Checkov IaC Security Scanner - Pre-installed

This is a repackaged open source software product wherein additional charges apply for cloudimg support services.

## Checkov IaC Security Scanner - Ready to Run

Checkov is the open-source static analysis and policy-as-code scanner that finds security and compliance misconfigurations in your infrastructure-as-code before deployment. This AMI delivers Checkov fully installed in an isolated Python virtual environment with a wrapper on the system path, so your team can SSH in and run a real scan in under five minutes.

## Why This AMI Instead of a Manual Install

Installing Checkov from scratch means managing Python dependencies, virtual environments, version pinning, and scheduled execution. This AMI eliminates that operational overhead entirely. Unlike SaaS-based scanners that require credentials, API keys, and network access to your repositories, this product has no login, no web interface, no daemon, and no network port. Its entire management surface is the command line plus SSH with your own key - nothing to rotate and nothing to leak.

## Compliance Frameworks Covered

Checkov's built-in policies map to major compliance benchmarks including CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark, CIS Kubernetes Benchmark, SOC 2, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and NIST 800-53. Run a scan and receive findings keyed directly to these frameworks, giving your team audit-ready evidence without writing custom rules.

## What Gets Scanned

Checkov parses Terraform, CloudFormation, Kubernetes, Helm, Serverless, Bicep, ARM, and Dockerfiles. Point it at a single file, a whole module tree, or a Terraform plan file and get a compact report naming each failed check and the resource it applies to.

## Scheduled Scanning Built In

A daily systemd timer scans a drop-in target directory and logs the report. Leave infrastructure code in one place and have it re-checked automatically. Wire the same command into your CI pipeline to gate merges on a clean scan.

## Prove It Works on First Login

The AMI includes a deliberately insecure sample (a storage bucket with no encryption, a security group open to the world) and a clean sample. Run checkov against both to confirm real detection and clean passes within moments of your first SSH session.

## Use Cases

• DevOps teams preparing for compliance audits - Scan hundreds of Terraform modules nightly against CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark and generate evidence for SOC 2 or PCI-DSS assessments.
• CI/CD pipeline gate - Use as a runner image that blocks merges when policy violations are detected, ensuring insecure infrastructure never reaches production.
• Platform engineering teams adopting policy-as-code - A training and evaluation sandbox where engineers learn to write suppressions, custom policies, and integrate scanning into existing workflows.

## cloudimg Support

cloudimg provides 24/7 technical support by email and live chat. Our engineers help with running scans, interpreting findings, writing suppressions and custom policies, wiring Checkov into CI pipelines, and keeping your infrastructure code compliant. Critical issues receive a one-hour average response.

To schedule a guided onboarding walkthrough or discuss CI integration for your team, contact support@cloudimg.co.uk.

## Community Adoption

Checkov is one of the most widely adopted open-source IaC scanning tools, maintained by an active community of contributors on GitHub. This AMI packages a pinned, tested release so you benefit from community-driven policy updates without managing upgrades yourself.

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