Introduction to IAM (Identity & Access Management)

Learn about IAM users, groups, roles, and policies to manage access to AWS resources securely.

iam-policy.json
{
"Version": "2012-10-17",
"Statement": [{]
"Effect": "Allow",
"Action": "s3:GetObject"
}]
}
iam-policy.json
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Tutor:IAM (Identity and Access Management) is AWS's service for managing access to AWS resources. IAM allows you to control who can access what resources in your AWS account. It's a fundamental security service that you should configure from day one.


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IAM (Identity and Access Management) is AWS's service for managing access to AWS resources. IAM allows you to control who can access what resources in your AWS account. It's a fundamental security service that you should configure from day one.

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Introduction to IAM (Identity & Access Management)

Author

Pascual Vila

Cloud Instructor.

IAM (Identity and Access Management) is AWS's service for managing access to AWS resources. IAM allows you to control who can access what resources in your AWS account. It's a fundamental security service that you should configure from day one.

IAM Components

IAM consists of several key components: Users (individuals or applications), Groups (collections of users), Roles (temporary credentials for services or users), and Policies (JSON documents that define permissions). These components work together to provide fine-grained access control.

Best Practices

Use groups instead of attaching policies directly to users, enable MFA for root account and privileged users, use roles for EC2 instances and applications, regularly review and audit IAM permissions, and follow the principle of least privilege.

IAM Glossary

IAM User
An individual person or application that needs access to your AWS account. Each user has a unique name and can have access keys, passwords, and MFA devices.
IAM Group
A collection of IAM users. Instead of attaching policies to individual users, you can attach policies to groups. When a user is added to a group, they inherit all permissions from that group.
IAM Role
Similar to users but intended to be assumed by AWS services, applications, or users temporarily. Roles don't have permanent credentials. Instead, they provide temporary security credentials.
IAM Policy
A JSON document that defines permissions. Policies specify what actions are allowed or denied on which resources. Policies can be attached to users, groups, or roles.
Principle of Least Privilege
A security best practice where users should only have the minimum permissions necessary to perform their tasks. By default, IAM users have no permissions.