The shift towards the cloud, and the containerization, microservices, and Kubernetes tooling that have followed suite, have all introduced new complexities and security challenges. When it comes to detecting attacks in cloud environments, traditional cloud security tools struggle to keep pace with these rapidly evolving environments, often leaving gaps in coverage that can be exploited by attackers. This is where cloud detection and response (CDR) steps in, offering a focused approach for detection and response against attacks targeting cloud and cloud-native infrastructures.
CDR, if it’s doing its job, should be able to detect breaches in real-time, as well as respond in the case of an incident, and it should apply not just to known threats, but also novel threats and zero days. It should also be able to assist in the vast majority of cloud use cases, including containerization and Kubernetes, versus treating modern application development in the cloud as an afterthought.
CDR tools meet a different set of needs from what a traditional endpoint detection and response (EDR) or network detection and response (NDR) tool would provide, ensuring that teams are set up for success in catching targeted cloud attacks.
At the highest level, cloud detection and response must be able to spot new attacks as they attempt to infiltrate cloud environments. And a CDR solution must be able to respond to those attacks in real-time, to stop them if at all possible. The breadth and depth of CDR offerings vary widely, but in general, if there is no response, and if detection of novel attacks is not possible (for example, by using a signature-based approach only), it doesn’t fit the definition of a CDR solution (see more below on what’s in and what’s out). A CDR solution also must provide a means of investigation, to follow the thread of an attack and discover the root cause.
Cloud detection and response is a capability that cuts across many areas of the IT stack, including identity (Identity Detection and Response, or ITDR), endpoints (Endpoint Detection and Response, or EDR), network security, and more. As a discipline, detection and response is separate and complementary to other security disciplines like hardening or recovery. The NIST cybersecurity framework shows five security functions, two of which are detection and response, not to be confused with the other three areas.
When it comes to cloud security, new zero days like the XZ Backdoor continue to appear, putting detection and response front and center.
Dennis Smith, an analyst at Gartner, puts the importance of protecting cloud-native environments well when he says, "We are just into the second decade of container adoption and it is interesting to note that it has become the de facto standard for modern infrastructure. Most of the AI and GenAI activity that we hear so much about is riding on container technology."
The importance of CDR is underscored by the growing number of security incidents in cloud environments. According to a report by IBM, the average cost of a data breach in the cloud was $4.88 million in 2024.
Statistics indicate an unfortunate dynamic where adoption of the cloud, containers, and Kubernetes has outpaced security capabilities in those environments, with detection and response experiencing a large gap, even though the market capitalization of the top 3 detection & response businesses is well over $100B.
The statistics underscore a pressing reality: while cloud adoption continues to grow rapidly, security capabilities, particularly in detection and response, have not kept pace. This gap leaves cloud-native environments vulnerable to breaches, even as more organizations rely on containers and Kubernetes to run their critical workloads. Addressing these challenges requires a clear understanding of how Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) fits into the broader landscape of cloud security tools.
As we move forward, it’s essential to distinguish CDR from other cloud security tools to better understand its unique role and where it complements or diverges from other solutions like Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM). Let’s explore how CDR compares to these and other related tools.
CDR is a distinct capability focused on the detection and response to threats within cloud environments, including but not limited to Kubernetes and containers. It is important to differentiate CDR from other security functions such as CNAPPs, which focus on hardening and posture management, and SIEM solutions, which are broader in scope and not specific to cloud-native threats.
What’s Included in the scope of CDR:
Distinct from CDR
A Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) approach is often static—this is okay for a cloud environment but not a high-velocity cloud-native environment.
Attack paths, while detailed, are noisy and inactionable because they are based on polling intervals. And there are major blind spots for the real-time data happening in your containers and K8s, like who is using your K8s RBAC.
For example, RAD Security baselines your cloud-native workloads with fingerprints to detect attacks as they happen and then adds posture and identity context to any drift events. We are complementary to CSPMs - you need to harden your cloud environment, but a CSPM approach is wholly inappropriate for cloud-native detection & response. For that, you need behavioral profiling, from the cloud-native level (workloads/Kubernetes) out, versus trying to figure out everything from the cloud posture perspective.
Our behavioral profiling approach is the most appropriate for a cloud-native environment because it is transparent and portable and can be used in runtime just as easily as in the software supply chain.
A CDR solution, like RAD Security’s, is complementary to the hardening use-cases of your Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) solution, filling the real-time, behavioral detection and response gap caused by signature-based detection and static infra and identity metadata.
