1. Build Controls: Prevention in Code

Build controls catch misconfigurations in Infrastructure-as-Code templates before deployment. This is prevention at the earliest possible stage. Issues found during code review never reach cloud environments, never create risk, and never require coordination across teams to fix.

Infrastructure-as-Code scanning analyzes templates for security issues. Terraform, CloudFormation, Azure Resource Manager templates, Google Cloud Deployment Manager, Pulumi, and Kubernetes manifests all get scanned. Scanning tools like Checkov, tfsec, Trivy, Terrascan, and cloud-native offerings identify misconfigurations in templates: unencrypted storage, overly permissive security groups, public resources, missing access controls, weak configurations.

The scanning happens during development. Developers run scans locally before committing code. CI/CD pipelines run scans during pull request reviews. Issues get flagged with clear descriptions and secure alternatives. Developers fix templates immediately with full context about what they were building. The feedback loop is minutes, not days or weeks.

Build controls excel at preventing configuration issues that live in code. If infrastructure gets defined in IaC templates, build controls can analyze those templates before deployment. This makes build controls highly effective for organizations practicing infrastructure-as-code with high IaC coverage across their repositories.

The developer experience with build controls determines adoption success. Good build controls provide clear error messages explaining what's wrong and why it matters. They suggest secure alternatives or link to documentation. They integrate seamlessly into existing development workflows rather than requiring new tools or processes. They minimize false positives that erode developer trust. When developers experience build controls as helpful rather than obstructive, adoption accelerates naturally.

Build controls have natural boundaries. They only catch issues that exist in code. Infrastructure created manually through cloud consoles bypasses build controls. Configuration changes made directly to running resources don't get scanned. Third-party services and managed offerings that abstract infrastructure away from IaC templates can't be analyzed. Build controls are essential but insufficient. They need complementary controls to address their coverage gaps.

Organizations deploying build controls typically start with repositories containing critical infrastructure. Core networking, IAM policies, security controls, and production application infrastructure get scanning priority. As coverage expands, scanning extends to all repositories with any infrastructure code. The goal is universal build-layer coverage where every template gets scanned before deployment.