.

What is cloud application security?

Cloud application security refers to the policies, tools, and practices that protect cloud-based applications and the data they contain from cyber threats. Think of it as a comprehensive approach to securing everything your business does in the cloud, from the applications themselves to the data they process and store.

Cloud application security differs significantly from traditional application and software security. In the past, when your applications ran on your own servers, you controlled the entire environment. The hardware, network, and software all lived within your physical infrastructure. You could literally walk up and touch the machines running your business applications.

In the cloud, this dynamic changes completely. Your applications now run on infrastructure you don't own or directly control. Your data travels across the internet to reach these applications. And your users can access these systems from virtually anywhere in the world. This fundamental shift means securing cloud applications requires a different approach.

Modern cloud application security isn't a single product or solution. It's a multi-layered strategy that protects your business assets wherever they exist in the cloud.

What is the importance of cloud application security?

Here’s why cloud app security matters now more than ever:

The expanding digital attack surface

Every cloud application you use creates potential entry points for attackers. As organizations adopt more cloud services, from email and document storage to customer relationship management and enterprise resource planning, they're essentially creating more doors and windows that need protection.

Remote work acceleration

The massive shift toward remote and hybrid work models means employees now access cloud applications from home networks, coffee shops, and other locations outside your traditional security perimeter. This expanded access requires stronger security measures to protect sensitive data regardless of where it's being accessed.

Increasing regulatory requirements

From GDPR in Europe to CCPA in California, and industry-specific regulations like HIPAA for healthcare, organizations face a complex web of compliance requirements for data protection. Cloud application security is essential for meeting these obligations..

Rising sophistication of threats

Cyber attacks have evolved from opportunistic annoyances to sophisticated operations often backed by organized criminal groups or even nation-states. Modern threats target cloud environments specifically, looking for misconfigurations, weak authentication, or vulnerable APIs that can be exploited.

Business continuity concerns

Cloud applications often become mission-critical infrastructure. A security incident affecting your cloud environment can interrupt operations, damage customer relationships, and impact your bottom line. Proper security measures help ensure business continuity even when facing cyber threats.

Key core components of cloud application security

A robust cloud application security strategy incorporates several essential components working together to create multiple layers of protection. Let's explore these critical elements:

1. Identity and access management (IAM)

Identity and access management forms the foundation of cloud security by controlling who can access your applications and what they can do once inside. This includes authentication and authorization which verifies users and determines access based on their role or attributes. Effective IAM also includes user lifecycle management, ensuring access is promptly revoked when employees change roles or leave the organization. The principle of least privilege underlies all of these practices, giving users only the minimum access necessary to perform their jobs. This significantly reduces the potential damage from compromised accounts.

2. Data encryption

Encryption transforms data into an unreadable format that can only be deciphered with the correct encryption key. In cloud environments, encryption should be implemented at rest, in transit, and in use. Encryption serves as your last line of defense, so even if attackers gain access to your data, properly encrypted information remains unreadable and unusable without the encryption keys.

3. Secure APIs

Application programming interfaces (APIs) act as the connective tissue of cloud computing, allowing different applications to communicate and share data. However, they need robust authentication to ensure only authorized applications can access them. Without it, they can become an easy target for attackers. Key API security measures include rate limiting, input validation, output encoding, and API gateway protection.

4. App misconfiguration prevention

Cloud applications often involve complex configurations that, if set incorrectly, can expose sensitive data or create security vulnerabilities. In fact, misconfigurations are one of the most common causes of cloud security incidents. These issues range from storage buckets accidentally set to public access to excessive permissions granted to application components. Organizations need tools and processes to check configurations against cloud security best practices. 

5. Threat detection and response

Even with strong preventive measures, organizations need capabilities to identify and respond to security incidents that do occur. When potential incidents are detected, automated response capabilities can take immediate action to contain them—blocking suspicious traffic, isolating affected systems, or alerting security teams. The ability to forensically analyze incidents helps understand their scope and impact, guiding recovery efforts and preventing future occurrences.

6. Cloud app firewall and traffic filtering

Cloud application firewalls protect your applications by filtering traffic and blocking malicious requests before they reach your systems. Unlike traditional network firewalls that operate at lower network levels, cloud application firewalls understand web application behavior and can identify sophisticated attacks targeting application logic. These specialized firewalls inspect incoming web traffic for attack patterns such as SQL injection attempts, cross-site scripting, and other application-layer threats. 

7. Compliance monitoring and auditing

Meeting regulatory requirements demands continuous monitoring and documentation of your security posture. This isn't just about satisfying auditors, it's about ensuring your security practices align with established standards and can be demonstrated when needed. By maintaining visibility into your security posture, you can identify areas for improvement before they become compliance issues or security incidents.

