<2-3 sentences summarising what the project addresses and solves, the target audience, and the benefit.> cnspec is an open-source, cloud-native security and policy project designed to assess and protect infrastructure from build to runtime. It identifies vulnerabilities and misconfigurations across a wide array of environments, including cloud, Kubernetes, containers, servers, endpoints, and IaC. Built on Mondoo's security data fabric with a policy-as-code engine, it offers out-of-the-box security policies for rapid deployment and ease of use.

How It Works

cnspec operates as a policy-as-code engine, leveraging Mondoo's security data fabric. It utilizes MQL (Mondoo Query Language), an asset inventory framework, to define and enforce security rules. The system comes pre-configured with default policies, enabling immediate assessment of security and compliance across diverse infrastructure components.

Quick Start & Requirements

• Primary install: Execute bash -c "$(curl -sSL https://install.mondoo.com/sh)" (Linux/macOS) or use the PowerShell script for Windows.
• Prerequisites: Vulnerability scanning requires authentication with the Mondoo Platform (cnspec login --token TOKEN).
• Links: cnspec docs, Mondoo Platform.

Highlighted Details

• Supports a comprehensive range of targets including cloud environments (AWS, GCP, Azure), Kubernetes, containers, registries, servers, endpoints, SaaS products, IaC (Terraform, CloudFormation), network devices, and more.
• Offers both security/compliance scanning and vulnerability scanning across build and runtime phases.
• Includes "agent skills" providing MQL expertise and policy navigation for AI coding assistants.
• Features an interactive shell (cnspec shell) for exploring security assertions and developing custom policies.

Maintenance & Community

Maintained by Mondoo, Inc. with contributions from Christoph Hartmann and Dominik Richter. Community engagement is encouraged via their platform, with development documentation available for contributors. Specific community channel links (e.g., Slack, Discord) are not detailed in the provided README excerpt.

Licensing & Compatibility

Licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 (BUSL 1.1). This license may impose restrictions on commercial use and redistribution, requiring further review of the full license terms.

Limitations & Caveats

Vulnerability scanning functionality necessitates authentication with the Mondoo Platform. The BUSL 1.1 license may introduce commercial use restrictions that require careful examination.