Best 15 Cloud Penetration Testing Tools in 2024

Cloud penetration testing tools uncover potential weaknesses in enterprises that even the best security experts might even miss. They address crucial pain points, detect hidden or unknown vulnerabilities and give comprehensive security assessments. Cloud security providers are better able to provide higher-quality services and as a result, organizations enhance their total security posutre. These tools help to maintain a security-conscious attitude and neutralize incoming data breaches and cyber security attacks.

In this article, we will discuss the top 15 Cloud Penetration Testing Tools available in the market. Additionally, we will explore key factors to consider when selecting the most suitable cloud penetration testing tools.

What is Penetration Testing in Cloud Computing?

Cloud penetration testing aims to evaluate a cloud system’s strengths and weaknesses to strengthen its overall security posture. Penetration testing involves probing the infrastructure for potential security gaps and addressing them before they become major issues. Cloud penetration testing tests the security strategy implemented by the infrastructure and attempts to exploit it in an attempt to gain unauthorized access and uncover additional weaknesses. The findings of these tests are used to incorporate robust security measures and level up the organiztion’s cloud security strategy.

What are Pen Testing Tools?

Penetration testing tools are software applications or frameworks that assist security professionals in conducting comprehensive security assessments and vulnerability testing. These tools automate various tasks involved in the penetration testing process, making it more efficient and effective. Pen testing tools are designed to simulate real-world attack scenarios, identify vulnerabilities, and provide valuable insights for remediation.

Best 15 Cloud Penetration Testing Tools 2024

Here is the list of Cloud Penetration Testing Tools:

#1. SentinelOne

#2. CloudBrute

CloudBrute is a cloud security tool made to find and fix security flaws and incorrect setups in cloud environments. By proactively evaluating and securing cloud infrastructure, it focuses on boosting cloud security.

Key features:

• Security vulnerability scanning: Finds configuration errors and security flaws.
• Automated remediation: Provides issues with automated solutions.
• Verifies conformity to compliance criteria that are specific to the industry.
• Real-time monitoring: Constantly keeping an eye out for prospective hazards.

Pros:

• Vulnerability Mitigation: Rapidly locating and resolving security problems.
• Compliance Assurance: Assists in upholding conformance with industry standards.
• Scalability: Ideal for companies using dynamic, expanding cloud infrastructures.

Cons:

• Learning Curve: Effective configuration and understanding may take some time.
• Ongoing monitoring necessitates more resources.
• Complexity: Automated remediation and alert management might be challenging.

Contact CloudBrute to get pricing details.

#3. Invicti

Next on the list of Cloud Penetration Testing Tools is Invicti. It is a web application vulnerability scanner that can be utilized on various hosting platforms, including AWS, and certain versions are compatible with Windows operating systems. Regardless of where you host the package, it can be effectively used to scan and assess vulnerabilities in AWS applications and services.

Features:

• The tool can be hosted on AWS. 
• You can conduct individual tests or comprehensively scan the target system. 
• It can run as a continuous testing tool for ongoing security assessments. 

Pros:

• Comprehensive scanning capabilities for web vulnerabilities.
• Advanced detection of complex security issues.
• User-friendly interface and easy-to-understand reports.

Cons:

• High cost compared to some other tools.
• Requires technical expertise for optimal use.
• It may generate false positives in some cases.

You can get a quote for pricing by contacting the Invicti team.

#4. Astra Pentest

Astra Pentest simplifies cloud security for various businesses worldwide. It fixes vulnerabilities in record-time and is a comprehensive platform designed for third-party penetration testing of cloud infrastructures, APIs, and mobile and online applications.

Features:

• Scanner Capacity: Indefinite number of ongoing scans
• Manual pentest is available for online apps, mobile apps, APIs, and cloud infrastructures.
• Zero false positives in accuracy

Pros: 

• It connects with your CI/CD workflow.
• Constantly updated scanner rules that provide continuous scanning guarantee there are no false positives.
• Aids in the quick identification and correction of vulnerabilities.

Cons:

• Further integration options could have been available.
• There is no free trial available.

Contact Astra Pentest for pricing details.

#5. Nessus

Next on the list of Cloud Penetration Testing Tools is Nessus. It is a cloud-based security and vulnerability assessment solution designed to assist organizations in identifying weaknesses within their security systems. This tool offers point-in-time analysis, enabling efficient and swift detection and remediation processes.

Features: 

• There is the possibility of false positives
• Vulnerability management at additional cost.
• Observance of HIPAA, ISO, NIST, and PCI-DSS.

Pros:

• Includes a free version.
• Accurate vulnerability identification.
• Excellent automated penetration testing software.

