The Tool Desk
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1. Lock down identities, permissions, and secrets
Start with the people and services that can access your AWS resources. AWS Well-Architected guidance calls for least privilege and appropriate authorization for each interaction with your resources. AWS IAM best practices recommend protecting the root user, requiring MFA, and using temporary credentials where possible.
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- Protect root access with MFA and avoid using the root user for routine work.
- For human operators, prefer federation and temporary credentials over long-lived IAM user keys where available.
- Give the app an IAM role with only the permissions it needs; do not embed long-lived AWS access keys in application code or configuration.
- Review policies, users, roles, credentials, and permissions periodically, removing those that are no longer needed.
IAM Access Analyzer policy generation can help derive fine-grained policies from logged access activity. Treat generated policies as a starting point: test them against the app’s real operations before relying on them in production.
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Store passwords, tokens, and other secrets in a managed secret facility rather than source control or plaintext configuration. AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store supports encrypted SecureString values using AWS KMS. A customer-managed KMS key can provide more control through IAM and key policies; choose the storage and key model to match the app’s access requirements and threat model. See the Parameter Store documentation.
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2. Expose only the network paths the app needs
Map the app’s actual traffic before opening ports. A public web front end may need HTTP and HTTPS; a database or internal service usually should not accept connections from the whole internet. In the EC2 security group, allow only the inbound sources and outbound destinations required by the workload. Security groups are stateful controls; AWS describes network ACLs as a coarser, stateless secondary layer. See AWS VPC security best practices.
- Keep database and administration ports limited to trusted sources or private application tiers.
- Use private subnets for instances that do not need direct internet access, and separate web, application, and database tiers where the architecture warrants it.
- Review outbound rules as well as inbound rules; allow what the workload needs rather than assuming every destination is required.
- Do not leave SSH or RDP open to unrestricted public sources.
Use managed administration when it fits
AWS Systems Manager Session Manager is an alternative to opening inbound SSH or RDP ports and distributing management keys. It requires a correctly configured managed instance and suitable permissions; enabling the console feature alone does not make an instance ready for Session Manager.
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3. Require IMDSv2 and make the setting durable
Require Instance Metadata Service Version 2 (IMDSv2) on EC2 instances. Check both running instances and the launch templates used to create future instances, so a later deployment does not silently reintroduce a weaker setting. AWS Security Hub includes an EC2 control for IMDSv2; see Security Hub EC2 controls.
4. Encrypt storage and protect recovery
Enable encryption for EBS volumes and snapshots, and consider enabling account-level default EBS encryption so new volumes are encrypted by default. Review snapshot sharing permissions so private data is not unintentionally exposed. Security Hub includes controls for EBS encryption, public snapshots, and backup coverage; details are in the EC2 control reference.
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- Keep application data on persistent storage rather than relying on temporary instance storage.
- Decide whether data volumes must survive instance termination and configure the lifecycle accordingly.
- Set backup frequency and retention to match your recovery objectives, and restrict access to backups.
- Regularly restore instances or EBS volumes in a test process. A completed snapshot job is not proof that you can recover the app.
AWS recommends testing recovery and, for critical components, considering deployment across Availability Zones with appropriate data replication. That additional availability design may be unnecessary for a small app that accepts a single-instance failure; make it a deliberate recovery and availability decision. See AWS Well-Architected Security guidance on data protection and recovery.
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Security settings are not a one-time launch task. Keep the operating system and application updated, scan for vulnerabilities, and monitor both configuration and activity. AWS identifies several tools for different parts of this work:
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- Amazon Inspector can discover and scan EC2 instances for software vulnerabilities and unintended network exposure.
- AWS Security Hub CSPM can monitor resources against security practices and standards.
- AWS CloudTrail records AWS API activity; Amazon CloudWatch supports monitoring and logs.
- AWS Config can help when you need configuration history and assessment.
- Systems Manager documentation recommends checking for or automating SSM Agent updates at least every two weeks and verifying the signature as part of the update process. That interval applies to SSM Agent, not to operating-system patching generally.
Write down who responds to alerts, how to revoke or rotate compromised credentials, and how to restore the app and its data. AWS Well-Architected’s Security Pillar frames the broader principle as implementing least privilege and separation of duties with appropriate authorization for each interaction with AWS resources: AWS Well-Architected Framework, Security Pillar.
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