A Modern Security Scanning Blueprint:

The Step-by-Step Checklist for Today’s Software Teams

Security isn’t just about building firewalls—it’s about embedding trust into every phase of your software delivery pipeline. In 2025, high-performing engineering teams know that comprehensive, automated scanning is a must to keep products secure, compliant, and resilient. But what should you actually be scanning—and when?

Here’s your guided tour through a world-class security scanning and monitoring program, broken down phase by phase, complete with the best-in-class tools you can use today.

1. Before You Commit: Security Starts at Your Fingertips

Don’t wait until code is merged to find secrets or vulnerabilities. Modern teams integrate key checks right into the developer’s workflow:

Secret Detection: Catch passwords and tokens before they ever leave your laptop (try TruffleHog, Gitleaks).
Code Quality & Linting: Prevent style drift and catch basic bugs early (with ESLint, Pylint).
Incremental SAST/SCA: Get instant feedback on vulnerabilities in the code or dependencies you just added (SonarLint, Snyk IDE plugins).

2. On Every Commit and Pull Request: Shift Security Left

CI pipelines aren’t just for running tests—they’re your first automated defense layer:

Static Application Security Testing (SAST): Find code-level security flaws (SonarQube, CodeQL).
Software Composition Analysis (SCA) & License Compliance: Keep vulnerable or risky open-source packages out of your builds (Snyk, OWASP Dependency-Check).
Secret Detection (repo-wide): Scan your whole history for exposed secrets (GitGuardian).
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Scanning: Secure your cloud configs and deployment manifests (Checkov, TFLint).
Test Coverage: Measure what’s actually being tested (Jacoco, Coverage.py).
CI/CD Pipeline Security: Don’t forget the pipeline itself—lock down secrets and plugins (Cider Security, Legit Security).
Threat Modeling: For new features, proactively look for design risks (Microsoft Threat Modeling Tool).

3. Building and Storing Artifacts: Secure from the Inside Out

Don’t let vulnerabilities sneak into containers or compiled binaries:

Container Image Scan: Identify vulnerabilities in every OS and app layer (Trivy, Grype, AWS ECR).
Binary/Artifact Scan: Catch issues in compiled or packaged apps (JFrog Xray, Snyk).
SBOM Generation: Track every dependency with a Software Bill of Materials (Syft, CycloneDX).
Supply Chain Security: Ensure build integrity with signed artifacts (in-toto, SLSA, Sigstore).

4. Testing, QA, and Pre-Production: Simulate the Real World

Before going live, put your app through its paces—inside and out:

DAST (Dynamic Application Security Testing): Launch real attacks on your running app (OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite).
API Security Testing: Uncover API-specific weaknesses (42Crunch, StackHawk).
IAST: Instrumented runtime analysis for deep insight (Contrast Security, Veracode).
Fuzz Testing: Find bugs with random/malformed inputs (AFL, Jazzer, OSS-Fuzz).
Performance/Load Testing: Test resilience under stress (JMeter, Locust).

5. Production: Continuous Security, Not Just Compliance

Once deployed, your vigilance continues with monitoring and scanning:

Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM): Constantly audit your cloud settings (Wiz, Prisma Cloud).
Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP): Monitor running workloads for threats (Aqua, Sysdig).
Kubernetes Security: Lock down clusters and monitor for risks (kube-bench, kube-hunter).
DSPM/DLP: Discover and classify sensitive data (BigID, Varonis, AWS Macie).
Malware Scanning: Guard against malicious files and runtime exploits (ClamAV, CrowdStrike).
Network Security Monitoring: Scan for exposed services, ports, and unusual activity (Nessus, Qualys, OSSEC).
Continuous API Monitoring: Detect risky or anomalous API usage (Salt Security, Noname Security).
Compliance Auditing: Ensure you meet PCI, HIPAA, SOC2, etc. (AWS Audit Manager, Prisma Cloud).

6. Strategic & Manual Security Practices: The Human Advantage

Automation is powerful—but don’t forget people:

Threat Modeling: Team-based exercises to foresee and mitigate risks before code is written.
Manual Code Review: Human eyes on sensitive logic and complex flows.
Penetration Testing / Red Team: Simulated real-world attacks by skilled professionals.
Security Awareness Training: Ongoing education to keep everyone sharp.
Incident Response Exercises: Regular practice for your “fire drills.”
Metrics & Reporting: Track progress and coverage—what gets measured gets improved.

