Top Infrastructure as a Code (IaC) Scanners

Introduction

Misconfigured cloud infrastructure is a ticking time bomb. Gartner predicts that by 2025, 99% of cloud breaches will be traced to preventable misconfigurations. If you define your infrastructure in code, a simple mistake (like an open S3 bucket or overly permissive IAM role) can instantly replicate across environments – a nightmare scenario for DevOps teams. That’s why Infrastructure as Code scanning is mission-critical in 2025.

IaC scanners act as your automated code reviewers, catching security and compliance issues in Terraform, CloudFormation, Kubernetes manifests, and more before they hit production. In this post, we’ll highlight the top IaC scanning tools available today, then break down which are best for specific use cases (developers, enterprise, startups, etc.) so you can ship secure infrastructure without the security theater.

We’ll cover the top Infrastructure as Code (IaC) scanning tools to help your team catch misconfigurations and enforce security from development to deployment. We start with a comprehensive list of the most trusted IaC scanners, then break down which tools are best for specific use cases like developers, enterprises, startups, Terraform teams, and more. Skip to the relevant use case below if you'd like.

What is IaC Scanning?

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) scanning is the process of analyzing your IaC configuration files for errors, security flaws, or policy violations before deployment. Think of it as static analysis for your Terraform, CloudFormation, Helm, or Kubernetes files. IaC scanners parse your infrastructure definitions and automatically check for things like open security groups, unencrypted storage, hardcoded secrets, or non-compliance with standards. By comparing your IaC templates against a set of security policies and best practices, these tools identify misconfigurations that could lead to breaches or downtime. The goal is to “shift left” – find and fix infrastructure risks in code, during development, rather than after everything is live. In short, IaC scanning gives you a safety net, ensuring your cloud and infrastructure remain secure and compliant from the moment they’re defined in code.

Why You Need IaC Scanning Tools

Modern cloud setups are complex and fast-changing. Here’s why an IaC scanner belongs in every pipeline:

• Catch Misconfigurations Early: IaC scanners flag issues like wide-open firewalls, public S3 buckets, or weak encryption settings before provisioning. This prevents costly mistakes – nearly a quarter of cloud security incidents stem from misconfigurations.
  ‍
• Shift Security Left: By integrating into CI/CD and even IDEs, IaC tools give developers immediate feedback. Fixing a vulnerability in a Terraform file during a pull request is far easier (and cheaper) than scrambling after a breach in production.
  ‍
• Automate Compliance: IaC scanners come with rules for standards like CIS benchmarks, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, etc. They automatically enforce these policies on every commit, ensuring your configs meet organizational and regulatory requirements without manual audits.
  ‍
• Consistent Multi-Cloud Guardrails: In hybrid and multi-cloud environments, IaC tools provide a single source of truth for security policies. They apply the same checks whether you’re deploying to AWS, Azure, GCP, or Kubernetes, eliminating drift and human error across environments.
  ‍
• Developer Velocity without Sacrificing Security: The best IaC scanners prioritize important issues and reduce noise. This keeps engineers productive by highlighting the real must-fix items (no more wading through thousands of “low” alerts). It’s about shipping fast and safe code, with minimal friction.

Criteria to Pick the Right IaC Scanning Tool

Not all IaC scanners are created equal. When evaluating which tool fits your team, consider these key criteria:

• Supported Technologies: Ensure the tool covers your stack. Do you need Terraform and CloudFormation? Kubernetes YAML and Helm charts? Pick a scanner that supports all the IaC frameworks and cloud providers you use (AWS, Azure, GCP, etc.) for comprehensive coverage‍.
  ‍
• Rule Set and Customizability: Look for a rich library of built-in policies (security best practices, CIS Benchmarks, etc.) and the ability to add your own. For example, Bridgecrew ships with over 1,800 pre-built policies and also lets you write custom checks in code. Custom rules ensure the tool can enforce your organization’s specific requirements.
  ‍
• Integration and Developer Experience: The ideal tool plugs into your workflow – CI/CD pipelines, git hooks, IDE extensions, and ticketing systems. Real-time CLI feedback and easy pipeline integration are a must for developer adoption‍. If it’s a SaaS, check for integrations with your repos (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket) and chatOps (Slack, Teams) for alerting.
  ‍
• Noise Reduction: Tools that simply dump hundreds of findings aren’t helpful. Prioritization and filtering are crucial. Does the scanner use context (e.g. cloud resource relationships) to highlight critical misconfigs over informational ones? Some platforms (like Aikido) even use AI to auto-triage or fix issues, cutting down the alert flood.
  ‍
• Scalability and Enterprise Features: For larger teams, consider role-based access control, integration with SSO, centralized dashboards, and reporting. Enterprise-focused tools might offer drift detection (flagging when deployed infra drifts from IaC), advanced compliance reports, or on-prem deployment options for security-sensitive orgs.

Keep these criteria in mind as you assess options. Now let’s look at the top IaC scanning tools of 2025 and what makes each stand out.

Top IaC Scanning Tools for 2025

Below we’ve compiled an up-to-date list of the leading Infrastructure as Code security tools (in alphabetical order). We’ll cover what each tool does, key features, ideal use cases, pricing info, and more. This list is unranked – all these tools are solid choices, but their strengths fit different needs. (Later, we’ll dive into which tools are best for specific scenarios like startups vs enterprises, Terraform vs CloudFormation, etc.)

First off, here’s a comparison of the top 5 overall IaC scanning tools based on features like supported IaC formats, CI/CD integration, and false positive reduction. These platforms are best-in-class across a range of needs—from developer-first startups to large-scale enterprise environments.

Accurics (Tenable Cloud Security)

Accurics (now part of Tenable) is a platform that secures infrastructure from code to cloud. It combines static IaC scanning with runtime cloud posture management. Accurics scans your Terraform, CloudFormation, and Kubernetes IaC for misconfigurations and policy violations, then monitors your deployed cloud infrastructure for drift. This means it not only catches issues before provisioning but also keeps an eye out for any out-of-band changes in production. It integrates with CI/CD pipelines and source control to embed checks into development workflows. Notably, Accurics can auto-generate remediation code – offering “fix as code” suggestions to align your infrastructure with security policies.

