Cloud compliance is the process of ensuring that cloud-based systems, data, and operations meet the requirements of regulatory standards, industry frameworks, and organizational security policies. Cloud compliance encompasses continuous monitoring, evidence collection, gap analysis, and reporting against frameworks such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, GDPR, NIST 800-53, CIS Benchmarks, and KVKK.
As organizations move critical workloads to the cloud, compliance becomes both more important and more difficult. The dynamic nature of cloud environments - where resources are created, modified, and destroyed in minutes - means that traditional point-in-time audits are no longer sufficient. Cloud compliance requires continuous, automated monitoring.
Why Cloud Compliance is Challenging
Meeting compliance requirements in the cloud introduces unique challenges that do not exist in traditional on-premises environments:
- Dynamic environments. Cloud resources are ephemeral. A virtual machine can be spun up, used for an hour, and terminated. A storage bucket can be created by a CI/CD pipeline without any human involvement. Compliance controls must account for this constant change - a snapshot audit is outdated the moment it is completed.
- Shared responsibility model. Cloud providers are responsible for securing the underlying infrastructure, but the customer is responsible for securing their data, configurations, access controls, and applications. Many compliance failures stem from organizations not understanding where the provider's responsibility ends and theirs begins.
- Multi-cloud complexity. Organizations now operate across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. Each provider has different services, different naming conventions, different security controls, and different compliance certifications. Maintaining a consistent compliance posture across multiple clouds multiplies the effort.
- Continuous vs. point-in-time. Traditional compliance relied on annual or quarterly audits. Cloud compliance demands continuous monitoring because a single configuration change can take an environment from compliant to non-compliant in seconds. The gap between audits is a window of undetected risk.
- Evidence collection. Auditors require evidence that controls are in place and functioning. In the cloud, gathering this evidence manually - screenshots of console settings, exports of IAM policies, log queries - is time-consuming, error-prone, and often incomplete.
Key Compliance Frameworks
Organizations operating in the cloud typically need to comply with one or more of the following frameworks, depending on their industry, geography, and customer requirements:
| Framework | Focus | Who Needs It |
|---|---|---|
| CIS Benchmarks | Hardening best practices for cloud platforms, operating systems, and applications | All organizations - widely adopted as a security baseline |
| SOC 2 Type II | Trust service criteria: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, privacy | SaaS companies, service providers, any organization handling customer data |
| ISO 27001 | Information Security Management System (ISMS) with comprehensive controls | International enterprises, organizations seeking globally recognized certification |
| HIPAA | Protection of electronic protected health information (ePHI) | Healthcare providers, health tech companies, business associates handling health data |
| PCI-DSS | Security standards for organizations that handle payment card data | E-commerce platforms, fintech companies, payment processors, any merchant |
| NIST 800-53 | Comprehensive catalog of security and privacy controls for federal systems | U.S. government agencies, federal contractors, defense industry |
| GDPR | EU data protection regulation covering personal data processing and privacy rights | Any organization processing personal data of EU residents |
| KVKK | Turkish Personal Data Protection Law, modeled on GDPR principles | Organizations operating in Turkey or processing data of Turkish citizens |
Compliance vs Security
A common and dangerous misconception is that compliance equals security. It does not. Compliance and security are related but distinct concepts, and organizations need both:
- Compliance is a minimum bar. Compliance frameworks define the baseline controls an organization must implement to meet regulatory requirements. Passing a SOC 2 audit means you have met the trust service criteria - it does not mean you are secure against all threats.
- Security goes beyond compliance. A truly secure organization implements controls that exceed compliance requirements. Threat modeling, red teaming, advanced monitoring, and zero-trust architecture are security practices that most compliance frameworks do not mandate but that reduce risk further.
- Compliance without security is a checkbox exercise. An organization can be fully compliant and still suffer a breach if its security posture has gaps that the compliance framework does not cover. The Capital One breach of 2019 is a well-known example - the organization was PCI-DSS compliant but was breached through a misconfigured web application firewall.
- Security without compliance is a business risk. Conversely, an organization with excellent security practices but no compliance certifications may lose customers, fail procurement requirements, or face regulatory fines. Compliance is a business enabler as much as a security requirement.
The healthiest approach is to treat compliance as the floor, not the ceiling. Build a strong security program first, then map your controls to compliance frameworks to demonstrate alignment.
How CSPM Enables Cloud Compliance
Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) platforms are purpose-built to solve the cloud compliance challenge. They automate the continuous monitoring, evidence collection, and reporting that cloud compliance demands:
- Automated evidence collection. CSPM tools continuously scan cloud environments and collect evidence of control implementation. Instead of manually capturing screenshots for auditors, organizations can generate automated reports showing the state of every control at any point in time.
- Continuous monitoring. CSPM replaces point-in-time audits with real-time compliance monitoring. When a configuration change takes the environment out of compliance, the CSPM platform detects it immediately and alerts the appropriate team.
- Framework mapping. CSPM platforms map their security checks to specific compliance framework controls. A single scan can evaluate the environment against CIS Benchmarks, SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and other frameworks simultaneously, showing which controls pass and which have gaps.
- Audit-ready reports. When auditors arrive, CSPM platforms generate detailed reports showing compliance status over time, remediation timelines, and control effectiveness. This reduces audit preparation from weeks to hours.
- Scheduled compliance scans. Organizations can configure recurring scans - daily, weekly, or on-demand - to maintain a continuous compliance record. Scheduled scans provide a compliance timeline that demonstrates ongoing diligence, not just point-in-time compliance.
SecValley's Compliance Capabilities
SecValley's CSPM platform delivers compliance automation specifically designed for organizations operating in Microsoft 365, Entra ID, and Azure environments:
- 7 compliance frameworks. SecValley maps its 194 security controls to CIS Benchmarks, SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, GDPR, and KVKK - providing a unified compliance view across all major regulatory requirements.
- Automated framework mapping. Every security finding is automatically mapped to the relevant compliance controls, showing exactly which frameworks are affected by each issue and what needs to be remediated.
- Scheduled compliance reports. Configure recurring assessments that generate compliance reports on your schedule. Track your compliance posture over time and demonstrate continuous improvement to auditors and stakeholders.
- Board-ready output. SecValley produces executive-level compliance summaries alongside detailed technical reports. Security teams get actionable remediation guidance while leadership gets the high-level compliance posture they need for governance and risk management.
Explore SecValley CSPM to see how we help organizations achieve and maintain continuous cloud compliance.
