What is Palo Alto Networks’ Prisma Cloud/Cortex Cloud?
Prisma Cloud is Palo Alto Networks’ flagship CNAPP offering, featuring built-in CSPM, CWPP, CIEM, DSPM, and application security capabilities. Historically, the Cortex portfolio included SOC and detection products like XDR and CDR. Now, Palo Alto is unifying Prisma Cloud and Cortex CDR under the Cortex Cloud banner – a combined cloud security platform that blends posture, runtime detection, and automation in one offering.
Like most CNAPPs, Cortex Cloud consolidates multiple cloud security capabilities into a single platform, addressing risks across build, deploy, and runtime. Recently, Prisma Cloud has expanded capabilities to address AI-related risks, such as AI service configurations and data exposure, across major cloud providers.
Key features
Consolidated CSPM, AI-SPM, DSPM, CDR, and CWP in a single platform
Automated real-time threat hunting via Precision AI
Three-layer coverage: code, infrastructure, and runtime
Use cases
Adding cloud security capabilities to a Palo Alto Networks–heavy tech stack
Supporting shift-left security initiatives
Securing containers and Kubernetes
Fortifying complex networks and multi-cloud environments
Maintaining compliance across standards like PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR, and SOC 2
What is CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security?
CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security is a CNAPP solution that helps enterprises secure critical cloud assets like applications and data. Historically, CrowdStrike has been known for its endpoint and workload security leadership. Falcon Cloud Security extends this foundation into the cloud, combining agent-based runtime protections with agentless posture capabilities.
CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security covers core CNAPP capabilities including CSPM, CIEM, CDR, and CWPP, with ongoing expansion into application and data security. The availability and depth of ASPM and DSPM features may vary by package and integration.
CrowdStrike Falcon has also expanded into securing AI and ML models and resources, reflecting the growing enterprise adoption of AI. No surprises there, considering the dramatic proliferation of enterprise AI. Beyond AI, another notable CrowdStrike offering is its 24/7 managed security services.
Key features
CSPM, CIEM, CDR, and CWPP capabilities
Integration with the CrowdStrike Threat Graph for risk scoring and correlation
AI-driven threat detection and intelligence for cloud workloads
Optional managed services to extend coverage with 24/7 monitoring
Use cases
Gaining visibility into multi-cloud environments and cloud workloads
Prioritizing risks with threat intelligence–driven context
Detecting and responding to cloud-specific threats in real time
Augmenting internal resources with managed detection and response for cloud
Cortex/Prisma Cloud vs. CrowdStrike Falcon: Key differences
A Palo Alto Networks vs. CrowdStrike comparison wouldn’t be complete without a head-to-head look at cloud security capabilities:
Cloud-native architecture and deployment
Cortex Cloud and CrowdStrike Falcon have the same goal: protecting enterprise cloud environments. But the way they’re built and the way they secure these environments is pretty different:
Prisma Cloud supports both API-based (agentless) integrations for posture and risk assessment, and agent-based defenders for runtime and workload protection. CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security combines agentless (API-based) cloud posture and discovery with agent-based sensors for workload and runtime protection, leveraging its EDR heritage.
CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security extends from an agent-based foundation, relying on sensors deployed to workloads and cloud resources for runtime visibility. While some posture management features are available through agentless APIs, its deeper protections are primarily agent-driven.
Multi-cloud and hybrid coverage
Prisma Cloud offers broad code-to-cloud coverage across major cloud providers – including AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud – along with additional support for other environments depending on the specific feature set being used. Its modular design gives organizations flexibility across diverse architectures.
CrowdStrike Falcon integrates with all major public cloud providers and is well-suited for hybrid and multi-environment operations. Its unified approach to cloud and endpoint protection helps teams manage security consistently across cloud, on-premises, and distributed workloads.
Threat detection and response capabilities
Prisma Cloud uses analytics to baseline cloud activity and detect anomalies as part of its CNAPP capabilities. This helps teams detect zero-day attacks and DNS-based attacks, and it also supports teams looking to flag suspicious incidents before they become full-fledged events.
CrowdStrike Falcon uses AI-driven analytics and its Threat Graph intelligence to power real-time detection and response. These strengths are especially evident in workloads and environments where Falcon sensors are deployed. By contrast, Cortex Cloud emphasizes broader code-to-cloud coverage, extending deeper into application and infrastructure layers.
Risk prioritization and context
Cortex Cloud takes a diverse range of factors into consideration, including network exposure, misconfigurations, excessive access, and pathways to sensitive data. This enables the platform to create a risk hierarchy aligned with business-critical processes and priorities. All of Cortex Cloud’s security information is unified into a single data lake, providing a comprehensive knowledge base for accurate, risk-based prioritization.
