Containers ensure smooth software operations across different environments, making them attractive targets for hackers. Therefore, container security is crucial and should be a focus in cybersecurity. Security tools are necessary to protect and maintain the integrity of applications in containerized environments.
Container security implements security measures throughout the container’s lifecycle, including creation, maintenance, and decommissioning. It involves conducting security scans on container images in CI/CD pipelines and existing registries. As containers become more renowned for their portability, scalability, and efficiency, implementing container security tools is becoming increasingly important.
This article introduces and highlights the significance of the top container security tools crucial for safeguarding containerized environments.
What are Container Security Tools?
Container Security Tools are software solutions designed to address containerized environments’ unique security challenges. In the realm of container security, it is imperative to maintain a continuous and ongoing process that safeguards not only the container host, its network traffic, and its management stack but also encompasses monitoring the build pipeline, application security, and the foundational layers of the containerized application. By employing these tools for container security, organizations can ensure that every aspect of their containers operates securely and aligns with their intended configurations and security standards.
Need for Container Scanning Solutions
Container scanning is necessary for safeguarding both containerized applications and the infrastructure that supports them.
Here are a few important reasons why container scanning is essential in today’s development and operational environments:
1. Detects Vulnerabilities Early
Containers can find vulnerabilities in base images, third-party libraries, and the application code. You can detect these before deployment and reduce the risks of getting the content in the images exposed.
By incorporating container scanning, you save time and lower the likelihood of costly problems after deployment.
2. Secure the Software Supply Chain
Container scanning makes sure that all components, particularly those provided outside, are secure and devoid of known security weaknesses, protecting the software supply chain against threats.
3. Ensures Compliance
Regular container scanning ensures that your containers match regulatory criteria, helping you avoid fines and penalties while also maintaining a secure system. Many industries, including finance, healthcare, and government, require organizations to follow tight compliance rules (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS).
4. Reduce Attack Surfaces
Container scanning reduces the number of potential attack channels, lowering the risk of exploitation. Containers often have unnecessary components or libraries, which might increase the attack surface. Scanning detects these extra components and marks them for removal, ensuring that only the essential features are included in the image.
5. Automate CI/CD Pipeline Security
Container scanning in CI/CD pipelines automates security checks, making sure security is a continuous part of the development process. It enables developers to incorporate security without slowing down the development, resulting in faster and more secure releases.
6. Mitigate Zero-Day Risks
Zero-day vulnerabilities may arise after containers have been built and deployed. Continuous scanning makes sure that any newly identified vulnerabilities in current container images are quickly spotted and addressed. This proactive strategy reduces the amount of time an application is exposed to potential threats, improving the organization’s overall security.
7. Build Trust and Reputation
Regular container scanning shows a dedication to security, which is important for retaining the trust of consumers, stakeholders, and partners. When security issues are avoided or dealt with quickly, firms improve their industry reputation. This trust can lead to long-term customer relationships and a competitive advantage, especially in industries where security is a top priority.
10 Best Container Security Tools in 2025
Let’s get started with the list of container security tools!
#1 SentinelOne
SentinelOne is the world’s most advanced autonomous AI-driven cyber security platform that helps organizations block cloud security attacks and stop them in their tracks. Its Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) identifies system vulnerabilities, prevents cloud credential leakage, and addresses other security concerns. SentinelOne CNAPP offers various features such as – Kubernetes Security Posture Management (KSPM), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), Cloud Data Security (CDS), Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP), PurpleAI, Binary Vault, Offensive Security Engine, and many more.
Using SentinelOne, businesses can stay ahead of cloud threats, secure systems, and ensure continuous compliance with the latest industry regulations.
Platform at a Glance
Singularity Cloud Workload Security (CWS) is a Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP) that defends containerized workloads across AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and private data centers by leveraging AI-powered threat detection and machine-speed response.
You also gain access to a rich forensic history of workload telemetry and data logs required for investigating incidents and slashing response times.
SentinelOne’s Kubernetes Security Posture Management (KSPM) solution protects your Kubernetes clusters and workloads, reducing human error and minimizing manual intervention.