Key features:

• Full Lifecycle Security: Combines pre-deployment IaC scanning with post-deployment drift detection for holistic cloud security.
• Policy-as-Code Engine: Uses the OPA/Rego policy engine (via Terrascan) with hundreds of built-in rules for AWS, Azure, GCP compliance and the ability to add custom policies.
• GitOps Integration: Integrates with version control and CI systems to enforce checks at commit and build time. Also tags IaC components (via Yor) to track resources from code to cloud.
• Autonomous Remediation: Provides automated fixes (like Terraform code patches) when violations are found, letting teams remediate by updating code rather than manual hotfixes.
• Enterprise Ready: Now under Tenable, it offers enterprise features like RBAC, dashboards, and easy pairing with Tenable’s cloud scanning for runtime (containers, VMs, etc.).

Best for: Organizations practicing GitOps that want a unified solution for IaC and cloud runtime security. Great for enterprises that need drift prevention and integration with broader vulnerability management.
Pricing: Commercial enterprise product (Tenable Cloud Security); pricing on request, with likely tiered plans.

Aikido Security

Aikido Security dashboard filtering results by issue type and severity. In this example, 4200 findings are distilled to 200 prioritized issues (“Aikido Refined”), reducing noise by 95%.
Aikido is a centralized platform designed to secure code, cloud, and runtime – with IaC scanning as one of its core capabilities. It’s a developer-first tool that bundles multiple security scanners (SAST, dependency scanning, container scanning, secrets detection, and IaC) into one service. For IaC, Aikido scans Terraform, CloudFormation, and Kubernetes configs for misconfigurations and compliance issues, much like Bridgecrew or Checkov. What sets Aikido apart is its focus on reducing alert fatigue and fixing issues fast. It leverages AI to automatically prioritize critical findings and even generate one-click Autofix patches for certain vulnerabilities‍. Aikido provides a clean web UI where you can triage and filter findings by severity, resource type, etc., across all your repos. It also integrates with popular dev tools – you can run scans in CI/CD, get PR checks, or even receive fixes as pull requests.

Key features:

• All-in-One Security Platform: Aikido combines IaC scanning with code scanning (SAST), dependency auditing (SCA), container image scanning, secret detection, cloud posture, and more in one dashboard. This eliminates the need to juggle separate tools.
• AI-Powered Autofix: Its “Sensei” AI suggests secure code patches for detected issues (e.g., it can auto-generate a fix for an insecure shell_exec in code) and can even apply fixes with one click‍. This dramatically speeds up remediation for developers.
• Noise Reduction: Aikido emphasizes signal over noise. It filters out low-value alerts – in one example, it reduced 4200 raw findings to 200 relevant issues (a 95% noise reduction) via its “Aikido Refined” filtering. The platform uses smart heuristics to focus on significant security risks instead of overwhelming you with every minor warning.
• Dev-Friendly Integrations: Supports integration with git providers (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket), CI/CD pipelines, IDE plugins, and messaging apps (Slack, Teams)‍. Developers can get immediate feedback in their workflow – fail a build if IaC checks fail, see scan results in pull requests, etc.
• Compliance & Reporting: Provides compliance scanning and evidence collection for frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, and CIS Benchmarks‍. Security teams can generate reports and track risk trends across projects via the unified dashboard.

Best for: Developer-centric teams and startups that want one platform for code-to-cloud security. Aikido is ideal if you’re looking for an easy, automated way to catch IaC issues alongside code vulnerabilities, without drowning in alerts. It’s also a strong choice for enterprises in regulated sectors (FinTech, HealthTech, etc.) that need broad coverage and AI-assisted remediation.
Pricing: Free plan available (scan unlimited repos with community rules). Paid plans from ~$350/month for added features and enterprise support. (Aikido offers a no-credit-card-required free trial so you can kick the tires.)

Bridgecrew (Prisma Cloud)

Bridgecrew is an IaC security platform that automates cloud configuration security. Acquired by Palo Alto Networks, it now underpins the Prisma Cloud IaC security module, though many still refer to it as Bridgecrew. This tool scans infrastructure-as-code for misconfigurations (Terraform, CloudFormation, Kubernetes manifests, Dockerfiles, and more) and enforces best practices using a huge library of policies. Bridgecrew goes beyond static code analysis – it integrates with version control and CI pipelines to catch issues at build time, and it can connect to live cloud accounts to flag drift or production misconfigs in AWS, Azure, and GCP. One of Bridgecrew’s strengths is its developer-friendly approach to fixes: it surfaces the exact code line and offers guided remediation steps or automated patches when possible. Teams can also write custom policies in YAML or Python to tailor checks to their needs.

Key features:

• Extensive Policy Library: Over 1,800 built-in policies covering AWS, Azure, GCP services, plus Docker/K8s benchmarks. Policies include security best practices and compliance rules (CIS, ISO, etc.), all continuously updated.
• VCS and CI/CD Integration: Tight integration with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and CI pipelines. Bridgecrew can run scans on every commit or pull request and display annotations in code reviews‍. It also has a CLI for local use and plugins for IDEs.
• Automated Fixes: Provides a “fix” suggestion or auto-fix for many issues. For example, it might automatically open a pull request to fix an insecure security group rule. Bridgecrew’s platform can also resolve pre-existing misconfigurations in code using its Fix modules.
• Drift Detection: Through integration with cloud APIs, Bridgecrew detects when deployed infrastructure deviates from your IaC and alerts you (or even opens a code fix to reconcile it). This ensures your repo stays the single source of truth for configuration.
• Enterprise Platform: Part of Prisma Cloud, Bridgecrew offers centralized dashboards, compliance reports, role-based access, and scalability for large orgs. It can cover multiple teams and projects, with integrations into ticketing systems and chat for workflow automation.

Best for: Enterprise DevSecOps teams and cloud platform teams that need to enforce security in IaC at scale. Bridgecrew is especially useful if you’re already in the Palo Alto ecosystem or want a polished SaaS with both code scanning and cloud posture management in one. It’s a top choice for organizations using Terraform heavily, given its strong Terraform support and drift detection capabilities.
Pricing: Free tier for small usage (and of course the open-source Checkov engine is free). Full Bridgecrew SaaS is commercial – now sold as part of Prisma Cloud; pricing is custom or by cloud asset volume. (There’s a free trial via Palo Alto for the Bridgecrew platform as well.)

“Bridgecrew is helpful in scanning our Amazon Kubernetes clusters and effectively fixes misconfigurations… we are able to utilize its pre-existing policies and also create new ones through its superb policy editor.” — G2 Review, 2022

Checkov

Checkov is the open-source powerhouse of IaC scanning. Created by Bridgecrew, Checkov is a CLI tool that statically analyzes IaC templates for misconfigurations and security issues. It supports a wide array of formats out-of-the-box: Terraform (HCL and plan JSON), CloudFormation, AWS SAM, Kubernetes YAML, Helm charts, Docker Compose, and more. Checkov comes with hundreds of built-in policies (written in Python or YAML) covering common security and compliance best practices. You can run Checkov locally (developers often use it pre-commit or in CI) and it will output any failed policies with line numbers and remediation guidance. It also integrates easily into CI pipelines and even has extensions for IDEs like VS Code. Because it’s open source, many other tools (including some on this list) leverage Checkov under the hood. It’s known for its broad coverage and active community contributions.