CrowdStrike also adopts a risk-based approach to issue prioritization, powered by its enterprise Threat Graph database. This enables the platform to assign threat and risk scores, correlate telemetry, and prioritize vulnerabilities based on real-world adversary behaviors and perimeters.
For both platforms, the depth of cloud coverage and connectivity depends on deployment choices and environments, which can impact consistency.
DevOps and developer experience
Cortex Cloud’s security features cover the whole spectrum of an application lifecycle, and by plugging into CI/CD pipelines and developer workflows, the platform can help you resolve issues before they infiltrate runtime.
CrowdStrike Falcon integrates into cloud environments primarily at the workload and runtime stages. Falcon delivers strong runtime visibility and intelligence that can help security teams detect and respond to active threats.
Scalability and flexibility
Both Cortex Cloud and CrowdStrike Falcon are scalable and flexible, but in different ways:
Scaling Cortex Cloud is modular: Basically, you just add cloud components when you need them.
CrowdStrike Falcon is highly scalable for large enterprise deployments, supporting thousands of workloads and multi-cloud environments. As with most agent-based platforms, performance and coverage depend on deployment architecture and configuration choices.
In practice, Cortex Cloud emphasizes modular scaling across cloud environments, while CrowdStrike Falcon scales effectively for endpoint and workload coverage.
Total cost of ownership
Before we get into pricing, it’s important to remember that both Cortex Cloud and CrowdStrike Falcon can help businesses avoid buying multiple point solutions: They both unify tools that companies would have to otherwise purchase separately.
Key factors to evaluate include:
Cortex Cloud comes in two offerings: SaaS and self-hosted. While custom pricing exists, Cortex Cloud prices itself in a credit-based system. Businesses get a certain number of credits, which they can use to purchase cloud modules. As the need for more cloud modules grows, cloud security costs can rise.
CrowdStrike’s pricing is modular, with core offerings licensed by workload or environment and additional features available as add-ons. Falcon Cloud Security packaging is tailored to the mix of modules and the scale of the deployment.
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En savoir plus
Cortex/Prisma Cloud vs. CrowdStrike Falcon: Which solution is best for your organization?
Cortex Cloud and CrowdStrike Falcon each bring unique strengths and approaches to security. Cortex Cloud is an all-in-one cloud security platform ideal for securing multi-cloud architectures and supporting a strong cloud compliance posture.
CrowdStrike Falcon provides proven endpoint and workload expertise in the cloud, excelling at runtime protection and threat intelligence, while Prisma Cloud delivers broad coverage across application, infrastructure, and compliance layers.
For organizations seeking multi-cloud coverage, fast agentless onboarding, code-to-cloud correlation, and precise risk prioritization, an agentless-first CNAPP with optional lightweight runtime sensors can provide a unified, cloud-native approach. Both Cortex Cloud and CrowdStrike Falcon offer enterprise-grade capabilities, allowing organizations to select the platform best aligned with their specific security strategy and operational priorities.
Gartner® Market Guide for Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP)
In this report, Gartner offers insights and recommendations to analyze and evaluate emerging CNAPP offerings.
Evaluating cloud security options? Why Wiz might be a strong fit
Wiz complements existing security investments and integrates naturally into broader architectures.
Many organizations rely on specialized tools – for example, CrowdStrike Falcon for endpoint protection or Palo Alto Networks Prisma Cloud for workload and network security controls. Wiz sits alongside these platforms by providing unified, contextual cloud security visibility across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.
Rather than duplicating what these tools already do well, Wiz adds the missing code-to-cloud context: surfacing attack paths, correlating misconfigurations with identities and data exposure, and highlighting risks across containers, Kubernetes, serverless, and cloud infrastructure. For teams operating multiple tools, this helps tie everything together into a single, coherent picture of cloud risk – without disrupting existing processes or requiring replacement of established products.
Who Wiz is a strong fit for
Wiz tends to deliver the most value for organizations that:
Operate complex, multi-cloud environments and want unified visibility across accounts, subscriptions, and clusters – without relying on agents.
Need a single, consistent platform that centralizes posture, identity, vulnerability, data, and runtime signals to reduce tool fragmentation.
Have distributed ownership (platform, dev, security) and need shared context so teams can collaborate around the same risks.
Prioritize speed and scalability, whether onboarding large cloud estates or conducting rapid environment growth during modernization, migration, or AI adoption.
Want to complement their existing stack, including endpoint, identity, or network security tools, with cloud-native context and attack-path analysis.
Are building or maturing secure-by-default development workflows, integrating security earlier in CI/CD and aligning cloud and code insights.
Ready to see it in action? Request a demo to connect your AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud in minutes, visualize real attack paths with unified context, and prioritize what to fix first.