It enables you to enforce security standards, such as Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) policies, and automatically detect, assess, and remediate policy violations across the Kubernetes environment. It also streamlines cloud-native security and aligns with frameworks like the Global Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and the Center for Internet Security (CIS) Benchmarks.
Features:
- Context Awareness: Our cloud security platform offers a comprehensive perspective of cloud infrastructure and security status by analyzing the connections between resources and assessing the potential consequences of misconfigurations. This holistic approach allows for a deeper understanding of the overall security posture of the cloud environment, enabling effective identification and remediation of potential vulnerabilities.
- Built-in rules: SentinelOne performs automated assessments of over 2,100 configuration rules, guaranteeing the identification of cloud misconfigurations across various runtime environments such as GCP, Azure, AWS, and Digital Ocean. This gives users a centralized view of their cloud infrastructure and facilitates convenient management and monitoring of security configurations.
- Real-time detections and remediation: Employing sophisticated algorithms, our cloud security solution continuously monitors your cloud infrastructure, swiftly identifying misconfigurations in near real-time. This proactive approach enables the automatic initiation of remediation workflows, ensuring round-the-clock security and compliance measures are in place.
- Custom query support: SentinelOne empowers organizations to establish customized policies tailored to their security needs. It provides a robust defense mechanism that protects sensitive data and valuable resources from potential threats. By aligning security measures with individual requirements, SentinelOne ensures that organizations can maintain a secure environment that meets their unique security objectives.
Core problems that SentinelOne solves
- Discovers unknown container deployments and fixes misconfigurations
- Stops malware spread and eliminates advanced persistent threats (APTs)
- Resolves inefficient security workflows for containerized environments
- Identifies vulnerabilities in CI/CD pipelines, container registries, and repositories
- Prevents data exfiltration, malicious code injection, and lateral movement within containers
- Eliminates data silos and addresses multi-compliance requirements across industries
Testimonials
Here’s a look at how one client describes the valuable impact SentinelOne has had on their vulnerability management process:
“Singularity Cloud Security includes proof of exploitability in its evidence-based reporting. That is critically important because you might be inundated with results when you run scans or use the vulnerability scanning tool, especially in large environments. Analysts take a long time to go back through and validate whether it is a true or false positive. Singularity Cloud Security can eliminate a lot of false positives or almost all of them, and we can focus on something that is a true issue, as opposed to wasting our time and resources,” said Andrew W., VP – Information Technology, Financial Services Firm on PeerSpot Reviews
See Singularity Cloud Security’s ratings and review counts on peer-review platforms like Gartner Peer Insights and PeerSpot.
#2 Wiz
The next container security tool is Wiz. It is a cloud security platform that provides visibility, risk assessment, and protection for cloud environments. It is designed to help organizations gain insights into their cloud infrastructure’s security posture, identify potential vulnerabilities and misconfigurations, and implement proactive security measures.
Features:
- Snapshot Scanning: Takes a snapshot of each VM system volume and statistically analyzes its operating system, application layer, and data layer without impacting performance.
- Inventory and Asset Management: Wiz generates a comprehensive and current inventory of all services and software in your cloud environment. This inventory includes details such as the application version and package, providing an accurate record of your cloud infrastructure’s services and software components.
- Secrets Scanning and Analysis: Wiz identifies clear-text keys stored on virtual machines (VMs) and containers, analyzes and interprets the keys to comprehend their purpose, and maps their permissions within your environment. This process helps understand the extent of access and privileges these keys grant within your system.
Explore the feedback and ratings on G2 and PeerSpot to get further insights into Wiz’s capabilities.
#3 Snyk
Snyk is a developer-centric security solution that caters to the needs of software developers. It specializes in identifying license violations within Docker images and generates vulnerability reports for each package found in a repository. Snyk supports multiple programming languages, simplifying its adoption for customers. It also offers seamless integrations with popular developer platforms such as GitHub and GitLab, providing developers with convenient connectivity options.
Features:
- Integration with GitHub and GitLab
- Automated scanning of open-source software (OSS)
- Numerous integrations available, including container registries and continuous integration (CI) providers
- Rapid codebase scanning capabilities
To assess Snyk’s capabilities, review its ratings and PeerSpot reviews.
