Cloud Security with AWS IAM

​

Welcome to the Team! 🎉

1. Boost our computing power to handle increased traffic to our website.
2. Onboard an intern with secure, limited access.

​

Let’s get started with Task 1: Launching EC2 Instances! 🌐

​

What You’ll Learn 💡

• Launch EC2 instances for production and development environments.
• Understand EC2 basics, AMIs, and instance types.
• Create and apply tags for better resource management.
• Set up IAM policies to secure AWS resources.

​

🚀 Step 1: Launch EC2 Instances

​

1. Log in to the AWS Management Console

1. Open your AWS console.
2. Navigate to the EC2 Dashboard.

​

2. Switch Your Region 🌍

​

3. Launch Your First EC2 Instance

• Name: nextwork-production-yourname (replace yourname with your name).
• Add Tags:
  • Key: Env
  • Value: production

• AMI: Choose a Free Tier-eligible option.
• Instance Type: Select a Free Tier-eligible type.
• Key Pair: Proceed without a key pair for simplicity (not recommended for long-term projects).
• Network and Storage: Leave defaults for now.

​

4. Launch a Development Instance

• Name: nextwork-development-yourname
• Add Tags:
  • Key: Env
  • Value: development

• Production: The live environment for end-users.
• Development: The testing ground for new features.

​

🛡️ Step 2: Create an IAM Policy

​

1. Navigate to the IAM Console

​

2. Create a New Policy

• Choose JSON Editor and paste the following:

{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": "ec2:*",
      "Resource": "*",
      "Condition": {
        "StringEquals": {
          "ec2:ResourceTag/Env": "development"
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": "ec2:Describe*",
      "Resource": "*"
    },
    {
      "Effect": "Deny",
      "Action": [
        "ec2:DeleteTags",
        "ec2:CreateTags"
      ],
      "Resource": "*"
    }
  ]
}

• Effect: Allows or denies actions.
• Action: Specifies the allowed/denied actions (e.g., ec2:StartInstances).
• Resource: Targets specific AWS resources.
• Condition: Limits actions based on tags.
• Name: NextWorkDevEnvironmentPolicy
• Description: IAM policy for managing the development environment.

​

✨ Bonus Step: Create an Account Alias

1. Go to the IAM Dashboard.
2. Click Create Account Alias.
3. Enter: nextwork-alias-yourname.

• Default: https://123456789.signin.aws.amazon.com/console/
• With Alias: https://nextwork-alias-yourname.signin.aws.amazon.com/console/

​

👩‍💻 Step 3: Create IAM Users and Groups

​

1. Create a New IAM User

1. Navigate to the Users tab in the IAM Console.
2. Add a user with these details:

• Username: nextwork-intern
• Access Type: AWS Management Console access.

​

2. Add the User to a Group

1. Create a new group:

• Group Name: NextWorkDevAccess
• Policy: Attach NextWorkDevEnvironmentPolicy.

2. Add the intern to the group.

​

🎯 Recap and Next Steps

• ✅ Launched production and development EC2 instances.
• ✅ Created IAM policies to secure resources.
• ✅ Onboarded an intern with limited access.

​

🚀 Ready for More?

• Set up SSH access for EC2 instances.
• Automate resource tagging using AWS Lambda.
• Monitor EC2 instances with CloudWatch.

​

📧 Contact