When you buy a car, you expect it to have brakes. You wouldn’t buy a luxury car, drive it off the lot, and then realize that the brakes were “sold separately.” That would be dangerous and irresponsible.
Yet, in the world of cloud computing, many business owners are doing exactly that. They sign up for a managed aws plan to handle their servers, but they forget to ask about the “brakes”—the security checks that stop them from crashing.
If you are paying a team to manage your Amazon Web Services (AWS) environment, there is one non-negotiable feature that must be in your contract: Vulnerability scanning.
If your provider isn’t doing this, they aren’t fully protecting you. Here is why these two services are inseparable and why you should demand them in your plan.
The “Shared Responsibility” Trap
To understand why you need scanning, you first need to understand how Amazon security works. It is called the “Shared Responsibility Model.”
Many people think, “I moved to Amazon, so Amazon handles my security.” This is false.
- Amazon’s Job: They secure the Cloud. They protect the physical buildings, the wires, and the hardware.
- Your Job: You secure what is in the Cloud. You protect your customer data, your passwords, your software, and your operating systems.
If a hacker steals your password and deletes your database, Amazon is not responsible. You are.
When you hire a managed aws provider, you are essentially hiring them to handle “Your Job” for you. But if they are just keeping the servers running without checking for security holes, they are only doing half the job.
What is Vulnerability Scanning in Simple Terms?
Imagine your website is a house. You lock the front door every night. But what if a window in the basement is broken? What if the back door has a rusty lock that can be picked in two seconds?
You might feel safe because the front door is locked, but a burglar will find the broken window.
Vulnerability scanning is like a security guard who walks around your house every hour, checking every single window and door.
- It checks for outdated software (rusty locks).
- It checks for weak passwords (open doors).
- It checks for bad configurations (broken windows).
If your Managed AWS provider isn’t running these scans, nobody is checking the windows. You are wide open to attack.
Reason 1: Software Rots Like Fruit
In the physical world, if you build a wall, it stays there. In the digital world, software “rots.”
You might install a perfectly secure server today. But next week, a hacker might discover a new flaw in that software. Suddenly, your “perfect” server is vulnerable. This happens all the time.
A managed aws team that doesn’t use Vulnerability scanning is relying on luck. They assume that because it was safe yesterday, it is safe today.
A provider that does use scanning knows the truth. Their automated tools will alert them: “Hey, that web server you installed last month has a new security flaw. Patch it now.” They fix it before the hackers even know it exists.
Reason 2: Compliance is Not Optional
Does your business handle credit cards? Medical records? Personal data of European citizens?
If yes, you are legally required to be secure.
- PCI-DSS (for credit cards) requires vulnerability scanning.
- HIPAA (for health data) requires risk assessments.
- GDPR (for Europe) requires data protection.
If you get audited and you cannot prove that you are scanning your systems, you can be fined heavily.
A good managed aws partner understands this. They don’t just run the scan; they generate the reports for you. When the auditor comes knocking, you simply hand them a PDF that says, “Yes, we scan our systems every 24 hours, and we fix every issue.”
It turns a stressful legal nightmare into a simple administrative task.
Reason 3: The Cost of a Breach vs. The Cost of Scanning
Some Managed Service Providers (MSPs) strip out security to make their price look lower. They might say, “We will manage your AWS for $500.” Another provider says, “We charge $800, but we include security scanning.”
The cheap option looks tempting. But it is a trap.
If your cheap provider misses a security hole and you get hacked, the costs will destroy you.
- Cost of downtime: $5,000+ per hour.
- Cost of forensic experts: $200+ per hour.
- Cost of lost customers: Priceless.
The provider who charges a little more for Vulnerability scanning is actually saving you money. They are selling you insurance. They are proactively preventing the disaster that would bankrupt you.
Reason 4: Removing Human Error
We all love our IT teams, but they are human. They get tired. They forget things.
A developer might accidentally open a “port” (a digital door) on a server to test something and forget to close it. Without a scanner, that door stays open forever.
Vulnerability scanning is automated. It is a robot. It doesn’t get tired, and it doesn’t forget. If a human makes a mistake, the robot catches it immediately.
When you combine managed aws experts (smart humans) with scanning tools (relentless robots), you get the best of both worlds. The humans design the strategy, and the robots ensure that no simple mistakes slip through the cracks.
How to Check Your Current Plan
If you already have a Managed AWS provider, look at your contract or send them an email today. Ask them three simple questions:
- “Do we have automated vulnerability scanning enabled?”
- “How often does it run?” (It should be at least weekly, ideally daily).
- “Can you show me the report from the last scan?”
If they hesitate, or if they try to sell you scanning as an expensive “add-on,” you might need to look for a new partner.
Conclusion
In 2024 and beyond, “Management” and “Security” are the same thing. You cannot manage a server if it is infected with a virus. You cannot manage a database if it is being held for ransom.
Any managed aws plan that excludes security is incomplete. It is like a car without brakes.
Don’t settle for half a service. Demand that your provider includes continuous, automated Vulnerability scanning. It is the only way to ensure that your business grows safely in the cloud.
