Given the rise of cyber threats in the last decade, security in the digital world is a top priority.
A proactive approach is essential and one effective measure for this is vulnerability scanning. This feature in Google Cloud Artifacts Registry is a game changer for everyone who has to deal with cyber threats frequently, offering a robust solution to identify and reduce potential security vulnerabilities efficiently and before they can be abused.
Understanding Vulnerability Scanning
Using vulnerability scanning is like having a security guard that constantly checks your images to find any potential security risks. Every image pushed into the Artifacts Registry is scanned from top to bottom, identifying potential vulnerabilities and categorizing them based on their severity. If it finds any issue, it quickly provides a complete easy-to-understand insight on how to fix them. This approach enables developers to take immediate action to enhance security measures, helping to keep the software secure.
Accessing Scan Results
The results of the scans are transparent and easily accessible. Detailed information about each potential identified vulnerability, including its nature, severity, and potential fixes, is instantly available.
The Proactive Approach
By identifying and addressing vulnerabilities early in the development process, developers can significantly enhance their security posture, making their software robust and resilient against cyber threats. This approach enables you to build on code that doesn’t include vulnerabilities, removing the need to resolve issues after the fact.
The Downside
Enabling vulnerability scanning incurs additional costs. At the time of writing, each Gigabyte scanned beyond the free tier (of 0.5 GB) is billed at $0.10. Over time, this can become a costly feature when used across multiple services.
Furthermore, there is currently no direct notification system in place to alert developers of potential vulnerabilities. To implement such notifications, developers are required to develop custom functions. These functions should extract vulnerabilities based on their occurrences and relay this information to the logging agent, where alerts can then be configured.
Luckily we at vBridge have plenty of experience doing this, so if you are interested in this handy feature, you can always reach out to us. We are happy to help!