Applying Checkov: Static Application Security Testing (SAST) to Infrastructure as Code with Terraform

Infrastructure as code (IaC) has revolutionized cloud environment deployment, but it also brings new security challenges, such as misconfigurations in Terraform files that can expose critical vulnerabilities. To detect these issues before deployment, it's essential to integrate tools like Checkov, a static application security testing (SAST) tool. Checkov is an open-source tool developed by Bridgecrew that reviews IaC files, detects security misconfigurations, and can be used from the command line. To get started with Checkov, you need to install it using pip and create or use a test Terraform project. Then, you can run Checkov to scan the Terraform configuration and detect potential security issues. Checkov has several advantages, including being easy to use, compatible with multiple IaC tools, and providing clear reports that prevent configuration errors before deployment. However, it does not detect logic errors and some rules may be too strict. Applying Checkov to Terraform projects ensures that infrastructure adheres to good security practices from the beginning. It's a lightweight tool that's easy to integrate into any project and can be added to CI/CD pipelines to automatically detect errors before deployment. By using Checkov, you can shift security to the left and improve security from the early stages of development.