So, what exactly is agentless cloud security?
Traditional cloud security usually requires you to install something called an “agent” on your servers or workloads. These agents monitor everything, but they can also slow things down and add extra complexity.
Agentless cloud security flips the script. Instead of relying on agents, it leverages the cloud provider’s own tools and APIs to monitor and protect your environment. It’s like having security that works behind the scenes, doing its job without getting in your way. No installations, no performance hits—just straightforward, efficient protection.
Moving Beyond Agent-Based Security: What Changed?
Before agentless cloud security came along, securing cloud environments often meant installing and managing security agents on every single server and application. This was a bit of a hassle—each agent had to be deployed, configured, and maintained, which could quickly become overwhelming, especially for large organizations with thousands of virtual machines. And if a new threat appeared, you had to update every single agent to protect against it.
The setup not only required a lot of time and resources but also:
- Led to performance issues due to agent resource usage.
- Interfered with normal operations.
- Required constant maintenance.
So, people started thinking, “There must be a better way.” And that’s where agentless came in. With the rise of agentless security solutions, many of these headaches have been alleviated. Instead of dealing with individual agents, security teams can now monitor and protect their cloud environments more efficiently, directly integrating with cloud provider tools and APIs, making the whole process much smoother and less resource-intensive.
Key Features of Agentless Cloud Security
1. Works Across All Platforms:
Agentless cloud security doesn’t care what operating system or platform you’re using. Whether it’s switches, routers, or IoT devices, it integrates smoothly without causing any compatibility issues. This means you can scan everything in your network without any fuss or disruption.
2. Cuts Down Administrative Costs:
With agentless security, you skip the tedious process of installing and managing separate agents on every virtual machine. This approach is quick to set up and easy to manage, which can save you a lot of time and money, especially if you’re handling a large number of virtual machines.
3. Scales Easily:
No matter if you’re working with one server or a whole data center, agentless cloud security scales with you. It uses lightweight, scalable methods to connect with your cloud resources, so you don’t have to worry about complicated setups as your infrastructure grows.
4. Doesn’t Affect Your Existing Environment:
Agentless scanning takes a snapshot of your resources without changing them. Unlike other methods that might require alterations, this approach reads data through APIs without affecting your system’s performance. So, your resources stay exactly as they are, with no extra maintenance needed.
5. Thorough Network Scanning:
Agentless cloud security gives you a complete view of your cloud network. It scans all your assets, connected devices, and running apps for any vulnerabilities. With continuous updates and automatic scans, you’re always in the loop about what’s going on in your network, with no blind spots.
Agent-Based Vs Agentless Security: A Comparison
Agentless and agent-based security are two approaches to protecting your cloud environment. Agent-based security involves installing software agents on each server or application to monitor and protect it. While this can provide detailed security insights, it often requires a lot of maintenance and can slow down systems due to the resources the agents consume.
Agentless security, on the other hand, doesn’t rely on these agents. Instead, it integrates directly with cloud provider tools and APIs, making it simpler to deploy and manage. This method avoids the performance hits and complexity of agent-based solutions, providing a more streamlined and efficient way to secure your cloud assets. It’s particularly useful in large-scale or multi-cloud environments where managing individual agents can become impractical.
Here is a quick summary of the differences:
| Feature | Agentless Security | Agent-Based Security |
| Deployment | Cloud-based, no agent installation required | Requires agent installation on individual systems |
| Scalability | Highly scalable, suitable for large-scale environments | May require more resources for scaling |
| Performance Impact | Minimal performance overhead | Can potentially impact system performance |
| Visibility | Provides comprehensive visibility into cloud environments | Offers deeper visibility into individual systems |
| Complexity | Generally simpler to manage | Can be more complex to manage, especially in large-scale deployments |
| Use Cases | Ideal for cloud-native environments, continuous monitoring, and vulnerability scanning | Suitable for organizations with complex security requirements, endpoint protection, and data loss prevention |
For a more in-depth analysis and to determine the best fit for your organization, check out our dedicated blog post on agentless vs. agent-based security.
CloudDefense.AI’s Approach to Agentless Security
CloudDefense.AI offers an agentless solution designed for seamless deployment and non-intrusive, comprehensive protection of your servers, virtual machines, applications, and other cloud assets.
Our platform supports a flexible system of custom rules, enabling you to detect misconfigurations and security vulnerabilities at both the cloud and host levels—without needing to install any agents. You can address all identified issues directly within the CloudDefense.AI interface, providing a single, unified view to manage your cloud security.
What sets CloudDefense.AI apart are its key features:
Fast Deployment:
CloudDefense.AI’s agentless-first platform can be set up in minutes and delivers a complete risk profile of your entire cloud environment in less than 24 hours, all without sending a single packet over the network or running any code in your infrastructure.
100% Continuous Coverage:
Since CloudDefense.AI doesn’t rely on agent deployments, it ensures coverage for all assets, including virtual machines, containers, serverless functions, and cloud infrastructure resources like storage buckets and VPCs. New assets are automatically included as soon as they are added.
Full-Stack Visibility:
CloudDefense.AI identifies risks across all your digital infra, including containers, Kubernetes, and serverless functions, surfacing vulnerabilities, compliance issues, file integrity monitoring (FIM), log inspection, and more. The platform provides a deep understanding of risk with broader cloud context.
Want comprehensive, agentless security coverage for your cloud resources? Book a free demo today.
