Enterprise Security Tools Stack

Analysis of security tools discovered and assessed in enterprise Azure environments.

This section documents the security tooling ecosystem assessed during real-world SecAI Framework execution with a confidential insurance services customer.

Table of contents

1. Overview
   1. Security Stack Architecture
2. Tool Categories
   1. 1. Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)
   2. 2. Application Security Testing
   3. 3. Identity & Access Management
   4. 4. Network Security
   5. 5. Endpoint Detection & Response
   6. 6. Testing & Quality Assurance
   7. 7. Feature Management
   8. 8. Log Management & SIEM
3. Multi-Environment Architecture
   1. Environment Structure
   2. Log Pipeline Architecture
   3. Why Cribl in the Pipeline?
4. Palo Alto Cortex XDR - Not Deployed
   1. Why Cortex XDR Was Not Selected
5. Tool Integration Architecture
   1. Identity Integration
   2. Data Flow Integration
6. Tool Selection Criteria
   1. Evaluation Framework
   2. Best-of-Breed vs. Platform Approach
7. Cost Optimization Strategies
   1. SIEM Cost Reduction
   2. Tool Consolidation
8. Vendor Quick Reference
9. Deep Dive Pages
   1. Cloud Security
   2. Application Security
   3. Identity & Access
   4. Network Security
   5. Endpoint Security
   6. Testing Frameworks
   7. Feature Management
   8. Observability & SIEM
10. Integration Patterns
    1. Common Integration Architecture
    2. Security Tool API Integration
11. Next Steps

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Overview

Modern enterprise security requires a defense-in-depth approach with multiple specialized tools. During our Azure security assessment, we discovered and analyzed a comprehensive security stack deployed across 34+ subscriptions.

SecAI Framework assesses these tools as part of Dimension 1 (Configuration Assessment):

• How are they configured?
• Are they deployed consistently across environments?
• What is the logging and monitoring coverage?
• How do they integrate with Azure-native controls?

This section provides detailed analysis of each tool category and specific vendors.

Security Stack Architecture

graph TB
    subgraph "Development Security"
        A[Cursor IDE]
        B[Veracode SAST/SCA]
        C[Playwright/Selenium Testing]
    end
    
    subgraph "Identity & Access"
        D[Okta SSO/MFA]
        E[Azure Entra ID]
    end
    
    subgraph "Cloud Security"
        F[Wiz CNAPP]
        G[Azure Firewall]
        H[Prisma Access]
    end
    
    subgraph "Endpoint Security"
        I[CrowdStrike EDR]
    end
    
    subgraph "Feature Management"
        J[LaunchDarkly]
    end
    
    subgraph "Log Management Pipeline"
        K[Azure EventHub]
        L[Cribl Stream]
        M[Chronicle SIEM]
        N[Splunk]
    end
    
    A --> B
    A --> D
    C --> B
    D --> E
    F --> G
    G --> K
    H --> K
    I --> K
    K --> L
    L --> M
    L --> N
    
    style F fill:#7c3aed,stroke:#5b21b6,color:#fff
    style I fill:#dc2626,stroke:#991b1b,color:#fff
    style M fill:#0066cc,stroke:#003d7a,color:#fff

---

Tool Categories

1. Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)

• Wiz - Agentless cloud security platform

2. Application Security Testing

• Veracode - SAST, DAST, and SCA platform

3. Identity & Access Management

• Okta - Enterprise identity and SSO platform

4. Network Security

• Prisma Access - Palo Alto Networks SASE platform
• Azure Firewall - Cloud-native firewall service

5. Endpoint Detection & Response

• CrowdStrike - Cloud-native endpoint protection

6. Testing & Quality Assurance

• Playwright - Modern end-to-end testing framework
• Selenium - Browser automation and testing

7. Feature Management

• LaunchDarkly - Feature flag and experimentation platform

8. Log Management & SIEM

• Cribl - Observability pipeline platform
• Chronicle - Google Cloud security analytics
• Splunk - Data analytics and SIEM platform

---

Multi-Environment Architecture

Environment Structure

The customer operates with environment isolation:

Environment	Purpose	Log Destination	Monitoring Level
Development (dev)	Feature development	Chronicle (Cribl)	Standard
Test	Integration testing	Chronicle (Cribl)	Standard
UAT	User acceptance testing	Chronicle (Cribl)	Enhanced
Pre-Production (preprod)	Production validation	Chronicle + Splunk	Enhanced
Production (prod)	Live customer workloads	Chronicle + Splunk	Maximum

Log Pipeline Architecture

graph LR
    subgraph "Azure Resources (All Environments)"
        A1[Azure Firewall - Dev]
        A2[Azure Firewall - Test]
        A3[Azure Firewall - UAT]
        A4[Azure Firewall - PreProd]
        A5[Azure Firewall - Prod]
        B1[Azure OpenAI - Dev]
        B2[Azure OpenAI - Prod]
        C[Key Vault]
        D[Cursor Audit Logs]
    end
    
    subgraph "EventHub Kafka"
        E[EventHub Namespace]
        F[Kafka Consumer Groups]
    end
    
    subgraph "Cribl Stream"
        G[Cribl Workers]
        H[Data Routing]
        I[Enrichment]
    end
    
    subgraph "SIEM Destinations"
        J[Chronicle - Primary]
        K[Splunk - PreProd/Prod]
    end
    