Key features:

• Multi-Framework Support: Scan Terraform, CloudFormation, Kubernetes manifests, Helm, Azure ARM, Google Cloud Deployment Manager, and more in one tool. This broad support means you can use Checkov as a one-stop scanner for all your infrastructure code.
• Policy as Code: Comes with a strong set of built-in rules (over 1,000). You can also write custom policies in Python (for complex logic) or YAML (for simple config checks) to enforce org-specific requirements‍.
• CI/CD and Git Integration: Checkov is designed for automation. It works as a command-line in any CI, and there are official GitHub Actions, GitLab CI templates, etc., to drop it into your pipeline easily. Many devs run checkov as a local linter too.
• Results Output: Outputs in human-readable form by default, plus JSON or JUnit XML for machine parsing. It highlights the file and line of each violation and links to documentation for each failed check. This makes it easier to understand and fix issues.
• Extensible & Evolving: The community continuously adds new checks for emerging issues. For example, as cloud services update, Checkov often has new policies added quickly. Its open-source nature means it keeps pace with the latest IaC security concerns.

Best for: Hands-on developers and DevOps who want a free, open-source tool to integrate into their workflow. If you’re comfortable with CLI tools and want full control and transparency, Checkov is a great choice. It shines for Terraform-heavy environments but is equally handy for Kubernetes and multi-cloud setups. Also ideal for those who want to build custom policies or integrate scanning deeply into custom pipelines.
Pricing: Free and open source. (Enterprise features available via Bridgecrew SaaS, but the core Checkov scanner is Apache 2.0 licensed with no cost.)

CloudSploit by Aqua Security

CloudSploit is an open-source tool (and SaaS) for scanning cloud infrastructure accounts for security issues. Unlike static code scanners, CloudSploit focuses on live environment misconfiguration scanning – it uses cloud provider APIs to detect risky settings in AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and more. Think of it as a continuous audit of your cloud accounts for things like publicly exposed resources, insecure IAM roles, improper logging, etc. It’s often categorized as a Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) tool. While CloudSploit doesn’t scan IaC code directly, it complements IaC scanning by finding issues in the deployed infrastructure, including resources created through IaC. Aqua Security maintains CloudSploit’s open-source rules and also offers it as part of their commercial platform. You can run CloudSploit self-hosted to periodically check your accounts, or use Aqua’s SaaS for a more turnkey experience.

Key features:

• Multi-Cloud Posture Scanning: Supports AWS (hundreds of checks), plus Azure, GCP, Oracle Cloud, and even GitHub settings. It looks for misconfigurations like open security groups, overly broad IAM permissions, unencrypted databases, etc., in your cloud consoles.
• Continuous Monitoring: Can be set up to run on a schedule or continuously via the SaaS, so you get alerts as soon as a risky configuration appears in your environment.
• Extensible Checks: The open-source core allows custom plugins. You can write additional checks or modify existing ones to suit your security policy. The tool is essentially a Node.js-based scanner with JSON-defined rules.
• Reporting & APIs: CloudSploit provides reports of findings by severity and service. In the SaaS version, you get a dashboard and integration to Slack, Jira, and so on. The open-source version outputs results to the console or JSON, which you can pipe into other systems.
• Integration with Aqua: As part of Aqua Security’s platform, CloudSploit ties into container and IaC scanning. Aqua’s Trivy now also has IaC scanning and can cover some of the same ground (Trivy config), but CloudSploit remains a specialist for cloud config checks.

Best for: Teams that want to continuously audit cloud environments for security issues. If you already use IaC scanners for code, CloudSploit fills the gap by catching things like someone tweaking a setting in the AWS console or any drift between code and deployed config. It’s great for security teams who need assurance that cloud setup stays compliant over time. Also good for organizations looking for a free/open CSPM solution to start with.
Pricing: Open source core is free (self-hosted scanning). Aqua’s CloudSploit SaaS is a paid subscription (often bundled with Aqua’s cloud security platform).

Datree

Datree is an open-source CLI tool and admission controller that helps prevent misconfigurations in Kubernetes. It’s all about enforcing policy checks on Kubernetes manifests (YAMLs) before they get applied to a cluster. With Datree, you can define rules or use built-in policies to catch issues like missing resource limits, use of deprecated APIs, or risky settings in your K8s configs. Developers run Datree locally (it plugs into kubectl as a plugin, or as a CI step) to scan YAMLs and Helm charts. Datree also offers a Kubernetes admission webhook that can reject misconfigured resources in real-time if they violate policy – effectively gating the kubectl apply at the cluster level‍. There’s a hosted component where you can manage policies in a central dashboard and get reports across teams. Datree’s mission is to give Kubernetes owners peace of mind that developers aren’t deploying something that could break the cluster or introduce a security risk.

Key features:

• Kubernetes-Focused Checks: Datree comes with dozens of best-practice rules for K8s, such as ensuring liveness/readiness probes are set, no privileged containers, using latest API versions, etc. Policies like the NSA/CISA Kubernetes Hardening Guide, EKS Best Practices, and CIS Benchmarks are available out-of-the-box.
• CLI and Admission Webhook: Use the CLI to scan config files during development/CI, and enforce via an admission controller in the cluster. The admission webhook will block deployments that don’t meet policy, acting as a safety net in runtime.
• Central Policy Management: Datree’s SaaS allows you to define and update policies centrally and have all developers use them. It also provides a dashboard showing compliance of various repos/clusters with the policies. (For purely offline use, you can also run Datree CLI with local policy files.)
• GitOps Compatible: If you manage K8s via GitOps, Datree can be integrated in your pipeline so that any manifest pushed to git is validated. It supports Helm charts and Kustomize in addition to plain YAML, which is great for modern Kubernetes workflows.
• Extensibility: You can write custom rules (JSON schema-based or using Open Policy Agent for advanced scenarios). This lets you enforce any organization-specific conventions on Kubernetes resources.

Best for: Platform teams and DevOps engineers managing Kubernetes clusters, especially in organizations where many developers contribute K8s configs. Datree is a boon for preventing common mistakes (like forgetting resource limits) that could lead to outages or security gaps. Startups and mid-size companies running K8s will appreciate the free tool with strong policies. Enterprises can use the centralized management to enforce standards across dozens of clusters.
Pricing: Open source CLI and core (free). They have paid plans for the SaaS features (policy dashboard, SSO, etc.), but the local and in-cluster enforcement features are free to use.

