2.1.2.5. Threat Vectors and Mitigation Strategies

💡 First Principle: Understanding threat vectors means identifying potential attack paths to proactively implement security controls, minimizing vulnerabilities and safeguarding cloud resources.

Threat vectors are the methods attackers use to gain unauthorized access to a system or compromise data. Understanding these methods is crucial for designing effective security postures and implementing appropriate mitigation strategies.

Common external threat vectors and Mitigation Strategies:

• Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS): Overwhelming a service with traffic, making it unavailable.
  • Mitigated by: AWS Shield Standard/Advanced and Amazon CloudFront (for web traffic).
• SQL Injection: Malicious SQL code injected into input fields to manipulate databases.
  • Mitigated by: AWS WAF (for web applications) and secure coding practices (e.g., parameterized queries).
• Cross-Site Scripting (XSS): Injecting client-side scripts into web pages viewed by other users.
  • Mitigated by: AWS WAF and input validation/output encoding in application code.
• Brute-Force Attacks: Repeated, systematic guessing of credentials (passwords, API keys).
  • Mitigated by: AWS WAF (rate-based rules), Amazon Cognito (account lockout), and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).
• Misconfigured IAM Policies: Overly permissive access leading to unauthorized actions.
  • Mitigated by: Principle of Least Privilege, regular IAM Access Analyzer reviews.

Scenario: Deploying AWS WAF to filter malicious traffic mitigates common web exploits (SQL injection, XSS) targeting public-facing web applications, preventing data breaches and service disruption.

Visual: Common Threat Vectors and AWS Mitigations

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⚠️ Common Pitfall: Focusing only on external threats while neglecting internal threats or misconfigurations (e.g., overly permissive IAM policies).

Key Trade-Offs:

• Comprehensive Protection vs. Resource Allocation: Implementing all possible mitigations might be overkill for low-sensitivity workloads. Prioritize based on the assessed risk and data criticality.

Reflection Question: How does understanding specific threat vectors (e.g., SQL injection, DDoS) fundamentally inform your choice of AWS security services and architectural patterns for a given workload to implement effective mitigation strategies?