CNAPP platforms take a signature-based approach to detection that is reactive and only relevant days or weeks after a zero-day. This is too late.
With a CNAPP, the response context for a detection event is static infrastructure or identity data combined with real-time runtime alerts, or contextual metadata comes bundled with the detection itself. These approaches result in inactionable remediation advice and performance hits.
In contrast, RAD takes a signature-less, behavioral approach that is suitable for the task of uncovering and responding to attacks in real-time, ephemeral cloud-native environments. RAD profiles your cloud-native workloads with fingerprints to detect attacks as they happen and then adds real-time posture and identity context to any drift events.
RAD is a complementary detection and response capability to the hardening use cases of your CNAPP solution, with purpose-built, real-time detection and response. Our behavioral approach is appropriate for cloud-native environments, compared to anomaly detection, which happens in a black box and is not something you can verify in your environment. Today, there are not enough cloud attacks for an approach that requires machine learning of millions of cloud attacks.
Cloud Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and CDR serve different but complementary, roles in cloud security. SIEM is a comprehensive tool that aggregates, analyzes, and correlates security data across a wide range of environments, including cloud and on-premises systems. Its primary function is to provide a holistic view of security incidents, which aids in detecting, investigating, and responding to threats over time. This makes it useful for compliance, long-term monitoring, and analysis.
In contrast, RAD Security’s CDR is laser-focused on detecting and responding to threats specifically within cloud environments, including cloud-native infrastructures like Kubernetes and containers.
Our CDR tools are designed to provide real-time, behavioral detection and response capabilities. Unlike SIEM, which deals with a broader range of data sources, CDR is optimized for the unique challenges of cloud-native environments, such as ephemeral workloads and containerized applications
A Security Operations Center (SOC) is a centralized function, designed to provide broad security monitoring and incident response across an organization’s entire IT environment—cloud, on-premises, and hybrid. While comprehensive, the SOC’s wide focus can dilute its effectiveness in fast-paced, cloud-native environments.
CDR is built for cloud-native environments. It provides real-time, behavioral detection and response capabilities specifically tailored to the cloud’s inherent dynamism. Unlike a SOC, which takes a broad view across all IT infrastructure, CDR zeroes in on cloud-specific threats, particularly those targeting containers, Kubernetes, and other cloud-native technologies. This focused approach allows for quicker detection and more precise response, addressing security issues as they occur.
While a SOC covers a broad range of security needs across all IT environments, its approach is inherently reactive and broad-brush. CDR, on the other hand, is laser-focused, built to provide the real-time, context-rich insights necessary for protecting cloud-native environments. For instance, RAD Security’s CDR solution not only detects threats but also adds posture and identity context to drift events, ensuring that responses are not just quick but also informed and precise.
The cloud is huge - for which piece of it do we need detection and response? Major use cases for the cloud include IT, storage, backup and disaster recovery, and building and running applications.
For our purposes, we will focus on building and running applications, because what cuts through all of the cloud use cases is the fact that they are all utilized and accessed by applications if their entire business case isn’t building and running applications in the cloud to begin with.
CDR tools are specifically designed to protect cloud-native environments by continuously monitoring and profiling the behavior of these applications. They address threats that are unique to cloud-native settings, such as container escape attacks or vulnerabilities within microservices.
When considering cloud application security, then detection and response in the cloud cannot be solely focused on cloud configurations. It must also include DevOps and cloud-native tools and considerations, like containers and Kubernetes.
Kubernetes in particular has seen an expansion in use, managing things like messaging, observability, and building pipelines in the cloud. The use of Kubernetes is up 211% YoY from 2021 to 2022.
Ignoring Kubernetes would mean overlooking a major and rapidly growing aspect of cloud infrastructure. While not all cloud services involve containers and Kubernetes, these technologies represent a key area where detection and response capabilities are often lacking. CDR tools fill this gap, offering protection for the new and widely adopted cloud-native services used by engineering teams globally.
CDR represents a pivotal advancement in securing modern cloud environments. As organizations increasingly rely on cloud-native technologies like Kubernetes and containers, the limitations of traditional security measures have become evident. Static approaches, such as CSPM, fall short in addressing the dynamic and ephemeral nature of these environments. CDR steps in to fill this gap, providing real-time monitoring and behavioral analysis that are crucial for identifying and responding to threats as they emerge.