Wiz: Simplifying security for the next generation of cloud-based infrastructure

Cloud-based infrastructures promise a wealth of benefits, such as improved efficiency, massive resources, and the ability to scale up and down rapidly, as well as enhanced security features. Layering those security features in the most efficient and productive way, however, can be a challenge. That’s where cybersecurity startup Wiz comes in with its agentless, graph-based cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP). "With the Wiz Security Graph, we provide full visibility and context into every cloud resource and the relationships between them to uncover the toxic combinations of risk that create attack paths in your cloud," says Oron Noah, Director of Product Management, Wiz.

Founded in 2020, Wiz is a cloud security solution that connects to clients’ cloud environments. It scans every layer of your cloud, identifying any possible risks for virtual machines, containers, and serverless configurations. With a comprehensive view of their current security posture, customers are then able to act quickly and effectively to secure their environments. After launching its product, Wiz found itself in demand from some of the biggest organizations in the world. Very early on, however, the company knew that if it was to succeed, it needed to perform in multiple cloud arenas. It wasn’t long before Wiz decided to add Google Cloud to its stable of environments. As part of its commercial strategy, Wiz has integrated its solution to the Google Cloud Marketplace.

"We support our customers wherever they are," says Yinon Costica, VP of Product and Co-founder, Wiz. "One of our largest customers operated a multi-cloud infrastructure and we knew that we had to adopt the same approach. With Google Cloud, we built the foundation for a security solution that could cater to the variety of cloud environments. We also benefit from our Google Cloud Marketplace partnership to reach new Google Cloud customers."

Effective security with a simple footprint

Wiz builds an inventory of the entire cloud infrastructure, including PaaS, virtual machines, containers, and serverless resources, to provide total coverage of the customer’s cloud environment. On top of that, the Wiz Security Graph provides a detailed, easy-to-follow visualization of the environment, enabling customers to prioritize the most pressing issues using powerful context and insights.

As an agentless security platform, Wiz can provide this visibility by connecting to a customer’s cloud infrastructure, rather than deploying in it. "By using API-only connectors, rather than deploying agents, we can seamlessly scan our customers’ infrastructure with zero friction to the instances and no management overhead," says Noah.

The Wiz platform is designed to be cloud-native without being locked into any one particular cloud environment. The company achieves that by building its proprietary scanning tools with Kubernetes, the open-source container technology developed at Google, which can operate on any infrastructure. There is a difference, however, between operating and operating well. Wiz started its journey with one cloud provider, but very quickly saw that if it was to grow, it needed more infrastructure options.

One of Wiz’s first and largest customers requested that the company provide a multi-cloud solution, a large part of which was to be on Google Cloud. Wiz immediately set about building its security center on Google Cloud, recognizing the importance of the platform to enterprise-level organizations across the world. Thanks to its ease of use and facility with Kubernetes, adopting Google Cloud was a painless affair. "The way that Google Cloud implements Infrastructure-as-a-Code principles meant that we worked very quickly," says Scott Sumner, Cloud Services Provider Alliance Manager, Wiz. "We were up and running within a month."

"The Identity and Access Management Recommender tool is a unique bonus of Google Cloud," says Sumner. "We can share an incredibly rich level of detail with our customers and surface information that can very quickly identify vulnerabilities."

Multi-cloud functionality with minimal overheads

With Google Cloud, Wiz has built a security platform that is truly optimized for the next generation of multi-cloud infrastructures and it can adapt to customers’ needs no matter what sector they are in. For most organizations, Wiz will simply connect to their network with the lightest possible footprint. For those customers who work with sensitive data, such as financial or medical information, however, Wiz can easily deploy in their environments to comply with strict regulations. With Google Cloud data centers located all over the world, Wiz and its customers can be assured of the platform’s stability and ability to keep data in the prescribed regions.

Through intelligent use of automation and managed services, Wiz has used Google Kubernetes Engine and other Google Cloud products to focus its relatively small team of developers on delivering value to its customers, rather than spending valuable resources on infrastructure management. "We go to market very quickly with Google Cloud," says Noah. "We can put our energy into developing new tools that respond to our customers’ specific needs."

Swift reactions and rapid growth with managed services

Automations have played an important part in the company’s growth, not only in the way that it helps developers craft more mature products, but also in speeding up the platform’s performance. "The automations we get with Google Cloud are very important for us," says Noah. "Say a customer acquired a new company and expanded their Google Cloud environment as a result. We would automatically have scanned their cloud and be able to uncover risks within minutes, instead of days or weeks."

That reactiveness was put to the test in December 2021, when a vulnerability with the widely used open-source Java logging service Log4j was exposed and assigned the highest level of severity by security experts. Wiz could not only help existing clients deal with the vulnerability but was able to respond to a flood of new customers. "We were able to identify and visualize the Log4j vulnerability very quickly for new customers," says Sumner.

The Log4j incident was just part of the remarkable rise of Wiz. Impressed with the low-friction, high-powered security platform, more and more enterprises have engaged Wiz’s services. In fact, Wiz has onboarded a host of Fortune 500 companies, and is now one of the fastest-growing cyber security startups ever.

But for Wiz, the best is yet to come. The company has forged a winning partnership with Google Cloud that helps it stay abreast of the latest cloud developments. "We’ve got a great relationship with several product teams at Google Cloud," says Noah. "It means we can onboard new tools into our platform and make them visible to our customers. They can also learn from us about how we use their tools. We’d like to keep working side by side with Google Cloud, enhancing both sides of the partnership."