Amazon Inspector is an automated security assessment service that helps improve the security and compliance of applications deployed on AWS. It automatically assesses applications for exposure, vulnerabilities, and deviations from best practices.
Key Features:
1. **Automated Vulnerability Managem…Amazon Inspector is an automated security assessment service that helps improve the security and compliance of applications deployed on AWS. It automatically assesses applications for exposure, vulnerabilities, and deviations from best practices.
Key Features:
1. **Automated Vulnerability Management**: Inspector continuously scans AWS workloads for software vulnerabilities and unintended network exposure. It supports EC2 instances, container images in Amazon ECR, and Lambda functions.
2. **Agent-Based and Agentless Scanning**: For EC2 instances, Inspector can use the AWS Systems Manager (SSM) agent for deep inspection. Container images are scanned during push to ECR repositories.
3. **Risk Scoring**: Each finding receives an Inspector risk score that considers factors like CVSS scores, network reachability, and exploitability data to help prioritize remediation efforts.
4. **Integration Capabilities**: Inspector integrates with AWS Security Hub for centralized security findings, EventBridge for automated workflows, and provides APIs for custom integrations.
5. **Multi-Account Management**: Using AWS Organizations, you can enable Inspector across all member accounts from a delegated administrator account, simplifying organizational security management.
**Architectural Considerations for Solutions Architects**:
- **Organizational Deployment**: Implement Inspector at the organization level using delegated administrator capabilities to maintain consistent security posture across all accounts.
- **CI/CD Integration**: Incorporate Inspector scanning into container image pipelines to identify vulnerabilities before deployment.
- **Compliance Requirements**: Use Inspector findings to demonstrate compliance with security frameworks and regulatory requirements.
- **Cost Optimization**: Inspector pricing is based on scanned resources, so architects should understand scanning frequency and resource counts when designing solutions.
- **Remediation Workflows**: Design automated remediation pipelines using EventBridge rules triggered by Inspector findings to reduce mean time to remediation.
Amazon Inspector is essential for maintaining security hygiene in complex, multi-account AWS environments where manual security assessments would be impractical.
Amazon Inspector - Complete Guide for AWS Solutions Architect Professional
Why Amazon Inspector is Important
Amazon Inspector is a critical security service that helps organizations maintain compliance and identify vulnerabilities in their AWS workloads. For Solutions Architects dealing with organizational complexity, understanding Inspector is essential because it provides automated security assessments across multiple accounts, supports compliance requirements, and integrates with AWS Organizations for centralized security management.
What is Amazon Inspector?
Amazon Inspector is an automated vulnerability management service that continuously scans AWS workloads for software vulnerabilities and unintended network exposure. It supports:
• Amazon EC2 instances - Scans for software vulnerabilities and network reachability issues • Amazon ECR container images - Identifies vulnerabilities in container images stored in ECR • AWS Lambda functions - Assesses function code and dependencies for vulnerabilities
Inspector uses the AWS Systems Manager (SSM) Agent to collect software inventory from EC2 instances, making agent deployment a prerequisite for EC2 scanning.
How Amazon Inspector Works
Activation and Discovery: When activated, Inspector automatically discovers eligible resources in your account. It uses resource tags and can be configured to scan specific resources or all supported resources.
Continuous Scanning: Unlike point-in-time assessments, Inspector provides continuous scanning. It automatically rescans resources when: • A new CVE is published • A new EC2 instance is launched • New software is installed on an instance • A new container image is pushed to ECR
Findings and Severity: Inspector generates findings with severity ratings (Critical, High, Medium, Low, Informational) based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS). Findings include remediation guidance and affected resource details.
Multi-Account Management: Inspector integrates with AWS Organizations, allowing a delegated administrator account to manage Inspector across all member accounts. This enables centralized visibility and consistent security policies across complex organizational structures.
Key Features for Organizational Complexity
• Delegated Administrator: Designate an account to manage Inspector across the organization • Aggregated Findings: View findings from all accounts in a single dashboard • Suppression Rules: Create rules to suppress findings that are acceptable risks • Integration with Security Hub: Findings automatically flow to AWS Security Hub for centralized security management • EventBridge Integration: Automate responses to findings using EventBridge rules • S3 Export: Export findings to S3 for long-term retention and analysis
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Amazon Inspector
Scenario Recognition: Look for keywords like vulnerability scanning, CVE detection, container security, compliance assessments, and continuous monitoring. These typically point toward Inspector as a solution component.
Common Exam Scenarios: • Multi-account vulnerability management → Inspector with Organizations integration • Container image scanning before deployment → Inspector scanning ECR images • Automated remediation of vulnerabilities → Inspector + EventBridge + Lambda/SSM • Compliance reporting across accounts → Inspector with delegated administrator
Key Differentiators to Remember: • Inspector vs GuardDuty: Inspector finds vulnerabilities; GuardDuty detects threats and malicious activity • Inspector vs Macie: Inspector scans for software vulnerabilities; Macie discovers sensitive data • Inspector vs Security Hub: Inspector generates findings; Security Hub aggregates findings from multiple services
Prerequisites to Remember: • EC2 scanning requires SSM Agent installed and running • EC2 instances need an instance profile with SSM permissions • ECR scanning is automatic for repositories when Inspector is enabled
Cost Considerations: Inspector pricing is based on the number of instances scanned, container images scanned, and Lambda functions assessed. For exam questions about cost optimization, remember that Inspector only charges for active resources being scanned.
Architecture Best Practices: • Use a dedicated security account as the delegated administrator • Integrate with Security Hub for unified security posture management • Configure EventBridge rules for automated notification and remediation workflows • Export findings to S3 in the security account for centralized logging and compliance