    A1 --> E
    A2 --> E
    A3 --> E
    A4 --> E
    A5 --> E
    B1 --> E
    B2 --> E
    C --> E
    D --> E
    
    E --> F
    F --> G
    G --> H
    H --> I
    I --> J
    I --> K
    
    style E fill:#0066cc,stroke:#003d7a,color:#fff
    style G fill:#f59e0b,stroke:#d97706,color:#fff
    style J fill:#10b981,stroke:#059669,color:#fff

Why Cribl in the Pipeline?

Cribl Stream Benefits:

1. Data Reduction: Filter and sample logs to reduce SIEM costs
2. Routing: Send different data to different destinations
3. Enrichment: Add context to logs before SIEM ingestion
4. Transformation: Normalize data from multiple sources
5. Cost Optimization: Significant reduction in SIEM licensing costs

Example Configuration:

# Cribl Stream routing configuration
routes:
  - name: production-critical
    filter: env == "prod" && severity >= "high"
    destination: [chronicle, splunk]
    
  - name: production-standard
    filter: env == "prod" && severity < "high"
    destination: [chronicle]
    sample_rate: 0.1  # 10% sampling
    
  - name: preprod
    filter: env == "preprod"
    destination: [chronicle, splunk]
    sample_rate: 0.5  # 50% sampling
    
  - name: lower-environments
    filter: env in ["dev", "test", "uat"]
    destination: [chronicle]
    sample_rate: 0.05  # 5% sampling

---

Palo Alto Cortex XDR - Not Deployed

Why Cortex XDR Was Not Selected

Decision Rationale: The customer chose not to deploy Palo Alto Cortex XDR despite using Prisma Access. Key reasons:

1. Feature Overlap with CrowdStrike
   • CrowdStrike Falcon already provides comprehensive EDR
   • Cortex XDR’s endpoint capabilities duplicate CrowdStrike
   • No benefit to running two EDR agents
2. Feature Overlap with Wiz
   • Wiz provides cloud security posture management
   • Cortex XDR’s cloud security features overlap
   • Wiz’s agentless approach preferred for cloud
3. SIEM Strategy
   • Chronicle + Splunk already established
   • Cortex XDR’s SIEM-like features not needed
   • Existing SIEM investment too large to migrate
4. Cost Considerations
   • Additional licensing cost not justified
   • ROI analysis favored existing tools
   • Consolidation preferred over expansion
5. Operational Complexity
   • Already managing multiple security tools
   • Adding Cortex XDR increases operational burden
   • Team expertise in existing tools

Capabilities Comparison:

Capability	Cortex XDR	Current Solution	Winner
Endpoint Detection	✅	CrowdStrike ✅	CrowdStrike (established)
Cloud Security	✅	Wiz ✅	Wiz (agentless)
Network Visibility	✅	Prisma Access + Azure Firewall ✅	Existing (integrated)
SIEM/Analytics	✅	Chronicle + Splunk ✅	Existing (established)
Threat Intelligence	✅	CrowdStrike + Chronicle ✅	Existing (adequate)

This decision may be revisited if the customer’s security requirements change or if significant feature gaps are identified in the current stack.

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Tool Integration Architecture

Identity Integration

All tools integrate with Okta for SSO:

Developer Login → Okta → SAML/OIDC → Tools
  ├── Cursor Enterprise (OIDC)
  ├── Wiz (SAML)
  ├── Veracode (SAML)
  ├── LaunchDarkly (SAML)
  ├── CrowdStrike Falcon (SAML)
  └── Azure Portal (Entra ID federation)

Data Flow Integration

Security Event Flow:

1. Event occurs (e.g., Cursor API call to Azure OpenAI)
2. Azure Firewall logs to EventHub
3. EventHub Kafka group consumed by Cribl
4. Cribl enriches with:
   - Okta user identity
   - Wiz cloud context
   - CrowdStrike endpoint data
5. Routed to Chronicle/Splunk
6. Security analyst investigates in SIEM

---

Tool Selection Criteria

Evaluation Framework

When evaluating security tools for Cursor deployments:

Criterion	Weight	Considerations
Security Efficacy	30%	Detection capabilities, false positive rate
Integration	20%	API quality, SIEM integration, Okta support
Cost	20%	Licensing model, ROI, total cost of ownership
Operational Impact	15%	Agent overhead, maintenance burden
Vendor Viability	10%	Financial stability, roadmap, support
Compliance	5%	SOC 2, ISO certifications, audit support

Best-of-Breed vs. Platform Approach

Customer’s Approach: Best-of-breed

Rationale:

