# Scanning IBM Cloud with Aikido

Aikido fully supports protecting workloads on IBM Cloud through specific integrations. A native integration may be added in the future, but you can already achieve full coverage by combining:<br>

* [**Container image scanning**](#container-image-scanning) for IBM Cloud registry or any other OCI-compatible registry
* [**Kubernetes cluster scanning**](#kubernetes-cluster-scanning) for IBM Cloud Managed Kubernetes or self-managed clusters
* [**Kubernetes cluster image scanning**](#kubernetes-cluster-image-scanning) for IBM Cloud Managed Kubernetes or self-managed clusters
* [**Virtual machine scanning**](#virtual-machine-scanning) via the Local VM Scanner on IBM Cloud instances

## Features

### Container image scanning

IBM Cloud’s container registry and most third-party registries you use from IBM Cloud are OCI-compatible, so they can be scanned using Aikido.

Create a read-only or pull-only user in IBM Cloud registry: <https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/Registry?topic=Registry-registry_access&interface=ui>

Follow the OCI guide below to configure container image scanning

{% content-ref url="/pages/WbT1GJFncHssApSoIXH7" %}
[Generic OCI-Compatible Registry](/container-image-scanning/standalone-registries/generic-oci-compatible-registry.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

### Kubernetes cluster scanning

If you use IBM Cloud Managed Kubernetes or run your own Kubernetes clusters on IBM Cloud VMs, you can connect them as generic Kubernetes clusters.

{% content-ref url="/pages/HJqrXQMWoUZAKUrWnpkb" %}
[Kubernetes Cluster Scanning](/cloud-scanning/kubernetes-cluster-scanning.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

### Kubernetes cluster image scanning

If you use IBM Cloud Managed Kubernetes or run your own Kubernetes clusters on IBM Cloud VMs, you can scan the images of running containers with Kubernetes image scanning.

{% content-ref url="/pages/rSbyejklgqsaULug65TZ" %}
[Kubernetes In-Cluster Image Scanning](/cloud-scanning/kubernetes-cluster-scanning/kubernetes-in-cluster-image-scanning.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

### Virtual Machine scanning

To scan Virtual Machines on IBM Cloud, use the Local VM Scanner. It inspects packages, system dependencies and configuration directly on the instance.

{% content-ref url="/pages/07U0LWsYijoM6UzZxn2i" %}
[Local VM Scanning](/virtual-machine-scanning/local-vm-scanning.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

You can roll this out centrally using your usual automation tooling (e.g. Ansible, Terraform-provisioned scripts, or cloud-init) so that new IBM Cloud instances are automatically enrolled.


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://help.aikido.dev/workflows-and-guides/additional-cloud-providers/scanning-ibm-cloud-with-aikido.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.