How CNAPPs Outsmart Hackers and Why Your VPN Isn’t Enough

April 25, 2025 By Johan Curtis No Comments 5 minutes

A massive Oracle Cloud breach exposes holes in old security tools. This article discusses how CNAPPs fix what firewalls and VPNs leave out. Find out why you need both to survive the cloud era.

How CNAPPs Outsmart Hackers Today

NOTE: With the advancement in technology to secure your online activities, hackers are also advancing. The latest attack on Oracle Cloud proves of this. Today, only depending on a premium VPN like FastestVPN together with a CNAPP is a necessisity more than an option.

Your security strategy still involves patching holes once attackers strike, like racing a sports car with bicycle brakes. For cloud-native apps, this means that integrating security from code to runtime is necessary. This is where CNAPPs come into play. They’re the missing piece of your defense, and where VPNs still crucially fit in.

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The Cloud’s Double-Edged Sword

The cloud changed everything. Businesses deploy apps faster, scale easily, and collaborate globally. But this convenience comes with a cost. All innovations open doors for hackers, including containers, serverless functions, and APIs. The recent Oracle Cloud breach proves it. A hacker stole six million records, including encrypted passwords and system keys, through a vulnerability in Oracle WebLogic Server. While Oracle denies a breach, the incident paints a picture of the truth. Traditional security tools weren’t built for the cloud.

The CNAPP, cloud native application protection platform, marks a paradigm shift in cloud security for your business. It puts more emphasis on a holistic security approach, including the security during the entire lifecycle of cloud applications – development, deployment, and runtime – than on being a new tool.

Forget about putting together five tools for containers, permissions, and firewalls. These are combined into one platform that speaks DevOps, knows Kubernetes, and auto-fixes risks before they blow up – a CNAPP.

Older tools treat the cloud like a data center. They’re sluggish, siloed, and clueless about ephemeral assets. CNAPPs love chaos. They search for infrastructure-as-code for configuration misconfigurations before deployment, enforce least-privilege access, and guard APIs in real time. Imagine a guard who knows every hallway, door, and secret passage in your cloud mansion. That’s a CNAPP.

The Oracle Breach Case Study

Let’s unpack the Oracle incident a bit. Hacker rose87168 says he exploited a vulnerability in Oracle WebLogic Server – software used to run login pages – to steal JKS files (digital keys) and encrypted passwords. The attacker then reportedly offered 140,000 companies to delete their data for a fee.

But Oracle denies a breach. The incident identifies three critical flaws in traditional cloud security:

Legacy systems (like WebLogic) often lack modern safeguards.
Encrypted passwords aren’t foolproof and can be cracked.
Point solutions (like firewalls) can miss API and container risks.

Had Oracle used a CNAPP, the story might be different. IaC scanning might have identified a WebLogic flaw before deployment. Runtime protection might have detected unusual file access. CIEM would’ve restricted user permissions, making lateral movement harder. This highlights the key benefits of what CNAPPs can accomplish.

Why Old Tools Fail in the Cloud

Agent-based security tools were built for static servers, not clouds. They are like sending a tweet via a typewriter. Consider these stats:

Older tools cover between 50-70% of cloud assets.
82% involve stolen credentials or misconfigurations – both CNAPP specialties.
Siloed tooling teams spend 40% more time triaging false alarms.

The cloud advantage is that it’s a dynamic process, not really a physical location. Servlets start in seconds, containers run for minutes, and APIs handle thousands of requests. However, traditional scanners find it challenging to keep up with this rapid evolution. Researching new technologies can upgrade your responsiveness. The grunt work is automated in CNAPPs. They inventory every asset, flag a public S3 bucket, revoke unnecessary admin rights, and block malicious API calls – all without writing manual scripts.

VPNs are a Cloud’s Sidekick

VPNs matter – but they aren’t enough. They encrypt data during transit, mask IPs, and protect remote access. However, they do not defend against misconfigurations, rogue APIs, or overprivileged users in cloud apps.

Combine CNAPPs with VPNs and Zero Trust for a layered defense:

VPNs protect remote teams accessing cloud apps.
Zero Trust verifies all users and devices, and CNAPPs enforce least privilege.
CNAPPs defend those apps and data even if attackers break through the VPN itself.

The Oracle breach involved stolen credentials. No VPN could have stopped that. Yet such a CNAPP would have limited user permissions and encrypted private files.

Surviving the Ever-Changing Cloud Era

The CNAPP houses six critical defenses on one platform. CSPM checks configurations continuously and fixes exposed databases instantly. CWPP guards containers like a bodyguard, while CIEM cuts unnecessary privileges – no more interns with administrative access. CDR blocks suspicious logins in real time, CI/CD security blocks vulnerable code pre-deployment, and Kubernetes security locks down exposed APIs.

You should take a step back and simplify your approach. Audit your current tools. Typically, using more than three is overcomplicating security. Try out a full CNAPP and layer it with VPNs and Zero Trust, and train teams to write secure infrastructure in code. CNAPPs handle the heavy lifting so your team can focus on strategic defense instead of chasing alerts.

The Bottom Line

That Oracle breach wasn’t just some fluke. Cloud native apps move fast, and attackers move faster. CNAPPs are the only tools designed for this chaos, integrating security into every development step. Still involved are VPN and firewalls – they’re just rearview mirrors in a race already underway.

When your cloud gets hit, and it inevitably will, you want to be proactive and stop attacks before they start. It’s time to ditch those quick-fix solutions and embrace CNAPPs. If your cloud feels stuck in the ‘90s, it’s time to upgrade your security. Investing in the right tech now will keep your cloud safe for whatever comes your way.