Inspector—your AWS security auditor

Amazon Inspector is a cloud security service that automates the assessment of applications and servers running on AWS. It is designed to help organizations identify vulnerabilities and deviations from best practices, thereby enhancing their security posture. This robust platform integrates seamlessly with other AWS services, offering a multi-layered approach to securing cloud resources.

Key features

Inspector has the following key features:

Automated scans: Inspector provides continual, automated assessments, eliminating the need for manual, periodic scans.
Resource discovery: Inspector automatically identifies all running EC2 instances, Lambda functions, and Amazon ECR repositories, among other compatible resources, making it ideal for dynamic cloud environments.
Container support: Inspector extends its capabilities to container-based workloads, offering a comprehensive security assessment.
Improved risk scoring: Inspector offers contextualized risk scores for each finding, aiding in vulnerability prioritization.
Recommendations: Inspector also provides actionable recommendations to improve your security posture and ensure compliance with various regulations.
Automated remediation: You can integrate Inspector findings into automated patch management systems. For instance, when Inspector identifies a vulnerability, it can trigger a Lambda function that automatically applies the necessary patches or updates the security group rules to mitigate the risk.

Inspector in the real world

The following example showcases Inspector in action within a global organization.

Scenario

A global e-commerce platform is obligated to adhere to various international data protection regulations. They have a complex architecture that includes EC2 instances for web servers and containerized microservices for payment processing. During peak sales events such as Black Friday, their resources dynamically scale, making manual security assessments impractical.

Solution

The company deployed Inspector to automate their security assessment process. The service continually scanned their dynamically scaling resources, identifying vulnerabilities in real time. Inspector’s integration with organizations allowed the security team to manage assessments across multiple accounts, providing a unified view of their security posture.

Outcome

This proactive approach enabled the company to address vulnerabilities before they could be exploited, ensuring a secure and compliant environment during critical business periods. The automated assessments freed up the security team to focus on other strategic tasks, while the contextualized risk scores helped them prioritize remediation efforts effectively.