17 IAM Best Practices For AWS Cloud Computing
To help secure your AWS resources, follow these recommendations for the AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) service.
Dob’t be sloppy on IAM controls. Use this list as an internal self audit checklist.
Each best practice is linked to AWS documentation for additional information.
- Lock away your AWS account root user access keys
- Create individual IAM users
- Use user groups to assign permissions to IAM users
- Grant least privilege
- Get started using permissions with AWS managed policies
- Validate your policies
- Use customer managed policies instead of inline policies
- Use access levels to review IAM permissions
- Configure a strong password policy for your users
- Enable MFA
- Use roles for applications that run on Amazon EC2 instances
- Use roles to delegate permissions
- Do not share access keys
- Rotate credentials regularly
- Remove unnecessary credentials
- Use policy conditions for extra security
- Monitor activity in your AWS account
Tim Layton specializes in demystifying the complexities and technical jargon associated with cloud computing security and risk management for business stakeholders across the enterprise. Tim is a cloud security thought leader defining actionable and defensible strategies to help enterprise stakeholders make risk-based decisions and prioritize investments in the new digital frontier.
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COMMON CYBERSECURITY RISK TERMS DEFINED
Threat: Any circumstance or event with the potential to adversely impact organizational operations (including mission, functions, image, or reputation), organizational assets, individuals, other organizations, or the Nation through an information system via unauthorized access, destruction, disclosure, or modification of information, and/or denial of service. (NIST 800–30)
Threat: potential cause of an unwanted incident, which can result in harm to a system or organization. (ISO 27001)
Vulnerability: Weakness in an information system, system security procedures, internal controls, or implementation that could be exploited by a threat source. (NIST 800–30)
Vulnerability: weakness of an asset or control that can be exploited by one or more threats. (ISO 27001)
Likelihood: A weighted factor based on a subjective analysis of the probability that a given threat is capable of exploiting a given vulnerability or a set of vulnerabilities. (NIST 800–30)
Likelihood: chance of something happening. (ISO 27001)
Risk: A measure of the extent to which an entity is threatened by a potential circumstance or event, and typically a function of (i) the adverse impacts that would arise if the circumstance or event occurs; and (ii) the likelihood of occurrence. (NIST 800–30)
Risk: effect of uncertainty on objectives. (ISO 27001)
Security Controls: The management, operational, and technical controls (i.e., safeguards or countermeasures) prescribed for an information system to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the system and its information. (NIST 800–30)
Compensating Security Control: A management, operational, and/or technical control (i.e., safeguard or countermeasure) employed by an organization in lieu of a recommended security control in the low, moderate, or high baselines that provides equivalent or comparable protection for an information system. (NIST 800–30)
Impact Level: The magnitude of harm that can be expected to result from the consequences of unauthorized disclosure of information, unauthorized modification of information, unauthorized destruction of information, or loss of information or information system availability. (NIST 800–30)
Residual Risk: Portion of risk remaining after security measures have been applied. (NIST 800–30)
Security Posture: The security status of an enterprise’s networks, information, and systems based on information assurance resources (e.g., people, hardware, software, policies) and capabilities in place to manage the defense of the enterprise and to react as the situation changes. (NIST 800–30)
