Astra launches agentless cloud scanner to tackle rising misconfigurations

Astra Security’s new Cloud Vulnerability Scanner goes live as Indian enterprises rush deeper into AI and multi-cloud setups, bringing sharper focus on real-world exploit validation and safer, continuous cloud visibility.

A security push for fast-changing cloud setups

Astra Security launched its Cloud Vulnerability Scanner today at 11:00, marking one of its most significant advancements in cloud-native defense. The scanner, already in use by more than 100 customers during its pre-launch phase, targets misconfigurations across AWS, Azure, and GCP. With Indian companies accelerating AI projects and expanding multi-cloud infrastructures, the launch lands at a critical moment.

In a detailed interaction with Shikhil Sharma, founder and CEO of Astra Security, he explained that modern cloud environments change dramatically within hours, which often leaves teams blind to subtle but dangerous configuration shifts. The new scanner aims to give engineers that missing visibility by analyzing settings continuously and flagging only high-impact findings.

Why cloud misconfigurations are now a front-page problem

Astra’s leadership points to the explosive growth of AI-driven workloads as the root of today’s cloud challenges. Shikhil says enterprises are spinning up massive compute clusters, hundreds of identity roles, and new services at speeds that traditional security reviews can’t keep up with.

Because most organizations run across multiple cloud platforms, the gaps between AWS, GCP, and Azure are the easiest attack routes. Misconfigurations in these interconnections are one of the most common causes of global cloud breaches. With India’s public cloud market expected to reach USD 17.8 billion by 2027, the size of the infrastructure that needs to be protected is only growing.

What sets Astra’s scanner apart

Astra’s biggest differentiator is its validation-first approach. Instead of overwhelming teams with every possible issue, the platform uses its Attack AI Engine to see if a vulnerability can be exploited in real-world scenarios.

This engine also correlates issues across cloud, API, and web layers, building chains that mirror how attackers actually work. So teams spend less time filtering noise and more time fixing the threats that matter.

From the launch announcement, the key features are

• Agentless scanning using read-only keys or APIs.

• 400+ cloud-specific checks and 3,000+ automated tests.

• Industry-aligned checks based on OWASP Top 10 and SANS 25.

• Deep CI/CD integration with GitHub, GitLab, CircleCI, and Azure CI.

• Developer-friendly workflows that don’t slow down deployments.

Shikhil added that the read-only architecture ensures complete operational safety. Even when scanning production systems, the scanner can’t make changes or cause downtime.

The AI attack surface is getting bigger

In the conversation, Shikhil also talked about Astra’s ongoing research into AI and large language model security. As more apps add AI, new vulnerabilities are emerging, from prompt injection to data leakage through chat interfaces, corrupted training datasets, and Model Context Protocol servers.

These insights feed into Astra’s Attack AI Engine, which is strengthening detection across their cloud, web, and API products.

Next-gen security platforms

Astra is moving towards platforms that are like autonomous assistants rather than alert dumpers. These will detect issues, validate them, route them to the right team, and even resolve some issues automatically. As AI-native and cloud-native environments get more dynamic, this could be the next 10 years of enterprise security.

Final take

Astra’s Cloud Vulnerability Scanner arrives at a time when Indian enterprises are building some of their fastest and most distributed cloud systems ever. With misconfigurations still causing many of today’s cloud breaches, the focus on continuous validation, safe agentless scanning, and developer-friendly workflows gives the scanner a strong practical edge.

Astra is aiming to bridge the widening gap between the speed of cloud deployments and the pace of security. With more than 1,000 customers and global recognition, the company is positioned to shape how India safeguards its expanding cloud footprint.

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