AWS Config vs Security Monkey: What are the differences?

# Introduction:

AWS Config and Security Monkey are both tools used for monitoring and managing the security and compliance of resources in the AWS environment. While both tools focus on enhancing the security posture of AWS deployments, there are some key differences between them that are important to understand. 

1. **Data Collection** : AWS Config collects data about the configuration of resources in an AWS account, such as instance types, security groups, and VPC configurations, while Security Monkey primarily focuses on monitoring security-related configurations and policies within the AWS environment, providing alerts and notifications for any policy violations or security issues. 

2. **Real-time Monitoring** : AWS Config provides near real-time monitoring of resource configurations and changes, allowing users to track and audit changes over time, while Security Monkey offers continuous monitoring with real-time alerts for any security misconfigurations or policy violations in the AWS environment. 

3. **Customization and Extensibility** : AWS Config offers limited customization and extensibility options for defining rules and policies, while Security Monkey provides more flexibility by allowing users to define custom policies, rules, and integrations with other tools for a more comprehensive security monitoring solution. 

4. **Compliance Checks** : AWS Config mainly focuses on configuration and compliance checks for AWS resources based on predefined rules and best practices, while Security Monkey extends its capabilities by offering support for custom compliance checks and the ability to integrate with third-party compliance frameworks and tools. 

5. **Ease of Use** : AWS Config is integrated with the AWS Management Console and provides a user-friendly interface for viewing and managing configuration data, while Security Monkey requires more configuration and setup effort to deploy and may have a steeper learning curve for users unfamiliar with its features and capabilities. 

6. **Scalability and Performance** : AWS Config is designed to handle large-scale deployments and can efficiently scale to monitor thousands of resources in complex AWS environments, while Security Monkey may experience performance limitations when monitoring a high volume of resources or generating frequent alerts and notifications. 

# Summary:

In summary, AWS Config and Security Monkey differ in terms of their focus on data collection, real-time monitoring, customization, compliance checks, ease of use, and scalability and performance in enhancing the security and compliance of resources in the AWS environment.