“There are free alternatives, but when you have 100+ engineers, you need a solution with centralized policy management and native monitoring. That’s where Datree shines.” — Alex Jones, Engineering Director at Canonical

KICS (Checkmarx)

KICS – “Keeping Infrastructure as Code Secure” – is a popular open-source IaC scanner maintained by Checkmarx. It’s an all-in-one CLI tool that can scan Terraform (HCL), CloudFormation, Kubernetes manifests, Ansible, Dockerfiles, and more for misconfigurations and security issues KICS is known for its extensive set of built-in queries: it includes over 2,000 rules to detect everything from open security groups to overly permissive IAM roles to missing encryption on resources. Each query is basically a pattern of a potential issue, and these are written in a declarative format (in JSON/YAML) making them easy to extend. Developers typically run KICS via its Docker image or binary in CI pipelines; it outputs a scan report listing any problems found. The project is quite active, aligning with Checkmarx’s focus on application security. It’s a strong alternative to Checkov for teams that want a different open-source option with wide coverage.

Key features:

• Broad IaC Coverage: KICS supports Terraform, CloudFormation, Azure Resource Manager templates, Kubernetes, Helm, Docker, and even configuration files like AWS SAM and k8s Kustomize. This breadth means one tool can scan multiple facets of your infrastructure code.
• Huge Query Library: Comes with 2000+ predefined checks for common vulnerabilities and misconfigurations. The queries cover multi-cloud services and are mapped to standards (CIS, GDPR, etc.). You can modify or toggle queries as needed.
• Custom Rules: If something’s not covered, you can author new queries in KICS easily. The project provides guidance on writing custom policies in their query language. This is useful for internal policies or niche technologies.
• Simple Usage via Docker: KICS provides an official Docker container, so you don’t even need to install anything – just run the container against your config files. This makes it easy to drop into pipelines. It also has a straightforward CLI if you prefer that.
• Results and IDE Integration: Output includes a JSON with all findings and their severity. There’s also VS Code extension support so developers can see IaC scan results directly in their IDE while coding, helping to fix issues in real-time (shift-left in the truest sense).

Best for: DevOps teams and developers looking for a free, open-source scanner with a comprehensive rule set. KICS is great for those using multiple IaC formats (e.g., Terraform for infra + Kubernetes + Docker) since it handles all of them. It’s also a good choice if you’re already using other Checkmarx tools, or if you want an alternative to Checkov. The ease of running via Docker/CI makes it accessible for startups and enterprises alike.
Pricing: 100% free & open source. (Enterprise support is available through Checkmarx if needed, but the community edition is full-featured.)

Prowler

Prowler is an open-source security tool that assesses cloud environments for best-practice compliance and security weaknesses. Originally built for AWS, Prowler now supports AWS, Azure, GCP, and Kubernetes checks Unlike IaC scanners that analyze code, Prowler operates by querying your cloud accounts (using AWS CLI/API, etc.) to detect misconfigurations in real-time. It covers dozens of AWS services, checking against standards like CIS AWS Foundations, PCI-DSS, ISO27001, HIPAA, and more. For example, Prowler will flag if your S3 buckets are public, if CloudTrail is not enabled, if an IAM user has too broad permissions, or if Kubernetes cluster settings are non-compliant. It’s essentially a one-stop script to audit your cloud environment’s security posture. Many cloud engineers use Prowler for regular check-ups or before security reviews. There’s also a commercial “Prowler Pro” SaaS now, but the open-source tool remains widely used.

Key features:

• AWS Security Audits: Comes with over 200 checks for AWS covering identity and access, logging, networking, encryption, etc. It maps to CIS benchmarks and other frameworks, making it easy to ensure AWS accounts meet industry guidelines.
• Multi-Cloud and K8s: In recent versions, Prowler added support for Azure, GCP, and even basic Kubernetes security checks This makes it a multi-cloud Swiss army knife for security assessments.
• Compliance Reporting: Prowler outputs results in formats like CSV, JSON, or HTML reports. It tags findings by severity and compliance framework. This is handy for generating audit artifacts or tracking improvements over time.
• Extensible and Scriptable: Being essentially a collection of shell scripts and AWS CLI calls, advanced users can customize or add new checks easily. It’s cloud-native (no servers to run, just execute from your laptop or a pipeline with proper credentials).
• Integration Use-Cases: You can run Prowler periodically via a CI job or even AWS Lambda for continuous monitoring. There are community-contributed integrations to send Prowler findings to SIEMs or chat alerts, etc., enabling it to fit into broader security operations.

Best for: Cloud security practitioners and DevOps teams who want a free tool to regularly scan cloud accounts for issues. If you’re managing AWS environments especially, Prowler is almost a must-have for baseline security audits. It’s great for compliance checks (CIS, HIPAA) and for catching misconfigurations that IaC code scanners might miss (e.g., someone changed something in console or a resource created outside of IaC). Startups can use it to harden their cloud setup at no cost, and enterprises often incorporate it into cloud governance processes.
Pricing: Free and open source. (The open project is Apache-2.0 licensed. The creators offer a paid “Prowler Pro” SaaS with a UI and continuous scanning if desired, but the OSS tool itself is fully functional.)

Qualys IaC Security

Qualys, a well-known enterprise security vendor, offers Qualys IaC Security as part of its cloud security platform. This tool focuses on scanning infrastructure-as-code templates (currently Terraform, CloudFormation, and Azure ARM templates) for security issues and policy compliance. Qualys IaC is integrated into Qualys’s cloud-based dashboard, providing unified visibility and reporting if you’re already using Qualys for other scans (VM, container, etc.). It checks your templates against best practices and compliance standards – for instance, ensuring encryption is enabled, no hardcoded secrets, proper network restrictions, and so on. A big feature of Qualys IaC Security is drift detection: it can compare your IaC configurations to the actual deployed cloud infrastructure (via Qualys CloudView) and flag any discrepancies. This helps maintain that what’s in code is what’s in reality. It also integrates with CI/CD pipelines, so developers get immediate feedback if they introduce a risky config.

