Overview of Anchore
Anchore is a comprehensive software supply chain management and container security platform designed to enhance the security, compliance, and integrity of cloud-native applications and containerized environments.
What Anchore Does
Anchore is centered around generating and managing Software Bills of Materials (SBOMs) to provide continuous visibility into supply chain security risks. It integrates seamlessly into development toolchains, enabling automated scanning, analysis, and enforcement of security policies throughout the entire software development lifecycle (SDLC). This approach minimizes friction and ensures that security is embedded early in the development process.
Key Features and Functionality
SBOM Generation and Management
Anchore automatically generates detailed SBOMs at each step of the development process, creating a complete inventory of software components, including direct and transitive dependencies. These SBOMs are stored in a repository for ongoing monitoring of new or zero-day vulnerabilities that may arise even post-deployment.
Vulnerability and Security Issue Identification
Anchore uses multiple vulnerability feeds and a precision vulnerability matching algorithm to identify relevant vulnerabilities, malware, cryptominers, secrets, and misconfigurations. This helps in minimizing false positives and ensuring accurate security assessments.
Policy-Based Scanning and Enforcement
The platform includes a powerful policy engine that allows organizations to define custom security and compliance policies. These policies can automate compliance with industry standards or internal rules, enabling the identification of critical security issues and the creation of policy gates to prevent non-compliant deployments.
Container Image Scanning and Analysis
Anchore scans container images to identify known vulnerabilities, malware, and configuration issues. It provides detailed analysis, including severity ratings, affected packages, and recommended fixes. The platform also checks container images for compliance with security standards such as CIS Docker Benchmark and NIST 800-190.
Integration with CI/CD Pipelines and Container Orchestration
Anchore integrates with continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines to automate security checks during image builds. It also integrates with container orchestration platforms like Kubernetes to provide runtime protection and validation of container images in production environments.
Real-Time Monitoring and Alerts
The platform supports real-time monitoring and alerts for vulnerabilities and compliance violations, enabling organizations to take immediate action. It also detects SBOM drift in the build process, issuing alerts for changes in SBOMs to assess for risk, malware, and malicious activity.
Custom Policies and Whitelists
Organizations can create custom security policies and whitelists to tailor image scanning and compliance checks to their specific requirements. This flexibility ensures that security checks are aligned with the organization’s unique needs.
Historical Analysis and Reporting
Anchore maintains a historical record of image scans, allowing organizations to track changes in image security and compliance over time. This historical data is stored in a database for extended analysis and reporting.
Architecture and Tools
Anchore’s architecture is designed for scalability and automation, with key components including the Anchore Engine for image scanning and analysis, a policy engine for custom policy creation, and APIs/CLIs for automation and integration. The platform also supports open-source tools like Syft for SBOM generation and adheres to standards such as SPDX and CycloneDX.
In summary, Anchore is a robust platform that enhances software supply chain security by providing deep insights into software components, automating security checks, and enforcing compliance policies. Its comprehensive features ensure that organizations can maintain secure, compliant, and efficient container-based workflows throughout the entire software development lifecycle.