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Cloud Security

In 2026, cloud security has evolved from simple misconfiguration checks to Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP). The focus is now on the 'Security Graph'—visualizing how vulnerabilities, identity permissions, and internet exposure combine to create exploit paths.

Key 2026 focus areas include:
• Identity is the Perimeter: Using CIEM tools to prune 'zombie' permissions and enforce Just-In-Time (JIT) access.
• Graph-Based Risk: Prioritizing issues based on 'reachability' (e.g., a CVE is only critical if it's on an internet-facing machine).
• Policy-as-Code: Automating guardrails using OPA and Rego to prevent insecure infrastructure from ever being provisioned.

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The Agent Is the New Endpoint: MCP, Prompt Injection and the 2026 Wake-Up
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The Agent Is the New Endpoint: MCP, Prompt Injection and the 2026 Wake-Up

Eleven vulnerabilities across the major agent frameworks, two exploited enterprise assistants, and a class of attack that needs no malicious tool at all. The model was never the vulnerable part — the orchestration layer and the credentials it holds are.

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The 109:1 Problem: Non-Human Identity Is the Real Cloud Perimeter
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The 109:1 Problem: Non-Human Identity Is the Real Cloud Perimeter

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Resources

Prowler

The widely used open-source cloud security platform, with thousands of checks across AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes and Microsoft 365. It integrates with Neo4j to graph attack paths and maps findings to compliance frameworks.

Steampipe / Powerpipe

Uses SQL to query your cloud infrastructure like a database. Coupled with Powerpipe, it provides real-time dashboards for compliance and security across 100+ different cloud services.

Trivy

A 'Swiss Army Knife' for security. It has consolidated tfsec and other tools into a single scanner for container images, file systems, and IaC (Terraform/Kubernetes) configurations.

Falco

The de facto standard for cloud-native runtime security. It detects anomalous activity in your containers (like a shell being opened or a sensitive file modified) and alerts in real-time.

Kubescape

An open-source Kubernetes security platform covering the development-to-runtime lifecycle: misconfiguration and compliance scanning, image vulnerability scanning, admission control, runtime detection and auto-remediation of manifests.

CloudFox

An offensive tool designed to help penetration testers find 'lootable' attack paths in unfamiliar AWS and GCP environments. Excellent for identifying privilege escalation risks.

Checkov

A static code analysis tool for IaC. It scans Terraform, CloudFormation, and ARM templates during the PR process to prevent insecure resources from reaching production.

Open Policy Agent (OPA)

The standard for policy-as-code. Uses the Rego language to define fine-grained security policies that can be enforced across the entire cloud-native stack.

Cloud Custodian

A lightweight rules engine that allows you to manage cloud resources using YAML. It can automatically terminate non-compliant resources (e.g., unencrypted buckets) as soon as they appear.

Infisical

A modern, open-source alternative to HashiCorp Vault. It focuses on end-to-end encryption for secrets and provides a much simpler developer experience for syncing keys to cloud apps.

Principal Mapper (PMapper)

A powerful tool for analyzing AWS IAM. It builds a graph of your account's 'principals' (users/roles) and calculates exactly who can escalate privileges to become an Administrator.

Microsoft Sentinel

A cloud-native SIEM that leverages AI to correlate signals across your entire enterprise. In 2026, it excels at identifying multi-stage attacks that span across SaaS and IaaS environments.

Google Security Operations (formerly Chronicle)

Google Cloud's cloud-native SIEM and security operations platform, formerly Chronicle. It provides large-scale log retention, detection and investigation across security telemetry, with Gemini-assisted summaries and search.

CIS Cloud Benchmarks

The industry-consensus standard for secure configuration. Every reputable cloud security tool (including Prowler and Trivy) maps its checks back to these benchmarks.

CSA Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM)

A cybersecurity control framework specifically for cloud. It provides a structured way to map your technical controls to legal and regulatory requirements (like SOC2 or GDPR).

ScoutSuite

An open-source (GPL-2.0) multi-cloud auditing tool from NCC Group. It collects configuration data through the provider APIs for AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, with alpha support for Alibaba Cloud, Oracle Cloud and Kubernetes, and presents the attack surface in one report rather than across a dozen console pages.