Key features:

• Policy-Driven Scanning: Comes with rulesets to enforce CIS benchmarks, GDPR, and internal security policies on IaC. Uses Qualys’s vast knowledge base of vulnerabilities and misconfigs to analyze templates.
• CI/CD and IDE Integration: Qualys provides plugins and APIs to integrate IaC scanning into your development pipeline. For example, you can set up a Jenkins or Azure DevOps step that fails the build on IaC misconfigurations. There’s also VS Code extension support for on-the-fly checks while coding.
• Unified Dashboard: If you use Qualys, IaC scan results appear alongside other security findings (like host vulnerabilities, container issues) in their platform. This centralized view is helpful for security managers to track posture across the board.
• Drift Detection: The Qualys IaC module ties into Qualys CloudView (their CSPM solution) to do drift analysis. If the running cloud config deviates from your code (say a security group was altered manually), it will alert you, ensuring enforcement of “code is truth” in cloud configs.
• Auto-Remediation Workflows: While Qualys IaC primarily identifies issues, it can integrate with Qualys’s workflow to trigger remediation steps or create tickets. It doesn’t automatically fix code, but it guides teams on what to change.

Best for: Enterprises that are already invested in the Qualys ecosystem or those who want a one-stop cloud security platform. If your security team lives in Qualys for vulnerability management, adding IaC scanning there can simplify processes. It’s also suitable for organizations with strong compliance requirements – Qualys excels in reporting and mapping findings to compliance controls. However, smaller teams or those looking for open source might find it heavyweight; Qualys IaC is tailored for enterprise scale and depth.
Pricing: Commercial. Qualys IaC Security is typically licensed as part of Qualys CloudView or as an add-on, and pricing is by number of assets or templates scanned. Qualys usually offers trials for evaluation.

Regula (Fugue)

Regula is an open-source policy engine for IaC security, created by Fugue (now part of Snyk). It evaluates Terraform and CloudFormation files (plus Terraform plan JSON and Serverless frameworks) for security and compliance violations. Under the hood, Regula uses the Open Policy Agent (OPA) and Rego language for its rules. Fugue pre-packages hundreds of Rego policies implementing AWS CIS Benchmarks, NIST standards, and other best practices across AWS, Azure, GCP, and Kubernetes What makes Regula powerful is that you can use the exact same Rego policies to check both your IaC and your deployed cloud (via Fugue’s SaaS) – achieving consistent enforcement across the lifecycle As a CLI tool, Regula can be run locally or in CI to test code for misconfigurations. It outputs findings in JSON or JUnit formats, which integrate well with CI systems and test frameworks (you can treat policy checks like unit tests). Security engineers often like Regula for its flexibility: if you know Rego (the policy language also used by tools like Open Policy Agent and Gatekeeper), you can express very complex rules about relationships between resources, required tags, etc.

Key features:

• OPA/Rego Policy Engine: Regula uses the industry-standard OPA engine. Policies are written in Rego, which is expressive enough to handle complex logic (like ensuring an S3 bucket has encryption and the KMS key has proper rotation). This also means you can leverage existing OPA policies or skills.
• Multi-Cloud Rules: Includes libraries of rules for AWS, Azure, GCP, and Kubernetes. For example, it can detect if an AWS CloudFormation template is missing CloudTrail or if an Azure Resource Manager template exposes a SQL DB publicly‍. It also covers common misconfigs in Terraform across these clouds.
• Integration & Output: Designed to plug into CI pipelines – Regula can output pass/fail results for each policy, and you can break builds if policies are violated. It supports output formats like JSON, JUnit, TAP, etc., making it easy to integrate with CI/CD and even GitHub/GitLab test reporting.
• Custom Policy Development: Regula provides tooling to test your custom rules and iterate quickly. You can write your own Rego policies to enforce things like naming conventions, specific tag requirements, or architecture patterns. The tool even supports marking certain findings as exceptions (waivers) where you intentionally allow something.
• Fugue SaaS Integration: If you use Fugue (now Snyk Cloud) SaaS, you can push the same Regula policies to monitor runtime cloud environments. This is a big win for consistency – it ensures your IaC and actual cloud are measured against identical standards.

Best for: Cloud security engineers and compliance-focused teams who want fine-grained control over IaC policy enforcement. If you have strong compliance mandates (CIS, NIST, etc.) and want to encode those as code, Regula is a fitting choice. It’s also great for those already versed in OPA/Rego – you can unify your policy-as-code across application and infrastructure. Startups may find Regula a bit advanced unless they specifically need that policy-as-code power. Enterprises with IaC plus cloud runtime scanning needs (especially those adopting Snyk Cloud after Fugue acquisition) will benefit from Regula’s approach.
Pricing: Open source (free). The Regula CLI is free to use. Fugue’s enterprise SaaS (now Snyk Cloud) is commercial, which can consume Regula rules for live cloud monitoring, but using Regula for IaC by itself doesn’t require a purchase.

Spectralops (Check Point)

Spectral (by Spectralops, now a Check Point company) is a developer-centric security scanner that covers code, secrets, and IaC in one solution. It’s a commercial tool known for its speed and integration into dev workflows. For IaC, Spectral scans config files (Terraform, CloudFormation, Kubernetes manifests, etc.) to catch misconfigurations and policy violations, similar to other IaC scanners But Spectral also does more – it performs source code scanning, secret detection in commits, and dependency scanning, acting as a unified scanner. One of its notable features is a high-performance scanning engine that can rapidly scan large codebases (useful in CI where time is money). It highlights the exact lines in IaC files that are problematic and provides remediation suggestions. Because Spectral is aimed at enterprises, it offers centralized policy management and can be tuned to your environment. Check Point has integrated Spectral into its CloudGuard platform, but it remains available as a standalone developer tool as well.

Key features:

• Multi-Purpose Scanning: Not just IaC – Spectral finds secrets, vulnerable code patterns, dependency issues, and more in addition to cloud config issues. It’s somewhat akin to a Swiss Army knife for code security, which can simplify tool sprawl for a team.
• Fast and CI-Friendly: Built with a focus on performance, it can scan thousands of IaC files quickly, making it feasible to run in every pipeline without significant slowdowns. This is a big plus for large repos.
• Customizable Rules: Teams can define custom policies to enforce specific security requirements or suppress certain findings. Spectral supports custom regex/YAML rules for simple checks and more complex logic rules for advanced cases.
• Developer Integration: Provides CI/CD integrations and a CLI, plus can emit results to common formats. It also has plugins for code hosts and can comment on PRs with findings, making it visible to developers in their normal process. There’s an emphasis on being “developer-friendly” in terms of UI and feedback loop.
• Enterprise Features: As it’s enterprise-focused, you get role-based access control, dashboards, and integration with systems like Jira or Splunk for tracking issues. It also offers on-premises deployment for companies that need to keep scanning in-house.

