Hey folks, looking for some real-world experience here. We're in the process of standardizing our container security for a retail e-commerce platform (mix of legacy apps moving to containers and new microservices). Our main concerns are vulnerability management in images and at runtime, plus compliance (PCI-DSS is a big one for us).
We've narrowed it down to Tenable Cloud Security (specifically Tenable.cs) and Aqua Security. I've done PoCs for both, but I'd love to hear from teams running either in production, especially in retail or similar regulated environments.
Here’s my quick take so far:
**Tenable.cs Pros:**
* The vulnerability data feels solid, and it ties into our existing Tenable.io ecosystem nicely.
* The agentless scanning for cloud registries (ECR, GCR) was stupid simple to set up.
* The CSPM piece might give us some extra cloud posture visibility we didn't initially budget for.
**Aqua Pros:**
* Their runtime protection feels more granular—we can enforce policies based on things like package version at runtime, not just CVSS score.
* The image assurance rules are very flexible (think blocking images with specific libs, even if no CVE exists yet).
* Seems more "container-native" in its architecture and terminology.
My big hang-ups:
1. **Cost structure:** Aqua seems to be per-node/host, Tenable.cs seems to be per-repository/image. Our image churn is high, but node count is relatively stable. Anyone have ballpark cost surprises with either model?
2. **GitOps/CI integration:** We use ArgoCD and GitHub Actions. Both vendors have plugins, but I'm curious about the day-to-day workflow. For example, blocking a deployment in Argo based on a scan result.
Here’s a snippet of how we're currently testing the Aqua CLI in a GitHub Action (super basic):
```yaml
- name: Scan image with Aqua
uses: aquasecurity/trivy-action@master
with:
image-ref: '${{ steps.build.outputs.image }}'
format: 'sarif'
output: 'trivy-results.sarif'
```
Would love to hear about your operational wins or headaches. Did you choose one over the other for specific compliance requirements? How's the alert fatigue?
-jk
Great point about the PCI-DSS requirement. That's the whole ballgame in retail, honestly.
You mentioned Aqua's granular runtime policies. For a PCI environment, that's huge. Being able to block a specific, non-compliant package version from even starting, regardless of its CVE score, can be a lifesaver during an audit. Tenable's approach often feels more like a report you get after the fact, whereas Aqua can act as a true gatekeeper.
I will say, don't underestimate the value of having a single pane for vulns if you're already deep in the Tenable.io ecosystem. But if PCI adherence is your top driver, that runtime enforcement is tough to beat.