Nearly 1 in 10 publicly accessible cloud storage buckets contains sensitive data, according to research done earlier this year. These aren’t buckets that might be vulnerable or could potentially be exploited, but that are publicly serving up confidential customer data or other restricted information to anyone who knows where to look.
For teams building cloud-native applications, this is just one example of how configuration or coding mistakes can put critical data at risk. Understanding and applying cloud-native security practices is essential for keeping applications safe as they scale.
Understanding the Term “Cloud-Native”
Before getting into cloud-native security practices, it’s worth clarifying what “cloud-native” means. Cloud-native applications are built and run using cloud-based services and delivery models, making the most of the cloud’s scalability and automation.
An important aspect of cloud-native design involves using microservices, packaging them in containers, and managing them with platforms like Kubernetes. Many teams also rely on serverless functions for specific tasks without worrying about infrastructure.
In essence, cloud-native architecture is a way to build, deploy, and manage applications in the cloud. This approach aligns with automation, CI/CD pipelines, and DevOps practices, which are guided by cloud-native principles to ensure agility and security throughout the software development lifecycle.
However, with so many components interacting, this creates a larger attack surface that needs to be secured.
What Is Cloud-Native Security?
Developers working with cloud-native systems soon discover that traditional security approaches no longer fit. For example, instead of relying on network or security teams after development, cloud-native security practices should be embedded throughout the entire workflow.
This includes:
-
Integration: Embedding security into development and deployment processes so checks happen early and often, ensuring application security is addressed from the start.
-
Coverage: Securing every layer of the architecture, from containers and APIs to service meshes, identity management, and data.
-
Automation: Performing security checks automatically to reduce human error and ensure consistency.
-
Resilience: Designing for failure, maintaining visibility, and applying least privilege principles to limit incident impact.
-
Developer awareness: Helping developers understand how their code behaves in complex cloud environments so they can write safer applications.
Every choice a developer makes, whether it’s about container configuration or infrastructure-as-code (IaC) templates, can influence the organization’s security posture.
The Risks of Cloud-Native Systems
It’s great that cloud-native development lets teams deploy features much more quickly, but that speed and flexibility also increase complexity. The dynamic nature of a cloud native environment introduces its own security challenges, as constantly changing infrastructure and workloads make it harder to maintain consistent protection.
If you consider that every component, configuration, and dependency can become a potential security risk if not handled carefully, think about how much larger the attack surface grows.
It’s better to understand the risks first to make the security practices that follow feel both relevant and necessary.
-
Misconfigured containers: A simple oversight in a Dockerfile or base image can introduce vulnerabilities that propagate across multiple services.
-
Overly permissive IAM roles: Broad permissions might work for convenience, but they can enable attackers to escalate access and compromise multiple resources.
-
CI/CD pipeline vulnerabilities: Automated pipelines accelerate deployment, but if compromised, can push unsafe code or configurations across all environments.
-
Serverless challenges: Unvalidated triggers, outdated dependencies, or excessive permissions in serverless functions can expose sensitive operations to attack.
-
IaC mistakes: Infrastructure-as-Code templates with misconfigurations can replicate risks at scale, multiplying the impact of a single error and creating new cloud native security threats.
Each of these cloud-native risks can lead to damaging incidents, whether that’s exposed customer data or service downtime.
The Role of Secure Coding in Cloud-Native Systems
Many cloud-native problems start with code, because insecure coding practices can create vulnerabilities that spread across distributed systems. Examples include unsafe deserialization, input validation gaps, and insecure API endpoints.
Secure coding in cloud-native environments means developers should:
-
Write code that behaves correctly in distributed systems.
-
Validate inputs and outputs to prevent injection or data leaks.
-
Understand how dependencies, containers, and microservices interact.
-
Apply security early in the development lifecycle.
Writing secure code from the outset helps minimize risks and avoid issues in production environments.
Cloud-Native Security Practices
Once the risks are better understood, practical steps can be taken to reduce them, such as putting in place security controls, vulnerability scans, and following cloud security best practices. Here are other practical tips:
Securing Containers
If containers are compromised, everything built on them is also at risk.
-
Start with minimal base images, such as Alpine or distroless, to reduce the attack surface.
-
Never run containers as root (not a good idea).
-
Scan images in the CI pipeline before they reach production.
-
Treat containers as unchangeable and rebuild, don’t patch.
Vulnerabilities like cross-site scripting can be introduced through insecure code in containers, so it is important to scan for such issues as part of your security process.
Managing Secrets Safely
According to the 2025 Verizon DBIR, 43% of cloud-infrastructure secrets exposed in public repos were Google Cloud API keys. Remember to:
-
Use proper secrets management, such as AWS Secrets Manager, Azure Key Vault, and Google Secret Manager.
-
Never commit credentials to Git.
-
Rotate secrets automatically.
-
Use short-lived tokens and service accounts instead of long-term credentials.
Applying Least Privilege
We all know this should be applied, but how many actually do? Limiting permissions to what’s necessary reduces the impact of errors or attacks without slowing down development.
-
Start with zero permissions and add only what’s needed.