• Choose best tool for each category
• Avoid vendor lock-in
• Flexibility to replace underperforming tools
• Integrate via standards (SAML, SIEM, APIs)

Trade-offs:

• ✅ Best capabilities in each category
• ✅ Negotiating leverage with vendors
• ❌ Higher integration complexity
• ❌ More tools to manage

---

Cost Optimization Strategies

SIEM Cost Reduction

Problem: Traditional SIEM pricing based on data volume

Solution: Cribl Stream for intelligent data routing

Savings Example:

Before Cribl:
  - 10 TB/day ingested to Splunk
  - $X per GB = $Y/month

After Cribl:
  - 2 TB/day to Splunk (critical data only)
  - 8 TB/day to Chronicle (lower cost)
  - 50% overall cost reduction

Tool Consolidation

Avoided Costs:

• Not deploying Cortex XDR saved ~$250K/year
• CrowdStrike covers endpoint needs
• Wiz covers cloud security needs

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Vendor Quick Reference

Vendor	Category	Website	Founded	HQ
Wiz	Cloud Security	wiz.io	2020	New York, NY
Veracode	AppSec	veracode.com	2006	Burlington, MA
Okta	Identity	okta.com	2009	San Francisco, CA
Palo Alto Networks	Network Security	paloaltonetworks.com	2005	Santa Clara, CA
CrowdStrike	Endpoint Security	crowdstrike.com	2011	Austin, TX
Playwright	Testing	playwright.dev	2020	Microsoft
Selenium	Testing	selenium.dev	2004	Open Source
LaunchDarkly	Feature Flags	launchdarkly.com	2014	Oakland, CA
Cribl	Observability	cribl.io	2017	San Francisco, CA
Chronicle	SIEM	chronicle.security	2018	Google Cloud
Splunk	SIEM/Analytics	splunk.com	2003	San Francisco, CA

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Deep Dive Pages

Explore detailed analysis of each tool:

Cloud Security

• Wiz - Cloud Security Platform - Agentless cloud security, container security, CSPM

Application Security

• Veracode - Application Security - SAST, DAST, SCA, and container scanning

Identity & Access

• Okta - Identity Platform - SSO, MFA, lifecycle management, adaptive authentication

Network Security

• Prisma Access - SASE Platform - Secure access service edge, zero trust
• Azure Firewall - Cloud Firewall - Managed firewall as a service

Endpoint Security

• CrowdStrike - Endpoint Protection - EDR, threat intelligence, incident response

Testing Frameworks

• Playwright - Modern Testing - Cross-browser testing, auto-wait, mobile emulation
• Selenium - Browser Automation - Industry standard web testing

Feature Management

• LaunchDarkly - Feature Flags - Progressive delivery, experimentation, targeting

Observability & SIEM

• Cribl - Observability Pipeline - Data routing, enrichment, cost optimization
• Chronicle - Security Analytics - Google-scale SIEM, threat intelligence
• Splunk - Data Platform - SIEM, log management, analytics

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Integration Patterns

Common Integration Architecture

Most tools follow similar integration patterns:

Authentication: Okta SAML/OIDC → Tool Logging: Tool → EventHub → Cribl → SIEM Alerting: Tool → Webhook → Teams/PagerDuty API Access: Service Principal → Azure AD → Tool API

Security Tool API Integration

Example: Querying security posture from multiple tools

# Python example: Unified security dashboard
import requests
from okta_auth import get_token

# Get Wiz cloud security findings
wiz_token = get_token('wiz')
wiz_findings = requests.get(
    'https://api.wiz.io/findings',
    headers={'Authorization': f'Bearer {wiz_token}'},
    params={'severity': 'high', 'status': 'open'}
).json()

# Get CrowdStrike endpoint detections
cs_token = get_token('crowdstrike')
cs_detections = requests.get(
    'https://api.crowdstrike.com/detects/queries/detects/v1',
    headers={'Authorization': f'Bearer {cs_token}'},
    params={'filter': 'status:"new"+severity:["high","critical"]'}
).json()

# Get Veracode application vulnerabilities
vc_token = get_token('veracode')
vc_vulns = requests.get(
    'https://api.veracode.com/appsec/v2/applications',
    headers={'Authorization': f'Bearer {vc_token}'}
).json()

# Unified dashboard
print(f"Open High-Severity Issues:")
print(f"  Cloud (Wiz): {len(wiz_findings)}")
print(f"  Endpoints (CrowdStrike): {len(cs_detections)}")
print(f"  Applications (Veracode): {len(vc_vulns)}")

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Next Steps

Explore detailed vendor analysis:

1. Start with CSPM: Wiz Overview - Understand cloud security posture
2. Review Identity: Okta Overview - Foundation of zero-trust
3. Understand Logging: Cribl Overview - How logs flow to SIEM
4. Explore Full Stack: Review all vendor pages for comprehensive understanding

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Last Updated: October 10, 2025
Status: Production Validated

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Table of contents