Tower Defense Tip: Leaky AWS Buckets

Let's talk about leaky AWS buckets.

There has been a lot surfacing in the news lately about organizations leaking sensitive data due to public AWS bucket misconfigurations. An attacker can download the AWS CLI and create a profile to try and connect to public buckets to find exposed data.

Defensive Measures:

1. Bucket Permissions:

Regularly review and disable public access to your S3 bucket if it's not required. Check both bucket-level and object-level public access settings.

Be cautious with the "Block all public access" settings and ensure that you explicitly grant access to the necessary entities.

Set appropriate bucket policies and access control lists (ACLs) to control who can access your S3 bucket.

Avoid using overly permissive settings. Grant the minimum necessary permissions to users and applications.

2. Bucket Logging:

Enable AWS CloudTrail and S3 bucket logging to monitor and log bucket activity. This can help you identify and respond to any unauthorized access attempts. Enable S3 access logs and store them in a separate bucket. Analyzing access logs can help you detect and investigate unauthorized access.

3. Bucket Policies:

Use IAM policies or bucket policies to control access at a more granular level. Define policies that enforce the principle of least privilege.

4. Cross-Account Access:

If you need to grant access to entities outside your AWS account, use cross-account IAM roles rather than making your S3 bucket public.

5. Encryption:

Enable server-side encryption (SSE) for your S3 bucket to protect data at rest. You can use SSE with AWS Key Management Service (KMS) for additional control over encryption keys.

6. Regular Audits:

Hire a company like LastTowerSolutions to conduct regular security audits of your S3 bucket configuration. This includes reviewing permissions, access policies, and the overall AWS configuration.