Best for: Enterprises and fast-moving dev teams that want a unified scanning solution. If you prefer one tool that can catch secrets, code vulns, and IaC misconfigurations together, Spectral is appealing. It’s particularly useful in large organizations where performance and broad coverage are needed – for example, scanning a monorepo with app code and Terraform in one go. Organizations already using Check Point CloudGuard might gravitate to Spectral for easier integration.
Pricing: Commercial (Spectral is a paid product, pricing typically per user or per code volume). No official free tier, though a trial can be obtained. Given it’s now part of Check Point, it’s often sold in the context of their cloud security platform to enterprises.

Snyk Infrastructure as Code

Snyk IaC is the Infrastructure as Code scanning module of the Snyk developer security platform. Snyk made its name with easy-to-use dependency scanning and has brought the same developer-friendly approach to IaC. With Snyk IaC, developers can scan Terraform, CloudFormation, Kubernetes config, and ARM templates for misconfigurations and security risks. It’s available via the Snyk CLI (e.g., snyk iac test), on Snyk’s web UI, and can integrate with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket to scan your IaC files on push. Snyk IaC provides context-aware results – meaning it tries to prioritize issues that are actually exploitable or high-impact in your environment. For instance, it has features like “Verified Exploit Paths” (likely in higher plans) that highlight truly critical misconfigs (a concept referenced in SentinelOne’s description of modern IaC tools). It also gives detailed remediation advice for each issue and can even suggest code fixes. Since acquiring Fugue in 2022, Snyk’s IaC capabilities expanded (they’ve integrated a lot of Fugue/Regula’s policy expertise, and even offer Terraform plan scanning). It’s tightly integrated with the Snyk platform, so teams can see IaC issues alongside app vulns and track risk in one place.

Key features:

• Developer Workflow Integration: Snyk IaC integrates with CLI, IDE plugins, and repo platforms. For example, you can get inline scan results in VS Code, or have Snyk bot raise a PR comment if a Terraform file contains a risky config. This seamless integration encourages developers to fix issues early.
• Comprehensive Rules: Scans for misconfigs across major IaC types – Terraform, Kubernetes (YAML and Helm), CloudFormation, Azure ARM, Google Deployment Manager, etc. Snyk’s rules include security best practices and compliance checks and are constantly updated by their research team.
• Context-Aware Prioritization: Snyk is known for trying to reduce noise. It may use context (like cloud resource interdependencies) to prioritize findings. Snyk IaC also ties into Snyk’s wider data to highlight which issues are most likely to be exploitable. (For example, if a security group is open and there’s a known exploitable service behind it, that might get elevated priority.)
• Reporting and Analytics: In Snyk’s platform, you get a dashboard showing IaC issue trends, highest risk projects, and compliance status. It offers analytics to see, e.g., how many critical misconfigs have been fixed over time, helping measure your “security posture” improvement.
• Integration with GitOps & CI: Snyk can be set as a required check in GitHub, or run as part of CI pipelines (they provide integrations for Jenkins, CircleCI, etc.). It can also scan Terraform plan files, which means it can evaluate the actual cloud resources that would be created, catching issues that static template checks might miss (like interpolated values resolved at plan time).

Best for: Developer-first organizations and DevSecOps teams who value integration and ease of use. If you already use Snyk for other things (open source deps, container scans), adding Snyk IaC is a no-brainer to get unified visibility. It’s also a strong choice for organizations implementing GitOps or heavy CI enforcement – Snyk’s tools are built to slot into those pipelines with minimal friction. Startups up to enterprises can use it, but larger companies will appreciate the enterprise features and consolidated view Snyk provides.
Pricing: Snyk IaC has a free tier (limited scans per month, and fewer features) which is generous enough for small projects. Paid plans (Team, Enterprise) scale by number of users or resources, unlocking advanced features like custom rules and integrated reporting. Snyk offers a free trial for its platform as well.

Best IaC Tools for Developers

Developers want IaC tools that blend into their workflow and catch issues without a lot of hassle. Key needs include CLI/IDE integration, quick feedback, and low noise (so they can focus on coding). The best tools here are ones that empower devs to write secure infrastructure from the get-go, rather than dumping lengthy reports after the fact. Developer-friendly IaC scanners are easy to run locally, fast, and have clear guidance for fixes.

Top picks (alphabetically) for developers:

• Aikido Security: An all-in-one scanner (code, IaC, etc.) with a slick UI and IDE plugins. It’s great for devs because it uses AI to auto-prioritize findings and even suggest one-click fixes, saving time. You can run scans in CI or get PR checks, and the free plan makes it accessible.
• Checkov: The open-source favorite. It’s a simple CLI that you can run as a pre-commit or in CI. Developers love Checkov for its broad support and the ability to write custom policies in Python if needed. It’s lightweight and can be integrated into virtually any dev workflow (there’s a VS Code extension too).
• KICS: Another OSS tool that’s easy to use via its Docker image or binary. KICS has tons of built-in checks, so developers get immediate feedback on a wide range of issues. It’s cross-platform (Windows/Mac/Linux) and can be run locally with minimal setup. The output is straightforward, highlighting exactly what to fix.
• Snyk IaC: Ideal for developers already using Snyk for code or dependencies. Snyk IaC integrates into IDEs and source control – e.g., it can add comments on a GitHub PR if you introduce a risky config. The developer UX is a priority for Snyk, with clear descriptions and remediation advice for each issue. Plus, the CLI (snyk iac test) is simple to use during development.
• tfsec: A Terraform-focused open source scanner (now part of Aqua Security). Developers using Terraform can run tfsec locally to catch issues like open security groups or missing encryption. It integrates into editors and CI, and outputs easy-to-read results. It’s very fast and has zero dependencies, which devs appreciate. Note: tfsec is maintained but new features are moving to Aqua’s Trivy – still, it’s a quick win for Terraform code.

Best IaC Tools for Enterprise Teams

Enterprise teams often deal with large, complex environments (multiple cloud accounts, many dev teams) and need tools that offer scalability, governance, and integration with enterprise systems. Important criteria include RBAC, compliance reporting, integration with SSO/SIEM/ITSM, and the ability to handle thousands of IaC assets efficiently. Enterprise IaC tools also should support custom policies and have vendor support for onboarding and troubleshooting.

