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𝙑𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖 𝙈𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙣

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AWS Security Best Practices for Production Applications

#aws #cloud #security #devops

AWS can scale your business overnight — or expose it if misconfigured. From IAM sprawl to open S3 buckets, mistakes are common. Security in AWS requires defense in depth.

1. IAM as the First Line

  • Favor least privilege roles
  • Avoid all-powerful AdministratorAccess policies 
{ "Version": "2012-10-17", "Statement": [ { "Effect": "Allow", "Action": [ "s3:GetObject", "s3:PutObject" ], "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::my-app-bucket/user-uploads/*", "Condition": { "StringEquals": { "s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption": "aws:kms" } } } ] }
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2. VPC for Layered Defense

  • Public subnets for entry points
  • Private subnets for app and database tiers
  • Restrictive security groups between layers 
AppSecurityGroup: Type: AWS::EC2::SecurityGroup Properties: GroupDescription: Application tier security group VpcId: !Ref VPC SecurityGroupIngress: - IpProtocol: tcp FromPort: 443 ToPort: 443 SourceSecurityGroupId: !Ref LoadBalancerSecurityGroup
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3. Encrypt at Rest and in Transit

  • KMS for S3 and RDS
  • SSL enforcement on databases
  • TLS for all APIs 
const AWS = require('aws-sdk'); const s3 = new AWS.S3(); const params = { Bucket: 'secure-bucket', Key: 'data.json', Body: JSON.stringify({ secure: true }), ServerSideEncryption: 'aws:kms', SSEKMSKeyId: process.env.KMS_KEY_ID }; await s3.upload(params).promise();
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4. Monitor and Detect

  • CloudTrail for audit logs
  • CloudWatch alarms for anomalies
  • GuardDuty for threat detection 
CloudTrail: Type: AWS::CloudTrail::Trail Properties: TrailName: my-audit-trail S3BucketName: !Ref AuditLogsBucket IsMultiRegionTrail: true EnableLogFileValidation: true
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5. Manage Secrets Properly

Leverage Secrets Manager or SSM Parameter Store with automated rotation.

const AWS = require('aws-sdk'); const sm = new AWS.SecretsManager(); const secret = await sm.getSecretValue({ SecretId: 'prod/db-password' }).promise(); console.log(secret.SecretString);
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6. Automate Compliance

Use Lambda or Config Rules to detect — and remediate — insecure configurations in real time.

import boto3 def lambda_handler(event, context): ec2 = boto3.client('ec2') sgs = ec2.describe_security_groups()['SecurityGroups'] for sg in sgs: for rule in sg.get('IpPermissions', []): for ip_range in rule.get('IpRanges', []): if ip_range.get('CidrIp') == '0.0.0.0/0': print(f"Insecure SG found: {sg['GroupId']}")
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The cloud is only as secure as the guardrails you define.

With the right practices, AWS becomes not just scalable, but dependable.

I design AWS environments where security is baked in, not bolted on.

See case studies and services: kodex.studio

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