-
Use role-based access control (RBAC) properly.
-
Review permissions regularly.
-
Audit who has access to what, and remove what’s not needed.
Securing CI/CD Pipelines
The pipeline controls deployments, so make sure it’s properly secured. A compromised pipeline can push malicious code across all your environments in minutes.
-
Scan code and dependencies before deployment.
-
Enforce policy checks, for example, no public S3 buckets.
-
Require approvals for production deployments.
-
Monitor pipeline access and activity.
Network Segmentation and Zero-Trust
Even if a request comes from inside your virtual private cloud, it shouldn’t be trusted automatically.
-
Segment services and apply network policies.
-
Use service meshes to secure communication between services.
-
Put API gateways in front of all endpoints.
-
Restrict public endpoints to only what needs to be public.
Network security is crucial here for protecting cloud-native applications from external threats. If (or when) something goes wrong, the impact will be contained.
Securing Serverless Functions
Serverless doesn’t remove the need for security. Even though you don’t manage the underlying infrastructure, functions can still be vulnerable to misconfigured triggers, outdated dependencies, or overly broad permissions.
-
Apply function-level IAM (each function gets only what it needs).
-
Validate all event triggers and inputs.
-
Keep dependencies updated.
-
Set appropriate concurrency limits and timeouts.
Policy-as-Code and Runtime Monitoring
Policy-as-code catches misconfigurations before deployment, and runtime monitoring detects abnormal behaviour or unusual network activity.
-
Apply automated policy checks to detect issues early in the deployment process.
-
Monitor runtime behavior for anomalies.
-
Set up alerts for suspicious activity, such as unexpected API calls, unusual network patterns.
-
Implement logging and tracing across all services.
Securing Infrastructure as Code
Manage infrastructure code with the same care as application code to prevent widespread misconfigurations that can compromise cloud-native infrastructure, lead to data breaches, and cause compliance failures.
Terraform and CloudFormation templates need the same level of scrutiny as application code to prevent misconfigurations that can compromise cloud-native infrastructure.
-
Scan IaC files for misconfigurations.
-
Review and version all IaC modules.
-
Store IaC in Git with proper access controls.
-
Never hardcode secrets in IaC files.
Threat Modeling in Cloud-Native Systems
Cloud-native applications involve many moving parts, which increases the likelihood of overlooked risks. Threat modeling helps teams identify where attackers might exploit the system, including:
-
Identity and access risks.
-
API exposure.
-
Lateral movement across services.
-
Data storage and handling risks.
Automated threat modeling solutions make it easier for teams to visualize risks and prioritize what needs to be dealt with first.
Data Security in Cloud-Native Applications
Since cloud-native applications process and store sensitive information, data security needs to be a priority. Aside from strong access management and IAM controls, there should be data encryption at rest and in transit to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches. As always, regularly updating software helps close security gaps and reduce the risk of potential security vulnerabilities. Also, using cloud-native security tools, such as cloud access security brokers (CASBs) and advanced IAM solutions, helps organizations to manage who can access sensitive data and monitor for suspicious activity.
Teams that use these security measures can enhance their security posture and reduce the risk of incidents throughout the lifecycle of cloud-native applications.
Why Hands-On Training Works Best
Cloud-native security often fails because environments are complex and consequences are not always obvious. Hands-on labs let developers experiment safely, make mistakes, and see the impact.
What works is practical experience in safe environments where developers can:
-
See misconfigured containers and how attackers exploit them.
-
Find overly broad IAM permissions and how they move laterally.
-
Fix vulnerabilities in CI/CD pipelines.
-
Learn to prevent issues before they reach production.
When developers see firsthand how a public S3 bucket gets discovered in minutes or how an exposed API key leads to account takeover, it’s harder to forget.
Safeguarding Cloud-Native Applications with SecureFlag
With cloud-native security, developers need to practice securing IAM roles, deploying safe containers, fixing misconfigured Kubernetes workloads, and running secure CI/CD pipelines in real development environments, not simulations.
SecureFlag supports this through:
Cloud Security Labs
Across AWS, Azure, and GCP, developers learn how to:
-
Identify and fix misconfigured IAM policies.
-
Harden Kubernetes clusters.
-
Secure container images.
-
Use cloud-native services safely.
-
Apply DevSecOps practices directly in the pipeline.
Role-Based Learning Paths
Teams can train on what they work with, whether it’s cloud engineers, backend developers, DevOps engineers, or more.
Secure Coding Integrated Into Cloud Workflows
Cloud-native security is also about writing safe code that behaves correctly in distributed environments.
Practical, Realistic Scenarios
Every lab is built from real-world vulnerabilities. Developers get to test, break, and fix issues the way they would in production.
Threat Modeling for Cloud-Native Architectures
ThreatCanvas complements this with pre-built risk templates for AWS, Azure, and GCP, helping teams model cloud-native systems, identify platform-specific threats, and prioritize mitigation.
Secure cloud-native applications start with developers who understand how vulnerabilities arise and what to do when they find them. Hands-on experience turns best practices into lasting processes, keeping applications safe today and in the future.