Cons:

• There are not many features in the free edition.
• The manufactured version might be expensive.

Contact Nessus for pricing.

#6. Scout Suite

Next on the list of Cloud Penetration Testing Tools is Scout Suite. This cloud penetration testing tool is an open-source solution designed to perform security testing on various cloud platforms.

Features:

• Multi-cloud support, allowing audits across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. 
• It performs comprehensive security audits covering identity and access management, network security, storage, databases, and compliance. 
• With automated assessment capabilities, it scans cloud resources for security vulnerabilities and misconfigurations. 
• Scout Suite generates detailed reports, providing actionable insights into identified risks and compliance issues. 
• It supports continuous monitoring through scheduled or on-demand assessments. 

Pros:

• Allows for free trials.
• Intuitive user interface.
• A free version with useful capabilities is offered for cloud penetration testing.

Cons:

• More features are available in the premium edition.
• Services might be slow.

You can contact Scout Suite for pricing details.

#7. Nmap

Next on the list of Cloud Penetration Testing Tools is Nmap, an open-source vulnerability scanner that proves invaluable for cloud network discovery, management, and monitoring. While primarily tailored for scanning large cloud networks, it remains equally effective for individual networks.

Features:

• Comprehensive network scanning. 
• Identification of open ports and services.
• OS detection and version detection.
• Scriptable interaction with the target.
• Support for a wide range of operating systems. 
• Ability to scan large networks efficiently and accurately.

Pros:

• Reveals open ports, running services, and vital network aspects.
• Freely available, ensuring accessibility for all users.
• Suitable for networks of varying sizes, accommodating both large and small infrastructures.

Cons:

• The user interface could benefit from improvements to enhance user experience.
• Results may vary between scans, potentially presenting inconsistent findings.

You can contact Nmap for pricing details.

#8. AWS Inspector

AWS workloads are regularly checked by Amazon Inspector, a vulnerability management service, for software flaws and inadvertent network exposure. For known software vulnerabilities and inadvertent network exposure, Amazon Inspector automatically detects and analyzes active Amazon EC2 instances, container images in the Amazon Elastic Container Registry (Amazon ECR), and AWS Lambda functions.

Features:

• Automated vulnerability scanning of EC2 instances.
• Detection of common security issues and misconfigurations, and assessments for compliance with industry best practices.
• Providing detailed insights into potential vulnerabilities in AWS resources.

Pros:

• Discovers EC2 instances and images, providing comprehensive coverage.
• Assesses the container registry for vulnerabilities and areas of exposure.
• Provides contextualized risk scores for a better understanding of the severity of identified issues.

Cons:

• Does not offer a classification of individual findings, potentially requiring additional manual effort for categorization.
• Billing can be complex or challenging to understand, requiring careful monitoring and management.

Contact AWS Inspector to get a pricing quote.

#9. Guidepoint Security

Guidepoint Security is a cybersecurity business that specializes in offering organizations custom security solutions and knowledgeable advisory services. To defend against cyber attacks and establish strong security postures, they provide a variety of services and technology.

Key features:

• Offers professional guidance and counseling on security measures.
• Responds immediately to security incidents in order to reduce harm.
• Managed Security Services: Constantly manages and monitors security.
• Penetration testing: This method of controlled testing finds weaknesses.

Pros:

• Access to knowledgeable security advisors is provided.
• Rapid incident response reduces harm from security events.

Cons:

• Cost: Professional security knowledge may be expensive.
• Relies on outside specialists for some services, or resource dependence.
• Integration difficulties: Complicated integrations with current systems may be required.

You can get a quote for pricing by contacting the GuidePoint Security team.

#10. Metasploit

Next on the list of Cloud Penetration Testing Tools is Metasploit. Cybercriminals and ethical hackers can both use the Metasploit framework to scan servers and networks for systemic weaknesses. It may be used with most operating systems and is highly customizable because it is an open-source framework.

Features:

• A versatile framework for detecting vulnerabilities.
• Comprehensive penetration testing capabilities. 
• Support for multiple platforms. 
• A wide range of exploits and payloads.
• The ability to simulate real-world attacks. 

Pros:

• Employs a powerful framework with diverse penetration testing capabilities.
• Supports installation on multiple platforms and enjoys popularity among hackers.
• Serves as a significant tool for pen testers due to its robust functionality.

Cons:

• Involves a steep learning curve, requiring users to invest time and effort to master its usage.
• Metasploit is used by hackers.

Metasploit is a free tool.

#11. Pacu

Next on the list of Cloud Penetration Testing Tools is Pacu. AWS exploitation framework Pacu is open-source and developed for offensive security testing against cloud systems. By employing modules to increase its capabilities quickly, Pacu, developed and maintained by Rhino Security Labs, enables penetration testers to take advantage of configuration weaknesses in an AWS account.

