AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) is a web service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) that helps you securely control access to AWS resources. IAM enables you to manage users, groups, roles, and their permissions within your AWS account. Here's an overview of what AWS IAM offers:
1. User Management:
- Create and Manage Users: IAM allows you to create individual IAM users within your AWS account. Each user has a unique set of security credentials and permissions.
- Assign Permissions: You can assign permissions to users using policies. Policies define what actions are allowed or denied on AWS resources.
- Manage Passwords and Access Keys: IAM enables you to manage passwords and access keys for your users, facilitating secure authentication and access to AWS services.
2. Group Management:
- Create and Manage Groups: Groups are collections of IAM users. You can assign permissions to groups, making it easier to manage permissions for multiple users with similar roles.
- Simplify Permission Management: By assigning permissions to groups rather than individual users, you can simplify permission management and ensure consistency across your organization.
3. Role-Based Access Control (RBAC):
- Create and Manage Roles: IAM roles are sets of permissions that you can assign to AWS resources or federated users. Roles are useful for granting permissions to entities that you trust, such as applications running on Amazon EC2 instances or users from an external identity provider.
- Temporary Permissions: Roles can also provide temporary security credentials, which are useful for granting access to AWS resources for a limited time, such as when accessing resources programmatically from an EC2 instance.
4. Identity Federation:
- Integrate with External Identity Systems: IAM supports identity federation, allowing you to grant access to AWS resources to users authenticated through external identity systems, such as Microsoft Active Directory or your organization's SAML 2.0-compliant identity provider.
- Single Sign-On (SSO): Federation enables users to sign in to AWS using their existing credentials from the external identity provider, streamlining access management and enhancing security.
5. Policy Management:
- Create and Attach Policies: IAM policies are JSON documents that define permissions. You can create custom policies or use predefined AWS managed policies.
- Granular Permissions: Policies allow you to define granular permissions, specifying which actions users, groups, or roles can perform on which AWS resources.
6. Access Control for AWS Services:
- Secure Access to AWS Services: IAM provides fine-grained access control for various AWS services, allowing you to restrict who can access specific resources and what actions they can perform.
- Enhanced Security: By implementing least privilege principles, IAM helps improve the security posture of your AWS environment by ensuring that users have only the permissions they need to perform their tasks.
Overall, AWS IAM is a fundamental component of AWS security and access management. By using IAM, you can enforce the principle of least privilege, enhance security, and maintain control over access to your AWS resources.