Top picks for enterprise (alphabetically):

• Accurics (Tenable): Now part of Tenable Cloud Security, Accurics offers enterprise-grade features like multi-cloud drift detection, extensive compliance frameworks, and integration with enterprise CI/CD and ticketing systems. It’s built to enforce policies at scale and appeals to security teams who want end-to-end cloud infrastructure protection (from code to runtime).
• Aikido Security: Aikido isn’t just for startups – it has an enterprise mode with single sign-on, role-based access, and on-premise scanner options. Enterprises like its unified approach (one platform for many security scans) and the AI auto-fix, which can reduce workload. It also supports compliance automation (SOC2, ISO reports), which is a big plus for regulated industries.
• Bridgecrew (Prisma Cloud): Backed by Palo Alto, Bridgecrew is designed for enterprise use across dozens of teams. It offers centralized dashboards, the ability to suppress/waive findings enterprise-wide, and integration with things like ServiceNow for workflow. Its huge policy library and drift detection are valuable in large organizations where consistency is key‍. Plus, enterprises often leverage its custom policy capabilities to codify internal security requirements.
• Qualys IaC Security: Qualys is an enterprise security mainstay, and its IaC tool plugs into that ecosystem. Enterprises already using Qualys enjoy having IaC scan results alongside host and app vulnerabilities. It’s built with compliance in mind – mapping each misconfiguration to standards, providing audit-ready reports. And it’s made to handle big environments with lots of templates, with the reliability and support you expect from Qualys.
• Spectral (Check Point): Spectral is tailored for enterprises that need speed and breadth. It can scan huge repos quickly (important for enterprise CI pipelines). It also offers fine-grained policy tuning and an array of integrations (LDAP/AD for user management, SIEM export, etc.). Because it covers IaC, code, and secrets in one, enterprise security teams can consolidate tools. Check Point’s backing also means it can integrate into broader enterprise security architectures (like CloudGuard).

Best IaC Tools for Startups

Startups need IaC security too – possibly even more, since they often move fast and may lack dedicated security personnel. The ideal tools for startups are those that are low-cost (or free), easy to set up, and require minimal maintenance. Startups benefit from tools that just work out of the box, with sensible defaults and automation, since they might not have bandwidth to tweak hundreds of policies.

Top picks for startups (alphabetically):

• Aikido Security: Aikido’s free tier and all-in-one approach is very attractive for startups. In a couple of minutes, a startup can have SAST, dependency checks, and IaC scanning running on their repos with Aikido. It provides a quick security coverage without needing an in-house security engineer. The AI auto-fix can act as a virtual security teammate, suggesting fixes so your developers can quickly remediate issues.
• Checkov: As a no-cost, open-source tool, Checkov is startup-friendly. You can integrate it into your GitHub Actions or GitLab CI at zero cost and immediately start catching mistakes. It doesn’t require a server or any complex setup. The community support around Checkov (and availability of pre-written policies) means a small team can get big value with minimal effort.
• KICS: Similarly, KICS being free and comprehensive is great for cash-strapped teams. Just run the Docker image in your CI and you instantly benefit from 2000+ checks. It’s easy to use, and if your startup’s stack is evolving (say you add Terraform plus some Helm for Kubernetes), KICS can cover both without needing multiple tools.
• Snyk IaC: Snyk offers free plans targeting small teams, and startups can leverage that to integrate IaC scanning into their development pipeline early. The advantage for startups is Snyk’s developer-first design – it won’t overwhelm a lean team with complex setup or noisy results. The UI makes it easy to track issues even if you don’t have a dedicated security person. And as the startup grows, Snyk’s paid features (like more projects, more integration) can scale with them.
• Terrascan: An open-source tool by Tenable (formerly Accurics), Terrascan is great for startups using Terraform or multi-cloud setups. It’s free and has 500+ built-in rules including CIS benchmarks. The CLI is straightforward, and it can even do things like scan Terraform plan files for more context. For a startup, Terrascan provides a quick compliance check layer without needing a heavy platform.

Best Free IaC Scanners

If budget is zero and you need to secure your infrastructure code, you’re in luck – many excellent IaC scanners cost nothing. Free IaC scanners are often open-source CLI tools that you can run locally or in CI. While you might sacrifice a polished UI or advanced collaboration features, you’ll still get powerful policy enforcement and security checks. Here are the top completely-free solutions:

• Checkov: We’ve mentioned it a lot, and for good reason – Checkov’s free and open source tool is one of the most comprehensive IaC scanners out there No license needed, just install and go. It covers all major IaC types and is updated regularly by the community.
• KICS: Another fully open-source scanner with no paid version at all. All features and checks of KICS are free to use‍. It’s backed by Checkmarx but the OSS tool doesn’t have artificial limits. This makes it a top choice for those seeking a free solution.
• Regula: Fugue’s Regula is free and open-source, giving you a powerful policy-as-code engine at no cost‍. You might invest time learning Rego for custom policies, but using the provided rules is straightforward. It’s a great free option especially if you’re concerned with compliance as it includes many compliance-focused rules.
• Terrascan: Terrascan by Tenable is completely free and open-source. It’s geared toward Terraform and Kubernetes and uses OPA policies under the hood‍. You can integrate it into pipelines or run on developer machines without spending a dime.
• tfsec: Focused on Terraform, tfsec is open-source and free. Even though Aqua has integrated it into their paid tool, tfsec itself remains MIT-licensed. It’s lightweight and easy to run for any Terraform codebase. Keep in mind, no new features are coming (effort moved to Trivy), but it’s still a solid free scanner as-is.

(Honorable mentions: other free tools include Prowler and CloudSploit for cloud environment scanning, and Trivy (by Aqua) which has a trivy config command that scans IaC for free as part of its open-source toolset.)

Best Open Source IaC Tools

For those who prefer open source solutions (for transparency, flexibility, or community support), there’s a rich ecosystem of open source IaC security tools. These tools have their code available and usually accept community contributions. They’re great if you want to customize the tool or trust a community-driven project. Many we’ve discussed are open source; here we’ll highlight the cream of the crop:

• Checkov: Apache 2.0 licensed and on GitHub, Checkov is a flagship open source project in IaC security. You get full visibility into its rules and logic, and you can even extend it with your own code. The community and maintainers are active, which means quick updates for new issues.
• CloudSploit: The core scanning engine of CloudSploit is open source. As a CSPM tool, this open version allows you to self-host and run scans on your cloud accounts without sending data to a third party. Open sourcing means you can add custom cloud checks as needed by editing or adding new rules.
• KICS: Entirely open source (MIT License). KICS welcomes contributions for new queries, and its broad support is a community effort. Using KICS means you’re not locked into a vendor – you can adapt it if needed, and you benefit from thousands of community-vetted checks.
• Prowler: Open source under GPL-3.0, Prowler has a strong community of cloud security folks. People contribute new checks (especially as AWS/Azure/GCP release new services or updates). Being open source, you can modify it for your organization – for example, adding a custom check for an internal policy. It’s an excellent example of community-driven security tooling for cloud.
• Terrascan: Open source (Apache 2.0). After Tenable’s acquisition of Accurics, they kept Terrascan open and even improved it. The policy library (OPA Rego code) is open for anyone to see or edit, which is great for trust and customization. The tool’s ability to detect drift and run in a Kubernetes admission controller (for K8s manifests) all come from its open source innovation.