Features:

• Exploitation Modules: These modules cover areas such as privilege escalation, credential theft, data exfiltration, persistence mechanisms, and more.
• Lateral Movement: Pacu includes functionality for performing lateral movement within an AWS environment. This enables testers to traverse across different accounts and services, simulating an attacker’s actions to escalate privileges and gain unauthorized access.
• Security Assessment: Pacu assists in identifying security weaknesses and misconfigurations within AWS accounts. 

Pros:

• Capable of identifying vulnerabilities in AWS
• Aids in quickly checking the user rights in the AWS cloud environment.

Cons:

• It offers fewer features than its commercial competitors.

Contact the Pacu team for pricing details.

#12. Detectify

Next on the list of Cloud Penetration Testing Tools is Detectify. A cybersecurity tool called Detectify is intended to assist security teams and development teams in tracking assets and spotting dangers across online apps. Administrators can track vulnerabilities such as DNS errors and SQL injections by adding domains or IP addresses, confirming asset ownership, scanning profiles, and generating reports.

Features:

• Automated security analysis and threat detection 
• Advanced analytics for identifying potential security incidents
• Visualizations and graph-based investigation tools
• Integration with AWS services for seamless data collection, and the ability to monitor and analyze activity across multiple AWS accounts.

Pros:

• Real-time alerts for detected vulnerabilities, ensuring prompt action can be taken.
• Continuous scanning capability that can be seamlessly integrated into the development pipeline.
• Detectify’s surface monitoring feature effectively identifies vulnerabilities in an organization’s internet-facing assets.

Cons:

• Compared to other alternatives, Detectify can be relatively expensive.
• Some users have reported performance issues with the interface, which may impact usability and efficiency.

Contact Detectify for pricing.

#13. BurpSuite

Next on the list of Cloud Penetration Testing Tools is BurpSuite. It is an integrated platform and graphical tool for security testing online applications. From the initial mapping and analysis of an application’s attack surface to discovering and exploiting security flaws, its numerous tools work in perfect harmony to assist the whole testing process.

Features:

• Advanced vulnerability scanning and automated pen-testing capabilities.
• Detailed step-by-step guidance for vulnerabilities.
• Efficient crawling through complex targets using URLs and content analysis, integration for easy ticket generation.
• The ability to test cloud environments and identify misconfigurations in S3 buckets.

Pros:

• Offers advanced automated pen testing services.
• Provides detailed step-by-step advice for each identified vulnerability.
• Excels at crawling through complex targets by utilizing URLs and content analysis.

Cons:

• Advanced solutions within Burp Suite are commercialized and may come with a higher cost.
• Customer service and assistance may not meet the expectations of expert users.

Contact BurpSuite for pricing.

#14. SkyArk

SkyArk offers support for Azure and AWS, enabling the identification of extended attack surfaces within these platforms. It helps to discover, assess, and secure the most privileged entities across AWS And Azure. SkyArk uses two scanning modules – AzureStealth and AWStealth.

Features:

• Support for Azure and AWS platforms.
• Detection of shadow cloud admins.
• Assessment of entities in Azure and AWS environments, privilege escalation detection, and identification of security vulnerabilities.
• Detailed reporting capabilities for effective remediation.

Pros:

• Effectively detects the existence of shadow cloud admins.
• Assists in evaluating entities within both AWS and Azure environments.

Cons:

• Currently unavailable for use with the Google Cloud Platform, limiting its coverage across different cloud providers.

Contact SKyArk for pricing.

#15. Qualys

Next on the list of Cloud Penetration Testing Tools is Qualys. It offers comprehensive security insights into both the container host and the containers within it. It empowers users to detect and mitigate security issues in real-time proactively. It effectively gathers information 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.

Contact the Qualys team for pricing quotes.

How to Choose the Best Cloud Penetration Testing Tools?

• Evaluate expertise level: Evaluating cloud penetration testing tools’ expertise level and experience will help you understand their reliability, reputation, and proficiency.
• Check for features: Check if the cloud penetration testing tools have your organization’s required features. Consider every tool’s various specifications and capabilities to find the perfect fit for your company.
• Identify specific requirements: Identify the specific requirements that your organization needs and effectively communicate those with the chosen pen-testing company. Understanding these requirements will help determine the scope of testing and associated costs.

Conclusion

To ensure the security of your cloud infrastructure, we provided the top 15 Cloud Penetration Testing Tools. We have covered a lot of territory, from understanding the cloud-shared responsibility paradigm to introducing the newest technologies and methodologies. We have also seen what factors to consider while selecting cloud penetration testing tools.