When we define what is Cloud Security Posture Management, we refer to the tools that help secure cloud infrastructures by identifying misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, and compliance violations across IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS architectures. 

The key capabilities of CSPM tools include continuous monitoring, tracking configuration changes, and cloud access permissions to anticipate potential security threats. CSPM tools conduct vulnerability scans to detect weaknesses such as misconfiguration and generate alerts for SOC teams to prioritize and remediate issues.

CSPM evaluates cloud environments against security and compliance benchmarks and offers comprehensive oversight. Security teams have visibility and control over an organization's cloud infrastructure. They can enforce policies uniformly across services to mitigate breach risks, implement strict cloud access control, and the principle of least privilege. This helps strengthen an organization's cloud security posture. 

Defining CSPM is limited to understanding the cloud peripheral security. Despite their advantages, traditional CSPMs have limitations, particularly securing sensitive data at risk. While CSPM can identify misconfigurations, they do not possess an understanding of the specific data or data access permissions associated with it or the effectiveness of data encryption.

Defining CSPM is limited to understanding cloud peripheral security. Traditional CSPM tools lack context (such as knowing which data is sensitive or how it should be protected), and organizations must spend extra time and effort to identify vulnerabilities related to critical data and encryption. This limitation highlights the need for contextual awareness in Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), where security actions are based on the specific sensitivity of the data and its access controls, a non-negotiable mechanism for reducing data risks.