Wrapping Up: From Checklist to Culture

The best teams use this scanning blueprint not just as a checklist, but as a way to embed security into their engineering DNA. Assign clear owners for each scan, automate wherever you can, and revisit this process often as your tech and threat landscape evolves.

Phase	Scan Type	Description	Automated/Manual	Tool Example(s)	Status
Pre-commit/IDE	Secret Detection	Block secrets in code before commit	Automated	TruffleHog, Gitleaks	[ ]
	Code Quality & Linting	Style and bug checking	Automated	ESLint, Pylint	[ ]
	Incremental SAST/SCA	Quick vuln scan on change	Automated	SonarLint, Snyk IDE	[ ]
Commit/CI	SAST	Code-level vulnerabilities	Automated	SonarQube, CodeQL	[ ]
	SCA & License Compliance	Third-party lib CVEs/licensing	Automated	Snyk, OWASP DC	[ ]
	Secret Detection (repo-wide)	Scan for secrets in all commits	Automated	GitGuardian	[ ]
	IaC Scanning	Infra config misconfigs	Automated	Checkov, TFLint	[ ]
	Test Coverage	Percent of code tested	Automated	Jacoco, Coverage.py	[ ]
	CI/CD Pipeline Security	Pipeline config, secrets, plugins	Automated	Cider, Legit	[ ]
	Threat Modeling	New features/arch review	Manual	MS Threat Model Tool	[ ]
Build/Artifacts	Container Image Scan	Vulnerabilities in built images	Automated	Trivy, Grype, AWS ECR	[ ]
	Binary/Artifact Scan	Vulnerabilities in non-container builds	Automated	JFrog Xray, Snyk	[ ]
	SBOM Generation	Produce software bill of materials	Automated	Syft, CycloneDX	[ ]
	Supply Chain Security	Build provenance, artifact signing	Automated	in-toto, SLSA, Sigstore	[ ]
Testing/QA	DAST	External, runtime attacks on app	Automated	OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite	[ ]
	API Security Testing	Specialized API vulns (OWASP API Top 10)	Automated	42Crunch, StackHawk	[ ]
	IAST	Runtime vuln detection	Automated	Contrast, Veracode	[ ]
	Fuzz Testing	Discover unknown/crash bugs	Automated	AFL, Jazzer, OSS-Fuzz	[ ]
	Performance/Load Testing	DoS, concurrency issues	Automated	JMeter, Locust	[ ]
Prod/Monitoring	CSPM	Cloud config and compliance	Automated	Wiz, Prisma Cloud	[ ]
	CWPP	Runtime protection for workloads	Automated	Aqua, Sysdig, Prisma	[ ]
	K8s Security	Cluster, RBAC, runtime	Automated	kube-bench, kube-hunter	[ ]
	DSPM/DLP	Sensitive data discovery/classification	Automated	BigID, Varonis, Macie	[ ]
	Malware Scanning	File system, container, host malware	Automated	ClamAV, CrowdStrike	[ ]
	Network Security Monitoring	Network/host scanning, intrusion	Automated	Nessus, Qualys, OSSEC	[ ]
	Continuous API Monitoring	Runtime API risk/anomaly detection	Automated	Salt, Noname	[ ]
	Compliance Audit	PCI, HIPAA, SOC2, etc.	Automated	AWS Audit Manager, Prisma	[ ]
Strategic/Manual	Threat Modeling	Pre-empt threats in new designs	Manual	Workshops	[ ]
	Manual Code Review	Security review of critical logic	Manual	Peer review, checklist	[ ]
	Penetration Testing/Red Team	Simulate real attackers	Manual	In-house/third-party	[ ]
	Security Awareness Training	Regular training/refreshers	Manual	Phishing drills, eLearning	[ ]
	Incident Response Exercises	Tabletop, blue/purple team	Manual	Playbooks	[ ]
	Metrics/Reporting	Scan coverage, remediation time, risk trends	Automated/Manual	Dashboards	[ ]

The Ultimate DevSecOps Scanning Checklist for 2025