Which security-related duty is aws accountable for under the aws shared responsibility model
In AWS’s Shared Responsibility Model is the concept that AWS and the customer share responsibilities for security and compliance of Amazon Web Services. This allows AWS to support the customer by taking on the burden of operations control associated with the physical infrastructure so the customer can focus on securing and producing within the context of software. Show
AWS is responsible for security OF the cloud. (AWS Shared Responsibility Model) AWS’s ResponsibilityAWS is responsible for protecting the AWS infrastructure for all services that run on the AWS Cloud. This can be hardware, software, networking, and facilities that help run the AWS Cloud. Some services under AWS’s responsibility to secure are Compute, Storage, Database, Networking, and global infrastructures such as Regions, Availability Zones, and Edge Locations. Customer’s ResponsibilityThe customer’s responsibility is determined by the services the customer uses, as the type of service determines the amount of configuration he must perform to help secure the system. These include customer data, OS, network, firewall configuration, client-side data, encryption and data integrity, and server-side encryption. Identity Access Management (IAM) is an important part as well. As Kate says in the video below, there’s nothing AWS can do to protect you if you leave your door unlocked! Shared Responsibility Model: Lock Your Door!Good question to ask is: “Can I log in and adjust the security settings?” If yes, then it’s your responsibility. If not, then it’s AWS’s responsibility.
Fully Controlled by AWS
Shared ControlsAWS provides requirements for infrastructure and customer provides own control implementation.
Fully Controlled by Customer
Resources
The AWS shared responsibility model defines what you (as an AWS account holder/user) and AWS are responsible for when it comes to security and compliance. Security and Compliance is a shared responsibility between AWS and the customer. This shared model can help relieve customer’s operational burdens as AWS operates, manages, and controls the components from the host operating system and virtualization layer down to the physical security of the facilities in which the service operates. The customer assumes responsibility and management of the guest operating system (including updates and security patches), other associated application software as well as the configuration of the AWS provided security group firewall. AWS are responsible for “Security of the Cloud” .
Customers are responsible for “Security in the Cloud”.
The following diagram shows the split of responsibilities between AWS and the customer: Inherited Controls – Controls which a customer fully inherits from AWS.
Shared Controls – Controls which apply to both the infrastructure layer and customer layers, but in separate contexts or perspectives. In the AWS shared security model, a shared control, AWS provides the requirements for the infrastructure and the customer must provide their own control implementation within their use of AWS services. Examples of shared controls include:
Customer Specific – Controls which are solely the responsibility of the customer based on the application they are deploying within AWS services. . Examples of customer specific controls include:
In this blog, we will learn about AWS Shared Responsibility Model. Almost all the services and applications we see around are based on cloud technology. Many organizations and businesses use the cloud to host their data, applications and services. With this much demand, many learners are preparing themselves for cloud technologies. But without proper learning of cloud security, the knowledge is incomplete. Various services are active in the cloud simultaneously. Both cloud vendor and customer shares some responsibility which we will learn with the following topics: What is Shared Responsibility Model?The Shared Responsibility Model is a cloud security framework that mandates the security obligations of cloud service providers and users to ensure accountability. In simple words, A cloud vendor provides various cloud services to its users. One provides the service, and the other uses it. Both vendor and user share some responsibilities, like the vendor is responsible for the service provided, and the user is responsible for the service usage. Levels of Abstraction in Cloud ComputingSecurity responsibilities can’t be common for all scenarios. Each scenario can demand additional security and responsibility. So, levels of abstraction are the area that pertains to the responsibilities. The levels of abstraction are just the other name for cloud computing service models: IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS.
Read More: Cloud Computing Service Model: IaaS, PaaS and SaaS The biggest challenge that organizations face is the confusion of the responsibilities leading to security compromisation. This confusion gives hackers a blind spot to attack, and many reports claimed the improperly shared security responsibilities as the culprit for various security incidents. Thus, Amazon Web Service (AWS) established the AWS Shared Responsibility Model to clarify responsibilities.
The responsibility of both AWS and the customers varies with the service taken into use. So to make it more clear, we will discuss the shared responsibility model for some specific AWS services. AWS Shared Responsibility Model for EC2Elastic Compute Cloud or EC2 lies under infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and the responsibility model for both cloud service provider and customer is as follows:
AWS Shared Responsibility for ContainersEC2 virtualize hardware whereas container virtualizes operating system and the responsibility model for both cloud service provider and customer is a follows:
Now, apart from AWS services, AWS Shared Responsibility also extends to IT controls. Also Check: Our blog post on AWS CloudHSM. AWS Shared Responsibility of IT ControlsJust like the IT environment responsibility, the management, operation and verification of IT control are also shared between AWS and customers. AWS can help customers by managing the controls of the physical infrastructure to relieve their burden of operating controls. AWS control and compliance will help customers to evaluate and verify their controls. The examples of controls managed by AWS, customers and both are as follows. Inherited Controls: These Controls are fully inherited by customers from AWS.
Shared Controls: These controls apply to both the infrastructure and customer layers, but in a completely separate perspective. AWS provides the infrastructure requirements, and the customer must provide their own control implementation within their use of AWS services. For example:
Customer-Specific: These controls are solely the responsibility of the customer based on the application they are deploying within AWS services. Examples include:
ConclusionSecurity should not be compromised at any cost, and AWS knows the importance of Cloud Security very well. We covered everything about the AWS Shared Responsibility Model and its importance in this blog and how it removes the confusion between the service provider and the customer. Related/ReferenceNext Task For YouOur AWS Solution Architect Associate training program will create a Custom VPC in detail and 30 other Hands-On Labs. If you want to begin your journey towards becoming an AWS Certified Solution Architect Associate, check our FREE CLASS. |