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Why Cloud Security Starts with Applications—And How to Protect Them at Scale
Most security teams are still securing the cloud like they did their on-prem networks. It’s not working. Cloud security doesn’t start with firewalls. It starts with applications.
Dani Woolf
07 Mar • Read Time: 8 minutes
This episode is presented together with
Cloud security is still a mess.
I hear it in too many conversations I have with CISOs, security architects, and engineers alike.
Everyone’s expanding into the cloud, but the security strategies in place aren’t keeping up.
Organizations move fast, spinning up new workloads across AWS, Azure, and GCP—and security is usually an afterthought.
And here’s what almost no one is saying out loud:
Most security teams are still securing the cloud like they did their on-prem networks.
It’s not working.
Cloud security doesn’t start with firewalls.
It starts with applications.
And if you’re not thinking application-first, you’re already behind.
That’s exactly what I dug into with Kyle Wickert, Field CTO at AlgoSec, on the Audience 1st Podcast.
We broke down:
Why cloud security fails when teams approach it like traditional network security
The need for an application-driven approach to security
The biggest cloud security mistakes organizations make
How to align network and cloud security teams for success
If you’re running security in hybrid and multi-cloud environments, keep reading (and listen up ⬆️).
Before we dive in, don’t forget to subscribe to join 1700+ cybersecurity marketers and sales pros mastering customer research. You’ll get notified whenever a new episode and buyer insights summary drops.
Insights and Key Takeaways
Network Security Isn’t Dead—It’s Evolving
One of the spicier takes we discussed was the idea that network security is a thing of the past.
Apparently, some folks think that identity and cloud security have made network security irrelevant.
The thinking goes something like this:
Identity security and zero trust are taking priority over traditional network security.
Cloud-native security controls replace the need for traditional firewall-based security.
As long as organizations have good IAM policies, they’re covered.
Kyle strongly disagrees.
“The network is still extremely relevant. It hasn’t gone away—it’s just morphed. Organizations are stretching their networks into the cloud, into new environments, and their applications are doing more than ever before.”
The issue?
CISOs and executives assume that network security is “handled” as part of cloud security.
But many cloud security strategies still rely on foundational network controls—and those controls aren’t always properly configured.
“They assume the problem is solved when it isn’t. They all depend on a fundamental set of network controls being there that aren’t always there.”
Think about it:
While CISOs are busy focusing on identity and cloud security, attackers are taking advantage of weak network security policies to slip right through.
Cloud Security is Broken Because Teams Don’t Speak the Same Language
One of the biggest issues Kyle pointed out?
The teams responsible for securing cloud environments don’t even speak the same language.
“Those are two different teams. One comes from the traditional firewalls side—Palo Alto, Check Point, Fortinet, all of that. The other is running cloud security—security groups, network security policies, and cloud-native controls.”
These teams were never designed to work together.
On one side, you have security pros who’ve been managing firewalls for decades and are used to controlling fixed, on-prem environments.
On the other, you have cloud security engineers who operate in a completely different world—working with ephemeral cloud workloads, automation-first security models, and dynamic policies.
And guess what?
Neither team really understands what the other one is doing.
“Those are different languages that now need to collaborate and communicate between each other.”
That’s a massive gap.
Because when security teams operate in silos, policies break down, misconfigurations explode, and security debt piles up.
Cloud Security Needs to Be Application-Centric—Here’s Why
So what’s the right approach?
According to Kyle, security needs to be built around applications, not infrastructure.
“It’s the applications that drive the connectivity. We don’t want to talk about individual firewalls, different devices. We want to talk about the applications that actually run the customer's business.”
That’s a huge mindset shift.
Instead of thinking, How do we secure our cloud infrastructure?, organizations need to ask:
Which applications power the business?
Where do they connect—on-prem, in the cloud, across clouds?
What security policies and controls need to follow those applications?
The problem is, most organizations don’t even know what’s running where.
“You’d be shocked by the amount of situations you go into and say, ‘How are you driving change in your environment when it comes to policy?’ And they go, ‘It’s being done in a spreadsheet.’”
Let that sink in for a second.
Security teams managing massive cloud environments, hybrid networks, and business-critical applications—with spreadsheets.
This is why application-centric security is non-negotiable.
AlgoSec Cloud Enterprise’s (ACE) application first approach simplifies cloud network security with:
Deep Visibility: Map and secure your cloud applications. Gain deep visibility into your cloud network and address over 150 cloud-specific risks including vulnerabilities in security groups, cloud firewalls, and container configurations.
Consistent Enforcement: Apply unified security policies across your cloud and on-premises environments, ensuring consistent protection for all your applications.
Automated Change Management: Streamline updates and reduce errors with automated workflows for security policy changes and configuration updates.
How to Fix It: Three Steps to Better Cloud Security
1. Get Visibility Into Application Flows
You can’t secure what you don’t understand. Security teams need end-to-end visibility into:
Which applications are running where (on-prem, cloud, multi-cloud).
How those applications communicate across environments.
Where security policies are applied—and where they’re missing.
2. Automate Security Controls Based on Application Context
Most organizations are still manually managing security policies, and it’s not scalable.
“Automation is much more than just pushing a policy. It’s about making better decisions along the way.”
Instead of just enforcing static rules, organizations should:
Dynamically apply security policies based on application behavior.
Use automation to eliminate redundant policy changes.
Ensure cloud security policies align with business needs.
Security shouldn’t slow applications down—it should move with them.
3. Align Network and Cloud Security Teams—Or Fail
Security teams can’t afford to operate in silos anymore.
Cloud security and network security teams need to work as one.
That means:
A shared security strategy that bridges on-prem and cloud security.
A unified policy framework that applies across environments.
A shift away from infrastructure-focused security to application-centric security.
The companies that figure this out?
They’ll be the ones that actually secure cloud environments—at scale.
Final Thoughts: Security Needs to Evolve—Fast
Cloud security isn’t slowing down. Organizations are only going to scale faster, add more cloud providers, and introduce more complexity.
The question is:
Will security teams keep up?
If you're still securing your cloud the way you secured on-prem networks 10 years ago, you're already behind.
It’s time to stop treating security as just an infrastructure problem.
Cloud security starts with applications. If you don’t protect them, nothing else matters.
If you want to hear more from Kyle Wickert, check out the full episode of Audience 1st.
And if you’re tackling cloud security at scale, talk to AlgoSec’s team here.
Until next time,
Dani
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