In a significant advancement for cloud security and governance, HashiCorp has unveiled a set of pre-written Sentinel policies designed specifically for Amazon Web Services (AWS). This development, which follows the successful release of similar policies aligned with the Center for Internet Security (CIS) standards, is set to streamline the adoption of policy as code for organizations using AWS. The newly introduced policies aim to assist companies in adhering to AWS Foundational Security Best Practices (FSBP), a set of guidelines that enhance security protocols for AWS services. Co-developed with AWS, these policies are now available in the Terraform registry, providing a seamless integration experience for users.
Addressing Governance Challenges with Pre-Written Policies
The introduction of these pre-written Sentinel policies marks a significant step in resolving the challenges associated with adopting policy as code. Sentinel, a policy as code framework, enables organizations to enforce logical policies over their infrastructure configurations, such as those created with HashiCorp Terraform. By treating policies like application code, organizations can version control, audit, and test their governance rules, ensuring that infrastructure provisioning adheres to predefined security and operational benchmarks.
However, transitioning to policy as code can be daunting, particularly for organizations lacking the expertise or resources to write these policies from scratch. This often results in delays and increased risk of misconfiguration. The new set of policies aims to eliminate these barriers by offering ready-to-use solutions that can be tailored to meet specific organizational needs.
Collaboration with AWS for Secured Cloud Practices
HashiCorp’s collaboration with AWS in developing these policy libraries underscores the combined strengths of AWS’s robust cloud infrastructure and HashiCorp’s security automation capabilities. These pre-written policies have been crafted by industry experts and are customizable, enabling organizations to quickly adapt them to suit particular requirements.
The policies are specifically designed to comply with AWS’s Foundational Security Best Practices. This standard offers a comprehensive set of controls to detect deviations from security best practices and provides actionable guidance to improve and sustain security postures.
Deployment and Customization
Organizations can access the new policies via the Terraform Registry or the GitHub repository dedicated to FSBP policies. With Sentinel’s integration into HCP Terraform, deploying these policies is streamlined, allowing organizations to enforce them efficiently across their cloud infrastructure. Additionally, a Terraform module is available for onboarding the FSBP policy sets, simplifying the process further.
For users seeking to understand how to implement these pre-written policies, comprehensive documentation is available online. A demonstration video is also accessible, illustrating the deployment of these policies using CIS standards as a reference. This resource offers a practical guide on implementing policies effectively.
Policy Enforcement Levels
Once deployed, administrators can choose from three enforcement levels for the policies:
- Hard Mandatory: This level halts any operations if a policy failure occurs, necessitating resolution before proceeding.
- Soft Mandatory: Allows operations to continue under the oversight of an organization owner or a user with override privileges, even if a policy fails.
- Advisory: This default level notifies users of policy failures but permits operations to continue.
These enforcement levels provide flexibility, enabling organizations to apply varying degrees of strictness based on their operational requirements.
Enhancing Organizational Efficiency and Security
By leveraging Sentinel’s capabilities, organizations can uniformly enforce policies across their infrastructure, effectively balancing speed and security. The deployment of these pre-written policies is expected to accelerate the adoption of policy as code, offering organizations enhanced security measures without compromising on operational agility.
Future Directions and Learning Opportunities
For those interested in seeing Sentinel policies in action, HashiCorp provides resources showcasing real-world applications. A notable example is Fannie Mae, a major financial institution that employs Sentinel to enforce over 400 security and compliance guardrails, ensuring that its infrastructure aligns with regulatory standards.
HashiCorp and AWS are also set to present a session titled "Scaling Cloud Compliance & Governance with Terraform and AWS" at the upcoming AWS re:Inforce event. This session will focus on how enterprises can automate governance and enforce compliance using policy-as-code and infrastructure automation, providing insights into preventing misconfigurations before deployment.
Conclusion
The release of these pre-written Sentinel policies for AWS represents a significant enhancement in cloud security and governance. By providing organizations with ready-to-use, customizable policies, HashiCorp and AWS are facilitating a smoother transition to policy as code, ensuring that companies can maintain robust security postures while optimizing their operational efficiency. For further information, interested readers can explore the resources available on HashiCorp’s and AWS’s official websites.
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