Question 453 - CLF-C02 discussion

The security best practices that should be followed are A and E.

A) Grant the developer access to only the AWS resources needed to perform the job. This is an example of the principle of least privilege, which means giving the minimum permissions necessary to achieve a task. This reduces the risk of unauthorized access, data leakage, or accidental damage to AWS resources. You can use AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) to create users, groups, roles, and policies that grant fine-grained access to AWS resources12.

E) Ensure the account password policy requires a minimum length. This is a basic security measure that helps prevent brute-force attacks or guessing of passwords. A longer password is harder to crack than a shorter one. You can use IAM to configure a password policy that enforces a minimum password length, as well as other requirements such as complexity, expiration, and history34.

B) Share the AWS account root user credentials with the developer. This is a bad practice that should be avoided. The root user has full access to all AWS resources and services, and can perform sensitive actions such as changing billing information, closing the account, or deleting all resources. Sharing the root user credentials exposes your account to potential compromise or misuse. You should never share your root user credentials with anyone, and use them only for account administration tasks5 .

C) Add the developer to the administrator's group in IAM. This is also a bad practice that should be avoided. The administrator's group has full access to all AWS resources and services, which is more than what a developer needs to perform their job. Adding the developer to the administrator's group violates the principle of least privilege and increases the risk of unauthorized access, data leakage, or accidental damage to AWS resources. You should create a custom group for the developer that grants only the necessary permissions for their role12.

D) Configure a password policy that ensures the developer's password cannot be changed. This is another bad practice that should be avoided. Preventing the developer from changing their password reduces their ability to protect their credentials and comply with security policies. For example, if the developer's password is compromised, they cannot change it to prevent further unauthorized access. Or if the company requires periodic password rotation, they cannot update their password to meet this requirement. You should allow the developer to change their password as needed, and enforce a password policy that sets reasonable rules for password management34.