#4 Trivy
Trivy is an open-source container scanning tool that is lightweight, fast, and easy to integrate into CI/CD pipelines. It can detect vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and secrets in container images. Therefore, it is a great tool for developers who want to enhance their container security. It supports Docker and OCI formats and provides compatibility with many operating systems. Its database is very large, containing vulnerability information from sources like NVD and distribution-specific security advisories.
Features:
- Full Scan: Identify OS packages vulnerable, libraries with an issue, and configuration defects.
- Misconfiguration Detection: Kubernetes manifest scan, terraform files scan, docker files scanning.
- Secret Detection: Scans the container image for hard-coded API keys among sensitive data
- CI/CD Support: Supports automation integration from major CI/CD toolchains
- Mult-format support: Supports scans from docker, OCI, and File Systems.
- Strong Community-driven Development: Driven through open source; hence well-updated frequently.
Read Trivy’s ratings and reviews on PeerSpot and SlashDot to learn more about its open-source container scanning capabilities.
#5 Anchore
Anchore is the following container security tool we are going to explore. It is a container security platform designed to assist organizations in ensuring the security and compliance of their containerized applications.
Features:
- Vulnerability Scanning: Anchore scans container images to detect vulnerabilities present in the software packages and components they contain. It provides detailed reports with information on vulnerability severity levels and recommendations for remediation.
- Policy-Based Enforcement: Anchore enables users to define security policies and rules for container images based on specific criteria such as vulnerability severity, package versions, and configuration checks.
- Image Analysis: Anchore conducts a thorough analysis of container images, examining their composition, including software packages, operating system layers, and metadata. This analysis helps identify potential security risks and compliance issues.
Explore SlashDot and PeerSpot feedback and ratings for insights into Anchore.
#6 Aqua Security
The tool is designed for high scalability and continuously stays updated with the latest threats and vulnerabilities. It protects both Linux and Windows containers, irrespective of the platforms they are deployed on. Moreover, it incorporates numerous advanced methods for preventing threats ensuring the security of containers.
Features:
- vShield addresses and patches vulnerabilities that are difficult to fix or resolve, safeguarding against potential exploitation by attackers.
- It ensures container image immutability by utilizing digital signatures.
- Aqua DTA offers advanced threat detection and behavioral anomaly monitoring.
- Additionally, it provides firewall rule recommendations that restrict network connections based on criteria such as IP address or URL.
See how Aqua Security can help you perform cloud security assessments by reading its PeerSpot and Gartner Peer Insights ratings and reviews.
#7 Palo Alto
A leader in threat protection through cutting-edge technologies including application control, URL filtering, and intrusion detection is Palo Alto Networks. Additionally, it provides cloud security and threat intelligence services, enabling businesses to completely safeguard their networks and data. It offers real-time threat visibility and mitigation with a user-friendly interface and strong automation capabilities, ensuring businesses remain ahead of cyber threats in a constantly changing environment.
Features:
- Application Control: Enables precise management of apps.
- URL filtering: Protects against risks by screening web content.
- Detects and reduces intrusion attempts through intrusion detection.
- Threat intelligence: Offers immediate threat awareness.
- Effective automation skills.
Find out what Palo Alto Networks Prisma can do for your container security management by reading its Gartner Peer Insights and PeerSpot ratings and reviews.
#8 Fugue
Cloud infrastructure management may be made easier and more effective with the help of the automation platform Fugue for cloud security and compliance. The unique ability of Fugue to enforce policy-as-code ensures that cloud services automatically adhere to preset security and compliance criteria.
Features:
- Continuous Assessment: Recognizes and fixes configuration errors.
- Infrastructure compliance is maintained through compliance enforcement.
- Quickly resolves security flaws.
- Enhances cloud governance through improved governance.
- Streamlines DevOps workflows via DevOps integration.
- Compatibility with Cloud Providers: Integrates with AWS and Azure.
Learn what Fugue can do for your container security management by reading its PeerSpot ratings and reviews.
#9 Sysdig
Sysdig is a container security monitoring tool that provides visibility across containerized environments and systems. It secures runtime with out-of-the-box managed policies based on Falco and Machine Learning (ML). Sysdig automates compliance and governance with OPA policies. Sysdig also offers native Kubernetes integration and is DevOps-friendly.
