AWS IAM-Related Concepts in Certification Exams

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AWS certifications at all levels—Foundational, Associate, Professional, and Specialty—frequently include questions about AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM). Below is an overview of the most common IAM-related concepts you will likely encounter, grouped by certification level.

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General IAM Concepts (Foundational & Associate Levels)

What is IAM?

• IAM controls access to AWS resources by defining who can access what and under which conditions.

• Differentiates authentication (verifying identity) from authorization (defining allowed actions).

IAM Users, Groups, and Roles:

• IAM User vs. IAM Role: Users have long-term credentials; roles provide temporary credentials.

• Benefits of using IAM Groups:

  • Simplifies permissions management by assigning policies to groups instead of individual users.

IAM Policies

• Types:

  • Identity-based (attached to users, groups, or roles).

  • Resource-based (attached to resources like S3 buckets).

• Policy Structure: Composed of Effect, Action, Resource, and Condition.

• Explicit Deny: Overrides all allow rules, ensuring restrictive security.

Principle of Least Privilege

• Grant only the permissions needed for a task.

Authentication Methods

• Programmatic Access: Using access keys for CLI, SDK, or API calls.

• Management Console Access: Passwords for browser-based access.

• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Adds an extra layer of security.

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Roles and Temporary Credentials (Associate & Professional Levels)

IAM Roles

• Use cases:

  • Cross-account access.

  • Applications on EC2, Lambda, or ECS needing temporary credentials.

• Roles include trust policies and require assumptions by users or services.

AWS Security Token Service (STS)

• Provides temporary, limited-privilege credentials.

• Common APIs:

  • AssumeRole and AssumeRoleWithSAML.

  • GetSessionToken.

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Policy and Access Management (All Levels)

Policy Types

• Identity-based Policies: Attached to users, groups, or roles.

• Resource-based Policies: Attached directly to AWS resources.

• Service Control Policies (SCPs): Applied at the organizational level.

• Permissions Boundaries: Set maximum permissions.

• Session Policies: Provide temporary access.

Policy Evaluation Flow

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Policy Evaluation Process.pdf

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1. Default deny.

2. Explicit allow (if policy allows the action).

3. Explicit deny (overrides all allows).

Condition Keys:

• Refine access by setting conditions (e.g., IP ranges, MFA, tags).

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Advanced IAM Features (Professional & Specialty Levels)

Service Control Policies (SCPs):

• Enforce account-wide permissions in AWS Organizations.

• Restrict actions even if identity policies allow them.

Permissions Boundaries

• Define the maximum permissions an IAM user or role can have.

Cross-Account Access:

• Use roles and trust policies for secure interactions across accounts.

Federation and Identity Providers:

• Enable SSO using SAML or OpenID Connect.

• Grant federated users temporary access.

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Monitoring and Auditing IAM (All Levels)

IAM Access Analyzer

• Detects resources with external access.

• Provides actionable findings.

Credential Report

• Lists IAM users, password policies, and access key activity.

CloudTrail Integration

• Tracks IAM changes, API calls, and policy updates.

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Best Practices for Security and Governance (All Levels)

IAM Best Practices:

• Enable MFA for all users.

• Avoid using the root user except for account setup.

• Use roles instead of embedding credentials in applications.

• Rotate access keys regularly.

Tag-Based Access Control

• Manage permissions dynamically using resource tags.

Managing Shared Accounts

• Assign unique roles or groups for distinct teams or functions.

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Example Exam Scenarios

1. Scenario: An application on EC2 needs access to an S3 bucket.

   • Answer: Use an IAM role attached to the EC2 instance.

2. Scenario: Restrict access to an S3 bucket to a specific IP range.

   • Answer: Use a bucket policy with an IP condition.

3. Scenario: Provide secure, temporary access for external users.

   • Answer: Use AWS STS for temporary credentials.

4. Scenario: Which IAM policy element explicitly denies access?

   • Answer: Explicit Deny.

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Relevant Certifications

• AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C01):

  • Basic IAM concepts: Users, Groups, Policies.

• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03):

  • IAM roles, policies, and advanced access management.

• AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C02):

  • Temporary credentials, programmatic access.

• AWS Certified Security – Specialty (SCS-C01):

  • Advanced IAM features: SCPs, federation, permissions boundaries.

• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional (SAP-C02):

  • Complex IAM scenarios, organizational security, governance.

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