They sound similar and are often confused, but they govern different layers. ASPM secures the application and its code; CSPM secures the cloud infrastructure the application runs on. The strongest programs use both and correlate between them.
ASPM asks: is the code, its dependencies and its build safe, and can an attacker exploit them. CSPM asks: is the cloud account, IAM, storage and network configured safely. One looks at the software, the other at the platform under it.
| Dimension | ASPM | CSPM |
|---|---|---|
| Secures | The application and its code | The cloud infrastructure |
| Typical sources | DAST, SAST, SCA, IaC, secrets | Account, IAM, network, storage config |
| Core question | Is this exploitable? | Is this misconfigured? |
| Unit of work | A correlated finding per root cause | A failed control on a resource |
The interesting risk lives at the seam. A reachable application vulnerability plus a public cloud resource is a far worse story than either alone - that is an attack path. apPosture carries both application posture and cloud posture and correlates across them, so a proven app finding and an exposed resource become one chained, prioritized risk. See cloud and Kubernetes posture.
Usually yes. They cover different layers; a gap in either is exploitable. The advantage of one platform is correlating an application finding with a cloud exposure into a single attack path.
A converged platform can carry application and cloud posture together. apPosture does, and correlates between them rather than leaving two separate dashboards.
From discovery to a proven attack chain. A PoC in your own environment.