Features:
- Tells you what happened in a container and why with a detailed audit trail
- Flags new Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) immediately and automatically prioritizes action using runtime contexts
- Performs forensic analysis on containers, even after they’ve been terminated for investigating incident causes
- Blocks risky images and fixes configuration and permissions to ensure they haven’t drifted or deviated from trusted images
Look at Sysdig’s ratings and reviews on PeerSpot and G2 for more information.
#10 Qualys
The last on our list of container security tools is Qualys Container Security. It offers security insights into the container host and its containers. Qualys empowers users to detect and mitigate security issues in real-time proactively. It can effectively collect data on images, image repositories, and image-based containers.
Features:
- The Container Runtime Security add-on enhances visibility into actively running containers, offering heightened insight.
- It enables the implementation of policies to restrict the usage of images with specific vulnerabilities.
- Additionally, it includes pre-built dashboards for immediate analysis and also allows customization of dashboards to suit specific needs.
How to Choose the Best Container Security Tool?
Several factors contributed to the inclusion of container security tools on our list. These key features include:
- Access roles and permissions monitoring capability.
- Centralized policy management for enforcing rules.
- Comprehensive scanning of entire container stacks and detection of image vulnerabilities.
- Provision of a testing environment to capture runtime malware and observe policy outcomes.
- Reporting, auditing, and storing container metadata for analysis and compliance verification.
- Real-time detection of runtime malware, such as unpatched vulnerabilities, insecure configurations, data leaks, weak credentials, and suspicious activities (including insider threats).
- Consideration of price, affordability, and return on investment (ROI) to determine the value of the solution.
These features collectively contribute to assessing and selecting container security tools for our list.
Conclusion
You can choose from the top container security tools listed above, regardless of what you currently employ. It is crucial to consistently follow application security best practices during development to prevent potentially costly errors later. With containers becoming a prevailing practice in numerous organizations, heightened attention should be given to container security. Enhancing container security becomes even more paramount when considering the numerous risks that arise as container ecosystems evolve.
If you want an advanced container security scanning solution, use SentinelOne. Book a free live demo today.
FAQs
1. How Do Container Security Tools Work?
Container security tools function by scanning container images as well as running containers. These tools identify vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and compliance issues within the containerized applications. They analyze application code, dependencies, and the libraries beneath for known security flaws at runtime. They check out container behavior to alert in case of anomalies or malicious activities and enforce the execution of security policies meant to protect the containerized environment from threats.
2. Why are container tools important?
Container tools are essential as they allow for efficient deployment, scaling, and management of applications packaged in containers. This is because it makes it consistent across the development, testing, and production environments and ensures that it has portability and flexibility. Security-focused container tools are important in securing applications since they are capable of detecting vulnerabilities and enforcing best practices, thereby maintaining integrity and security during the whole lifecycle.
3. Which are the Best Container Tools?
Top container tools include Docker for containerization and Kubernetes for orchestration. Among the best container security tools are SentinelOne, Prisma Cloud (previously Twistlock), and Anchore with its more inclusive security features including vulnerability scanning and runtime protection. Red Hat OpenShift provides enterprise-level Kubernetes management. Trivy and Clair, open-source tools, also provide good vulnerability scanning capabilities for container images.
4. How to Go About Choosing a Container Tool?
To choose a container tool, assess your specific needs such as scalability, ease of use, and integration capabilities with your existing infrastructure. Consider the tool’s compatibility with your applications and its support for orchestration platforms like Kubernetes. For security tools, evaluate features like real-time monitoring, compliance enforcement, ease of integration into CI/CD pipelines, and the level of support and documentation provided.
5. How to Integrate Container Security Tools?
Integration of container security tools into your development and deployment workflow is embedding the tooling into your processes. Security tooling would integrate by bringing vulnerability scanning into CI/CD pipelines, for instance. Configuration of orchestration tools, like Kubernetes, to integrate with monitoring and logging systems, can be used for visibility and control. Tools need to be configured properly following best practices and they must fit seamlessly into what already exists so as to bring efficiency and security into one’s processes