The post discusses various strategies for achieving least privilege at scale with AWS IAM. In Part 1, the first five strategies were described, along with mental models to assist in scaling the approach. Part 2 continues with the next four strategies and related mental models.
The sixth strategy emphasizes empowering developers to author application policies to mitigate bottlenecks in centralized policy creation. Providing developers with training and tools, such as conducting workshops and using permissions boundaries, allows them to create policies confidently and safely. IAM Access Analyzer policy generation is also a valuable tool for simplifying policy writing.
Strategies seven and eight focus on maintaining well-written policies and peer reviewing them. By identifying common use cases, creating templates, and maintaining repositories, organizations can streamline permissions management. Collaborative peer reviews and automation tools like IAM Access Analyzer policy validation ensure secure policies.
The ninth strategy involves removing excess privileges over time by leveraging SCPs, identifying unused identities and services, and refining permissions. The 80/20 rule or Pareto principle is applied to permissions management to strike a balance between effort and outcome. The journey towards least privilege involves using feedback loops, prioritizing sensitive areas, and refining permissions gradually.
In conclusion, the post provides a comprehensive guide to implementing least privilege in IAM at scale, emphasizing the use of tools like IAM Access Analyzer for policy generation, validation, and refining permissions over time. Feedback, questions, and comments can be directed to AWS Support. The post is authored by Josh Du Lac and Emeka Enekwizu, AWS Security & Networking Solutions Architects, offering practical insights and advice on securing cloud environments.
Article Source
https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/security/strategies-for-achieving-least-privilege-at-scale-part-2/