8. Shadow IT management

Shadow IT (cloud applications and services used without IT department approval) creates significant security risks. Employees often adopt these unauthorized tools to solve immediate business problems, unknowingly introducing security gaps in the process. Managing this challenge starts with discovery—identifying what unauthorized cloud applications are in use across your organization. This visibility allows for risk assessment to evaluate the security implications of these applications. Rather than simply blocking all unauthorized applications, effective management balances security requirements with the business needs driving shadow IT adoption.

Common cloud application security threats

Understanding the threat landscape is essential for developing an effective security strategy. Here are the prevalent threats targeting cloud applications today:

Account takeover attacks

Account takeover occurs when attackers gain unauthorized access to user accounts. These attacks often begin with credential theft through phishing emails designed to trick users into revealing login information. The impact of account takeover depends on the compromised account's privileges. When attackers gain control of administrative accounts, they can access sensitive data, launch additional attacks, or deploy malware throughout your environment. 

API exploits

APIs have become primary targets for attackers because they often provide direct access to application functionality and data. Common API attacks include injection attacks where malicious code is inserted into requests, broken authentication exploits that bypass access controls, and excessive data exposure where APIs return more information than necessary. As organizations build more interconnected cloud services, securing these connection points becomes increasingly critical.

SaaS misconfigurations

The ease of deploying software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications often leads to security oversights. Default settings typically prioritize usability over security, requiring active configuration to implement stronger protections. These misconfigurations frequently lead to data leakage, regulatory violations, and unauthorized access to business-critical applications. 

Malware injection

Cloud environments aren't immune to malware, which can enter through various paths. Compromised development tools or dependencies might introduce malicious code during application building. Once established, malware can steal data, disrupt operations, or create backdoors for continued access to your environment. 

Insider threats

Not all cybersecurity threats come from external attackers. Insider threats, whether malicious or accidental, pose significant risks to cloud environments. These might include employees with legitimate access misusing their privileges, or contractors with temporary access to sensitive systems. Addressing insider threats requires a combination of technical controls and organizational measures like security awareness training and clear policies about data handling.

What is the cloud application security framework?

A cloud application security framework provides a structured approach to protecting cloud-based applications and data. These frameworks include:

Cloud security posture management (CSPM)

CSPM tools help organizations identify and remediate risks in their cloud infrastructure configurations. They provide continuous scanning that automatically checks cloud resources for misconfigurations and security issues. This ongoing monitoring is essential because cloud environments change frequently, often multiple times per day in organizations practicing DevOps and continuous deployment. By focusing on the infrastructure supporting your applications rather than the applications themselves, CSPM helps prevent the configuration errors that could expose your data. 

Cloud workload protection platform (CWPP)

CWPP solutions protect the application components running in cloud environments. They provide runtime protection that monitors application behavior for signs of compromise, detecting unusual activities that might indicate an attack in progress. This monitoring extends to containers, serverless functions, and virtual machines, covering the full spectrum of modern cloud computing models.

Cloud access security broker (CASB)

CASBs act as security gateways between your users and cloud applications. They provide visibility into cloud application usage across your organization, helping identify both authorized and unauthorized (shadow IT) applications. This comprehensive view of cloud usage forms the foundation for effective security management.

These framework components are increasingly converging into comprehensive cloud-native application protection platforms (CNAPPs) that provide end-to-end security across the application lifecycle, from development through deployment and runtime protection.

8 best tools for cloud application security

Implementing effective cloud application security requires specialized tools. Here are the leading security solutions to consider for your security strategy.

1. Rippling

Rippling provides a unified platform for managing employee identities, devices, and applications. Its security approach integrates HR, IT, and security functions to ensure security policies automatically apply as employee statuses change. When an employee joins the company, they gain appropriate access to applications based on their role. When they leave, that access is automatically revoked across all systems.

Role-based access control ensures employees can only access the applications and data necessary for their job functions. Rippling's integration of identity management with broader employee lifecycle processes provides a unique advantage for maintaining security as organizations grow and change.

2. BetterCloud

BetterCloud specializes in SaaS management and security with a focus on the operational challenges of managing multiple cloud applications. Its multi-SaaS visibility provides a view of your application portfolio, helping identify security risks and policy violations across services.

3. Netskope

Netskope offers a secure access service edge (SASE) platform that secures cloud access while providing the performance needed for distributed workforces. Its cloud access security broker functionality provides visibility and control over SaaS application usage. The next-generation secure web gateway protects users as they access web resources, preventing malware downloads and data loss.

4. Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

Microsoft's CASB solution provides visibility and protection for cloud apps. Features like shadow IT discovery identifies unauthorized cloud applications in use across your organization, while threat protection identifies suspicious activities that might indicate account compromise or insider threats. Organizations heavily invested in the Microsoft ecosystem gain additional benefits from the platform's integration with other Microsoft security solutions.

5. Zscaler Internet Access

Zscaler's cloud security platform takes a different approach by moving security to the cloud rather than trying to funnel traffic through traditional security appliances. This architecture eliminates the performance bottlenecks often associated with traditional security while providing comprehensive protection. The secure web gateway functionality filters traffic to block malicious content before it reaches users, while CASB capabilities provide visibility and control over cloud application usage across your organization. 

6. Cisco Umbrella

Cisco Umbrella combines multiple security functions in a cloud-delivered service that protects users wherever they access the internet. It starts with DNS-layer security, stopping threats at the earliest possible point by preventing connections to malicious destinations, while the secure web gateway provides granular filtering of web traffic.

7. CrowdStrike Falcon

CrowdStrike's cloud-native platform combines endpoint protection with broader cloud security capabilities. Its approach centers on stopping breaches rather than just detecting malware. CrowdStrike's integrated approach means threats identified in one area inform protection across your entire environment. This security model is particularly valuable as the boundaries between devices and cloud environments continue to blur.

8. SentinelOne

SentinelOne delivers autonomous security through artificial intelligence that can detect and respond to threats without human intervention. Its behavior-based approach identifies malicious activities even when they don't match known signatures or attack patterns. The platform protects both endpoints and cloud workloads, providing consistent security across your environment. 

Secure cloud applications at scale with Rippling

Managing cloud application security becomes increasingly complex as organizations grow. Rippling’s end-to-end IT management software simplifies this challenge by providing a unified platform that secures your entire workforce ecosystem, from employee onboarding to offboarding and everything in between.

Rippling's approach to cloud application security addresses key challenges through:

• Automated access management: As employees join, move within, or leave your organization, their access to applications automatically updates based on their role and status
• Device security: Ensure all devices accessing your cloud applications meet security requirements through centralized policy management
• App management: Gain visibility into all applications being used across your organization, including shadow IT
• Identity consolidation: Implement single sign-on while maintaining strong authentication requirements
• Security policy enforcement: Create and enforce consistent cloud security policies across your entire application portfolio

By integrating HR, IT, and security functions, Rippling’s all-in-one workforce management platform eliminates the gaps that often lead to security vulnerabilities, particularly around employee transitions. When an employee leaves, their access is automatically revoked across all applications, preventing the "orphaned account" problem that plagues many organizations.

Rippling's unified approach also simplifies cloud compliance by providing comprehensive visibility and consistent controls across your entire environment. From audit logging to access reviews, the platform streamlines processes that are typically fragmented across multiple systems.

Cloud application security FAQs

How do you secure an application in the cloud?

Securing cloud applications requires a multi-layered security approach:

• Implement strong identity and access management controls
• Encrypt sensitive data both at rest and in transit
• Regularly update and patch applications and dependencies
• Configure applications securely, following vendor best practices
• Monitor for suspicious activities and potential security incidents
• Conduct regular cloud security assessments and penetration tests
• Train users on security awareness and best practices
• Implement appropriate security tools for your environment

The specific measures needed will vary based on the type of application, sensitivity of data, and regulatory requirements.

Do SaaS platforms come with built-in security?

SaaS platforms typically include some security features, but these vary widely between cloud providers and rarely provide complete protection. Most follow a shared responsibility model where the cloud service provider secures the underlying infrastructure, while the customer remains responsible for data classification and secure usage. Even the most secure SaaS platforms require customers to implement appropriate access controls, monitor user activities, and protect sensitive data according to their specific requirements.

How can small businesses affordably improve cloud security?

Small businesses can improve cloud security without breaking the budget by:

1. Prioritizing basic security measures like strong authentication and access controls
2. Using cloud-native security tools that scale with usage rather than requiring large upfront investments
3. Leveraging security features included with existing cloud subscriptions
4. Focusing on employee training to prevent common security mistakes
5. Working with managed security service providers to access expertise without hiring full-time staff
6. Implementing risk-based security that focuses resources on protecting the most critical assets

By taking an incremental approach and focusing on the highest-impact security measures first, small businesses can significantly improve their security posture with limited resources.

This blog is based on information available to Rippling as of May 21, 2025.

Disclaimer: Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied on for tax, accounting, or legal advice. You should consult your own tax, accounting, and legal advisors before engaging in any related activities or transactions.