AWS IAM Best practices

Published Feb 9, 2025

Here’s a list of AWS IAM best practices:

Grant least privilege model for access
Avoid Root Account Usage & protect it to any cost
Enable MFA for at least priviliged users
Create a strong password policy that make rotate Credentials Regularly
Assign users to groups and assign policies to groups
Lock Away Your AWS Account Root User Access Keys
Create Individual IAM Users
Use Groups to assign Permissions to IAM Users
Attach AWS defined Policies to Assign Permissions when Possible
Confirm with Access Levels to Review IAM Permissions
Use Roles for Applications that access Amazon EC2 Instances
Use Roles to Delegate Permissions
Do Not share Access Keys
Remove Unnecessary Credentials
Use Policy Conditions for Extra Security
Monitor Activity in Your AWS Account
Use IAM Access Analyzer
Monitor IAM Activity with CloudTrail
Define Clear IAM Policies with Tags
Enable AWS Config for IAM Compliance
Review and Audit IAM Permissions Regularly
Apply Security Best Practices for Service-Linked Roles
Restrict Console Access with Permissions
Use Identity Federation for External Users
Use AWS Organizations for Centralized Access Control

Jose Burgos

Full Stack Developer

Onboard Journey to Amazon Web Services