.png "Critical Analysis of Agentless Vulnerability Scans in Cloud Environments")
Critical Analysis of Agentless Vulnerability Scans in Cloud Environments
Two years ago, we wrote a post here at Deepfence outlining the critical distinctions between agentless and agent-based security scans for environments in the blog post Agent and Agentless: a Comprehensive Approach to Security. The post documents what agent-based and agentless scans entail, different use cases that each solves for, and the critical questions each approach needs to answer moving forward. Ultimately, we said a more nuanced approach is necessary that takes elements from both approaches to provide a comprehensive security approach to securing modern environments. Over the past two years, we have talked to hundreds of organizations and compiled a number of case studies that highlight some of the growing costs associated with agentless scans when it comes to performing vulnerability assessments in cloud environments. This article examines a critical case study in agentless snapshot management for one of the largest social media giants in the world in the hopes of bringing to light some of the unseen costs of agentless security scans and encouraging companies to forge a better path forward that better balances efficiencies in the vulnerability detection process with financial viability in the cloud.
Agentless scans conduct security assessments without installing software agents on target systems, offering simplified deployment. However, they may have limited visibility into certain system aspects and rely on network connectivity, potentially impacting performance. Despite these limitations, agentless scanning remains valuable, especially in environments where agent deployment is impractical.
