KodeKloud Notes

AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) is the cornerstone of security and access control in the AWS Cloud. With IAM, you can centrally manage permissions, enforce the principle of least privilege, and govern how your users and applications authenticate and authorize with AWS services.

What You’ll Learn

IAM Users: Create dedicated accounts for individuals to access AWS via Management Console, CLI, or SDKs.
AWS CLI & SDKs: Automate IAM operations and integrate AWS services into your applications.
IAM Groups: Simplify permission management by grouping users and attaching policies.
IAM Roles: Grant short-term permissions to AWS resources without storing long-term credentials.
Identity Policies: Define JSON-based permissions and attach them to users, groups, or roles.
Resource-Based Policies: Attach permissions directly to AWS resources (e.g., S3 buckets, SQS queues).
Session Policies: Scope down permissions for a single session to enforce tighter control.
Permission Boundaries: Limit the maximum permissions an IAM entity can acquire, enforcing least-privilege.

The image is a slide titled "IAM Overview" with a list of topics related to Identity and Access Management, including IAM Users, AWS CLI and SDK, IAM Groups, IAM Roles, Identity Policy, Resource Based Policy, Session Policy, and Permission Boundary.

Key IAM Components

Component	Description	Common Use Case
IAM Users	Long-term credentials for individual identity	Team members accessing the AWS Console or CLI
IAM Groups	Collections of users for bulk permission management	Granting developers access to specific AWS services
IAM Roles	Temporary credentials assumed by AWS services or federated users	EC2 instances needing S3 read/write access
Identity Policies	JSON documents specifying “Allow” or “Deny” actions	Attaching S3-read policy to a developer group
Resource Policies	Permissions attached directly to AWS resources (bucket, queue, etc)	S3 bucket policy to allow CloudFront distribution
Session Policies	Inline policies passed in a role or user session	Limiting an API call to only a particular DynamoDB table
Permission Boundaries	Maximum permissions an IAM entity can obtain	Ensuring contractors cannot escalate privileges

Note

Use permission boundaries to enforce least-privilege at scale. They act as an upper-limit guardrail, even if an identity has broader permissions via attached policies.

Meet Sara: A Real-World Example

To illustrate how IAM works in practice, follow Sara, an AWS Solutions Architect, as she:

Creates and manages AWS accounts
Defines IAM users, groups, and roles
Configures fine-grained access control
Implements authentication and authorization flows
Applies the principle of least privilege in every step
Audits and monitors user access and policy changes

The image outlines Sara's responsibilities, including managing AWS accounts, creating users and groups, access control management, authentication and authorization, and following the principle of least privilege.

Next Steps: AWS Account Setup

Now that you understand the IAM landscape, proceed with:

Configuring your AWS root user for MFA
Creating your first IAM user and group
Attaching managed policies to your group
Verifying permissions via AWS CLI

For detailed instructions, see Managing IAM Users and Groups and AWS CLI Configuration.

References

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