Agent-based and agentless CSPM solutions are two different approaches to monitoring and securing cloud environments. Each approach has its advantages and considerations. Let us take a closer look.
Agent-based approach
CSPM tools require the installation of software agents on cloud resources to collect security data and monitor for vulnerabilities. The agents are lightweight software components that run on cloud resources and report data back to the CSPM tool. These tools have the advantage of being able to collect more detailed and granular data about cloud resources, including the operating system, applications, and network configuration. This allows for more precise and accurate detection of security risks. However, agent-based CSPM tools can introduce additional complexity and maintenance overhead since agents need to be installed, configured, and updated on each cloud resource.
Advantages include the following:
- Granular visibility: Agents provide detailed insights into individual cloud resources, enabling comprehensive monitoring and security assessment
- Real-time monitoring: Agents continuously collect data and report in real time, allowing immediate detection of security issues and rapid response
- Offline detection: Agents can function offline and store security data locally, ensuring monitoring continuity even during network disruptions
Considerations include the following:
- Overhead: Installing agents on every resource can incur some overhead, especially in large-scale environments with thousands of resources
- Management: Managing and updating agents on all resources may require additional effort and coordination
Agentless CSPM approach
On the other hand, an agentless solution does not require installing software agents on cloud resources. Instead, it relies on Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and other cloud-native integrations to collect data and monitor for vulnerabilities. This approach is easier to deploy and maintain, as it does not require any additional software to be installed on cloud resources. Additionally, agentless CSPM tools are typically faster to deploy and provide broader coverage of cloud resources. However, agentless CSPM tools may not provide as detailed or granular data as agent-based tools, and they may not be able to detect certain types of security risks.
Advantages include the following:
- Easy deployment: Since no agents need to be installed, agentless solutions can be deployed quickly and require minimal configuration
- Lower overhead: Without agents, there is no resource overhead associated with managing and maintaining agent software
- Scalability: Agentless solutions can scale easily to support a large number of cloud resources
Considerations include the following:
- Limited visibility: Agentless solutions may provide broader coverage but could lack granular visibility into individual resources compared to agent-based solutions
- Delayed reporting: Data collection through APIs might introduce some latency, leading to slight delays in reporting compared to real-time agent-based solutions
- API limitations: Relying on cloud provider APIs means the effectiveness of an agentless solution is dependent on the quality and extent of APIs provided by the cloud provider