The cloud is secure — your configuration might not be
Cloud providers invest billions in physical and network security. But 82% of cloud breaches trace back to customer misconfigurations: open S3 buckets, overly permissive IAM roles, unencrypted databases, and exposed API keys.
Identity and access: the foundation
Never use root accounts for daily operations
Create individual IAM users with exactly the permissions they need. Enable MFA on every account — especially root. Rotate access keys every 90 days.
Apply least-privilege systematically
Start with zero permissions and grant only what is needed. Use IAM roles instead of long-term access keys. Review permissions monthly using IAM Access Analyzer.
Network security in the cloud
Default-deny network policies
Security groups should deny all inbound traffic by default. Open only the specific ports and source IPs you need. Use VPC flow logs to monitor what is actually communicating.
Private subnets for databases and backends
Public-facing services belong behind load balancers. Databases, message queues, and internal APIs belong in private subnets with no direct internet access.
Data protection
Encryption everywhere
Enable default encryption on S3 buckets, RDS instances, and EBS volumes. Use TLS 1.3 for all data in transit. Manage encryption keys in AWS KMS or equivalent services. Rotate keys annually.
Enable logging on everything
CloudTrail for AWS API calls. VPC Flow Logs for network traffic. S3 access logs for bucket access. Centralize logs in a dedicated security account.
Continuous monitoring
Use automated compliance scanning tools. Run vulnerability scans weekly. Schedule penetration tests annually. The cloud providers have programs that simplify the approval process for security testing.