agentscan

Agentscan is a term used in IT and cybersecurity to describe an autonomous, agent-based scanning framework. It coordinates lightweight software agents deployed on hosts or cloud instances to perform targeted inspections, such as vulnerability assessment, configuration checks, inventory management, or data quality scans. Agents report to a central management layer where results are consolidated for analysis. The term describes an approach rather than a single product, and implementations vary by vendor and use case.

The concept emerged with the rise of autonomous agents in IT operations and security. Implementations vary, ranging from open-source projects to commercial platforms. The core idea is to distribute scanning tasks to minimize single-point bottlenecks and improve coverage, while maintaining auditable reporting.

Architecture: Agents, a central orchestrator, and a policy layer. Agents run on endpoints; the orchestrator assigns tasks, collects results, and enforces scope and cadence. Communication is typically authenticated and encrypted; data formats are standardized (JSON or YAML).

Typical workflow: Define scan policies; deploy agents; dispatch scan jobs; agents execute checks; collect results; aggregate and present; generate alerts.

Applications: asset discovery, vulnerability scanning, compliance checks, software inventory, data loss prevention scanning.

Limitations and risks: false positives, performance impact, privacy concerns, need for credential management, update maintenance, and the potential for misconfiguration.

See also: Agent-based computing, Vulnerability scanner, Configuration management, IT automation.