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Managing AWS accounts without a strategy is like driving blindfolded. Gain control, tighten security. Unlock the power of AWS Organizations for ironclad operations. - Centralize with a management account. It's your command center for logs and monitoring. - Distinguish your environments. Separate development and production accounts for clear boundaries. - Introduce Service Control Policies (SCPs). They're your rules of the road in AWS. - Apply SCPs to deny unwanted services. Like a security gate, if you don't use it, they can't abuse it. - With SCPs, even if attackers break in, they can't start services you don’t use. It's security at the source. AWS Organizations isn't just for structure; it's for security. By setting SCPs at the account level, you create a fortress that adapts to your needs and blocks threats automatically. Drive your AWS environment securely. ~~~ ✍️ What's your take? Agree or not?

Evaluating the effects of AWS security policies is hard. Each of the five types of security policy are integrated into the access decision making process. This is not simple to understand or evaluate. And depending on where you define policies, engineers may have to account for many policies, defined in many places. However, k9 Security can help. k9 Security evaluates all of the policies defined in your AWS account to evaluate each principal’s access to AWS APIs and resources: • Service Control policies • Identity policies attached to an IAM role, user, or group, both managed and inline • Permission Boundary policies attached to an IAM role or user • Resource policies attached to a resource like an S3 bucket or KMS key (unless we’re not allowed to read it) Note: k9 does not evaluate Session policies because those are created by the AWS client and are not defined within the account. So engineers can understand effective access easily and actually start achieving least privilege today. For more information about how AWS Security policies are evaluated and why this makes IAM so complicated, check out Chapter 2 of Effective IAM for AWS (link in comments). And if you want to talk with an expert about simplifying and scaling AWS IAM security, leave a comment below!

I'd like to invite you to register for the AWS Threat Detection and Response Activation Day on Wed 14 Feb 09:00-15:00 UK time. Join AWS subject-matter experts for a deep dive into threat detection and response on AWS using Amazon GuardDuty, Amazon Detective, Amazon Security Lake, and AWS Security Hub to analyze, investigate, and respond to potential security issues or suspicious activities in your environment. GuardDuty is a threat detection service that continuously monitors your AWS accounts and workloads for malicious activity. Detective simplifies the investigative process and helps security teams conduct faster and more effective investigations. Amazon Security Lake automatically centralizes security data from AWS environments, SaaS providers, on premises, and cloud sources into a purpose-built data lake stored in your account. https://lnkd.in/eWEvKXjK

Comprehensive Strategies for Safeguarding Sensitive Data in AWS When managing sensitive data in AWS, a robust security strategy is essential. Here’s a comprehensive approach focusing on encryption and access controls: 1. Data Encryption: Use AWS Key Management Service (KMS) to manage encryption keys and ensure encryption at rest in services like Amazon S3, RDS, and EBS. Opt for Server-Side Encryption (SSE) with SSE-S3 or SSE-KMS for enhanced key management. 2. Encryption in Transit: Protect data in transit by enforcing Transport Layer Security (TLS). Implement HTTPS for secure communication and manage certificates with AWS Certificate Manager to safeguard network transmissions. 3. Access Control: Follow the Principle of Least Privilege by defining strict IAM roles and policies. Ensure that only authorized users and applications can access sensitive resources, and regularly audit permissions for compliance. 4. Monitoring and Compliance: Enable AWS CloudTrail to log all API activities and use AWS Config to ensure your environment remains compliant with security standards. Routinely review logs to detect unauthorized actions. 5. Network Security: Implement Security Groups and Network ACLs to control traffic flow, allowing only essential connections, which mitigates the risk of exposure to unwanted sources. For an enhanced security posture, regularly review your environment using tools like AWS Trusted Advisor and integrate proactive threat detection services like Amazon GuardDuty. Continuous improvement and vigilance are key to keeping your sensitive data secure in AWS.

