3.2.1.5. Security Configurations for Log Collection (IAM Roles/Permissions)

First Principle: Ensuring sensitive operational data is collected and stored securely prevents unauthorized access or tampering, maintaining the integrity of audit trails crucial for incident response and regulatory compliance.

Secure log collection adheres to this principle.

In AWS, IAM Roles are fundamental. Services like EC2 instances or AWS Lambda functions assume these roles to gain temporary credentials, allowing them to publish logs to destinations such as Amazon CloudWatch Logs or Amazon S3 buckets. The practical relevance is clear: without proper roles, services cannot securely ingest logs, compromising auditability and potentially leading to data loss or non-compliance.

Implementing the Principle of Least Privilege is paramount. This means granting only the minimum permissions necessary for log ingestion and storage. For instance, an IAM policy attached to a role should permit logs:CreateLogStream and logs:PutLogEvents actions for specific log groups, rather than broad * permissions. This prevents accidental or malicious data exfiltration and ensures that a compromised service cannot access unrelated sensitive data.

Resource-based Policies further refine access control, particularly for S3 buckets or CloudWatch Log Groups. These policies define who can access the resource and under what conditions, complementing IAM roles by providing an additional layer of security directly on the log destination. This ensures that even if an IAM role is over-privileged, the resource itself can restrict access.

Key Security Configurations for Log Collection:

• IAM Roles: Grant temporary credentials to services/resources.
• Least Privilege: Grant minimal necessary permissions (logs:PutLogEvents).
• Resource-based Policies: Fine-grained control directly on log destinations (S3, CloudWatch Logs).

Scenario: A DevOps team needs to collect application logs from a fleet of EC2 instances and send them to a centralized CloudWatch Logs group. The security team requires strict control over who can write logs and prevent unauthorized access or tampering with log data.

Reflection Question: How would you use IAM roles (with the Principle of Least Privilege) and resource-based policies on the CloudWatch Logs group to securely configure log collection, ensuring data integrity and preventing unauthorized actions?

Designing secure log collection architectures requires understanding how these components interact to enforce data integrity and confidentiality.

💡 Tip: Regularly review and audit IAM policies and resource-based policies associated with log collection to ensure they still adhere to the principle of least privilege and adapt to evolving security requirements.