Day 2.3: AWS IAM Security Best Practices

To help secure your AWS resources, follow these best practices for AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)

!.Requires Federation for human users:
Enable human users to access aws using temporary credentials obtained through federation with an identity provider.
2.Use temporary Credentials with IAM roles:
Ensure workloads utilize temporary credentials obtained through IAM roles to access AWS resources.
3.Implement MFA(Multifactor authentication)
Apply the use of MFA to add an extra layer of security for user authentication.
4.Update Access keys when needed:
Regularly refresh access keys, especially for use cases requiring long-term credentials, to minimize security risks.
5.Secure Root user credentials:
Follow best practices to protect the credentials of the root user, including enabling MFA for the root account.
6.Apply Least-Privilege Permissions:
Grant users and processes the minimum permissions necessary to perform their tasks, reducing the risk of misuse.
7.Start with AWS Managed Policies:
Begin with AWS managed policies and progressively move towards implementing least-privilege permissions.
8.Utilize IAM Access Analyzer:
Utilize IAM Access Analyzer to generate least-privilege policies based on access activity and ensure secure permissions.
9.Regularly review and remove unused resources:
Conduct regular reviews to identify and remove unused users, roles, permissions, policies and credentials.
10.Use conditions in IAM Policies:
Improve access control by incorporating conditions in IAM policies to further restrict user access.
11.Verify public and cross-account access:
Use IAM Access Analyzer to validate public and cross-account access to resources, ensuring security and compliance.
12.Establish permissions guardrails:
Implement security policies across multiple AWS accounts to enforce consistent access controls.
13.Delegate permissions boundaries:
Manage permissions within an account by setting up defined boundaries.

By following these IAM best practices, you can greatly strengthen the security of your AWS environment, ensuring both secure and efficient access to resources.