Using open source tools means you can also integrate them into larger open source pipelines (e.g., using them with other OSS like Jenkins, Spinnaker, etc., without worrying about compatibility or licenses). The trade-off is you don’t get vendor support, but the communities (on GitHub, Discord, etc.) are often helpful for troubleshooting.

Best IaC Scanners for Terraform

Terraform remains one of the most widely used IaC frameworks, so it’s worth asking: which tools are best at Terraform security? Terraform brings unique considerations – HCL syntax, modules, state files, etc. The top Terraform-focused scanners understand these nuances (like evaluating expressions or module calls) and have deep rule sets for cloud services created via Terraform.

Here are the best tools for Terraform environments:

• Aikido Security: Aikido’s scanner has first-class Terraform support. It can parse Terraform code and even Terraform plan outputs to identify issues. What makes Aikido great for Terraform is the combination of automated fixes and context – it can suggest code changes to fix a Terraform misconfiguration, and it filters out issues that might not be relevant when combined with other resources.
• Checkov: Checkov is often the go-to for Terraform scanning‍. It comprehends Terraform HCL well, including things like local modules and variable rendering. It’s able to evaluate dependencies and interpolate values (to an extent) which means fewer false positives. Plus, with hundreds of Terraform-specific policies, it catches a wide range of AWS/Azure/GCP Terraform issues.
• Snyk IaC: Snyk has robust Terraform rules and even added Terraform plan scanning, which sets it apart. By analyzing terraform plan, Snyk can see the fully resolved configuration (including values from shared variables, etc.) and catch issues that static code analysis might miss. This leads to more accurate results. Snyk’s context-aware approach also helps prioritize Terraform findings so you fix the most critical ones first.
• Terrascan: With Terraform in its very name, Terrascan is built for Terraform. It loads your Terraform code (or plan) and checks it against its library of Rego rules, including many for cloud resource configurations‍. It supports all major cloud providers’ Terraform resources. Terrascan also can run as a GitHub Action or in CI easily for Terraform repos.
• tfsec: Before it was rolled into Aqua’s toolset, tfsec was a beloved Terraform scanner due to its simplicity and accuracy. It deeply integrates with Terraform’s HCL parser, so it understands the code structure. It flags issues with clear messages and supports custom checks. While new development is minimal now, tfsec still reliably finds Terraform problems and is super fast. It’s a great choice for devs who want a Terraform-specific linter that they can trust.

For Terraform users, it’s also good to mention HashiCorp Sentinel (policy as code for Terraform Enterprise) – not in our main list, but in Terraform Cloud/Enterprise, Sentinel can enforce custom policies during runs. It’s not a scanner per se (it’s an enforcer/gate in the workflow). But outside of that ecosystem, the above tools are your best bet.

Best IaC Scanners for CloudFormation

AWS CloudFormation is another common way to define cloud infra. Scanning CloudFormation templates requires knowledge of AWS-specific resources and configuration intricacies. The best tools for CloudFormation will have rules tailored to AWS services and the peculiarities of CloudFormation (like how it handles defaults or intrinsic functions).

Top tools for CloudFormation security:

• Aikido Security: Aikido covers CloudFormation templates alongside Terraform. It has a set of AWS-focused rules to catch issues in CFN templates – e.g., public EC2 ports, unencrypted EBS volumes, etc. Because Aikido’s platform integrates CSPM, it’s aware of AWS context, which can enhance its scanning of CloudFormation. And it can suggest fixes (like adding encryption or adjusting resource properties) directly in the template.
• Checkov: Checkov has extensive CloudFormation support. It includes many AWS-specific policies (like checks for specific IAM policies or S3 bucket settings) that apply directly to CloudFormation templates. It understands CloudFormation intrinsic functions (!Ref, !GetAtt) enough to still evaluate many policies correctly. Checkov is a top choice for pure AWS shops using CloudFormation.
• KICS: KICS lists CloudFormation as one of its primary IaC targets. It ships with rules that map to AWS best practices and CIS benchmarks. For example, KICS will check CloudFormation JSON/YAML for things like whether an RDS instance has storage encryption enabled or if an ELB has access logs turned on. It’s thorough and easily updated as AWS adds new features.
• Regula: Regula’s AWS rules shine with CloudFormation as well. Since Regula uses Rego and was developed by Fugue (which specialized in AWS compliance), it has very in-depth policies for AWS resources defined in CloudFormation‍. If you’re concerned about compliance (PCI, HIPAA, etc.), Regula will have CloudFormation rules to enforce the necessary settings (encryption, logging, etc.). And you can write custom AWS rules in Rego if you have niche needs.
• Snyk IaC: Snyk’s scanning of CloudFormation benefits from the same ease-of-use as for Terraform. It has a comprehensive set of AWS rules and will integrate nicely if your project includes CloudFormation templates. If you store CFN templates in Git, Snyk can scan them on each commit and alert in PRs. The detailed issue explanations help developers unfamiliar with AWS security to understand why a CloudFormation config is dangerous and how to fix it.

(Also notable: AWS has its own open-source tool called cfn-nag for CloudFormation scanning, which finds some security issues. It’s not as feature-rich as the above, but it’s an AWS-specific option some teams use. And Checkov and others often incorporate similar rules.)

For AWS CloudFormation users, the above tools will significantly reduce the risk of launching insecure stacks by catching problems in your templates before deployment.

Conclusion

Infrastructure as Code scanning has become an essential part of modern cloud development – it’s your early warning system to prevent misconfigurations from ever reaching AWS, Azure, or any cloud. The tools we covered here each have their strengths, whether it’s the no-frills power of open source scanners or the comprehensive platforms that tie everything together. The best approach is to choose one that fits your team’s size, workflow, and risk profile, and integrate it early into your pipeline.

Remember, IaC scanning isn’t about adding bureaucracy – it’s about enabling developers and ops to move fast without breaking things in the cloud. With the right tool in place, you can deploy infrastructure confidently, knowing security is baked in from day one.

Want to see how a modern IaC scanner can improve your cloud security with minimal fuss? Give Aikido a try – they offer a free trial, so you can experience automated, AI-assisted IaC scanning on your own codebase.