AWS Security Implementation: IAM Groups and Policies I recently completed a project to enhance security for a company using AWS. With a large number of employees and the need for secure access control, we implemented a solution to streamline permissions. 🔒 Objective: Set up an IAM Group called "Support Engineer" with read-only access to specific AWS services. Steps Taken: Created the IAM Group: Established the "Support Engineer" group in AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM). Attached Read-Only Policies: Applied read-only policies to grant the group access only to Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service) and Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud). Added Members: Incorporated the necessary team members into the "Support Engineer" group. Outcome: By implementing these steps, the support team now has appropriate access to perform their duties while maintaining a high level of security. This setup minimizes the risk of unauthorized changes and ensures compliance with best security practices. 🌟 I'm pleased to see how this solution strengthens our security posture and supports our operational needs. Looking forward to more such challenging projects! Check the full documentation here: https://lnkd.in/gbkW3dZe #AWS #CloudSecurity #IAM #AWSIAM #CloudComputing #Security #TechInnovation

Prowler: Open-source security tool for AWS, Google Cloud Platform, Azure: Prowler is an open-source security tool designed to assess, audit, and enhance the security of AWS, GCP, and Azure. It’s also equipped for incident response, continuous monitoring, hardening, and forensics preparation. Details The tool includes hundreds of controls that align with various frameworks like CIS, NIST 800, NIST CSF, CISA, RBI, FedRAMP, PCI-DSS, GDPR, HIPAA, FFIEC, SOC2, GXP, the AWS Well-Architected Framework Security Pillar, AWS Foundational Technical Review (FTR), ENS (Spanish National Security Scheme), and … More → The post Prowler: Open-source security tool for AWS, Google Cloud Platform, Azure appeared first on Help Net Security. @Poseidon-US #HelpNetSecurity #Cybersecurity

Join AWS subject-matter experts for a deep dive into threat detection and response on AWS using Amazon GuardDuty, Amazon Detective, Amazon Security Lake, and AWS Security Hub to analyze, investigate, and respond to potential security issues or suspicious activities in your environment. GuardDuty is a threat detection service that continuously monitors your AWS accounts and workloads for malicious activity. Detective simplifies the investigative process and helps security teams conduct faster and more effective investigations. Amazon Security Lake automatically centralizes security data from AWS environments, SaaS providers, on premises, and cloud sources into a purpose-built data lake stored in your account. With Amazon Security Lake, you can get a more complete understanding of your security data across your entire organization. You will get hands-on experience using AWS-provided sandbox accounts and will walk away knowing when, how, and why to set up and use the services. Kenny Wee Chan Leong Ng Sook Yan Leong Jaz Loh Saw Cheng Ling Hoon Sin Cheong LOI LiangYang #cloud #security #cloudsecurity #AWS #Amazon #technology #AmazonGuardDuty #AmazonDetective #AmazonSecurityLake #event Click on the link below to see the agenda 📅 and to also register 💻

I'll be speaking at AWS Security Activation Day on Sep 19th 11AM CST. Join us for this free event for a deep dive into centralized security posture management on AWS using AWS Security Hub. You will get practical experience using Security Hub, Amazon GuardDuty, and other security services in AWS-provided sandbox accounts and will leave knowing when, how, and why to set up the services, and the best practices when doing so. Sign up using

✨ Identity and Access Management (IAM): Start with IAM, the cornerstone of security in AWS. IAM enables you to manage and control access to users and resources, ensuring that each user and resource has specific permissions. This is a critical step in enhancing security. 🚀 Compliance: AWS has the capability to provide services in compliance with various regulations and requirements worldwide. This helps demonstrate that your business is compliant with legal requirements and that customer data is secure. Compliance should be a central element of AWS security. 📌 Shared Security Responsibility Model: This collaborative approach between AWS and users is essential for ensuring security. While AWS takes responsibility for protecting the infrastructure, users are also responsible for implementing security measures at the application level. Understanding this model is crucial for establishing a secure AWS environment. Visit our website https://lnkd.in/dYE8qkAd #iamexcellence #secureaccessmanagement #awscompliancematters #awslegalshield #securitycornerstone #awscompliancechampion #sharedsecuritymodel #secureawsenvironment #awsbestpractices #complianceassurance #iamsecuritywizardry

Prowler: Open-source security tool for AWS, Google Cloud Platform, Azure: Prowler is an open-source security tool designed to assess, audit, and enhance the security of AWS, GCP, and Azure. It’s also equipped for incident response, continuous monitoring, hardening, and forensics preparation. Details The tool includes hundreds of controls that align with various frameworks like CIS, NIST 800, NIST CSF, CISA, RBI, FedRAMP, PCI-DSS, GDPR, HIPAA, FFIEC, SOC2, GXP, the AWS Well-Architected Framework Security Pillar, AWS Foundational Technical Review (FTR), ENS (Spanish National Security Scheme), and … More → The post Prowler: Open-source security tool for AWS, Google Cloud Platform, Azure appeared first on Help Net Security. #HelpNetSecurity #Cybersecurity