Introduction to AWS Identity & Access Management (IAM)

1. What is IAM?

Identity & Access Management (IAM) is AWS’s service for controlling who can access resources and what actions they can perform. It’s the foundation of cloud security.

2. Key Concepts

• User: An individual identity with credentials.

• Group: A collection of users with shared permissions.

• Role: A temporary identity with specific permissions, often used by applications or services.

• Policy: A JSON document that defines permissions.

3. Step-by-Step: Create Your First IAM User

✅ Step 1: Log in to AWS Console

• Go to console.aws.amazon.com/iam (console.aws.amazon.com in Bing)

✅ Step 2: Create a User

• Click “Users” → “Add user”

• Enter username: developer1

• Select “Access key - Programmatic access” for CLI/API use

• Select “Password - AWS Management Console access” for console login

✅ Step 3: Assign Permissions

• Choose “Attach existing policies directly”

• Select “AdministratorAccess” (for demo purposes; in production, use least privilege)

✅ Step 4: Review & Create

• Click “Create user”

• Download credentials securely

4. Best Practices

• Follow least privilege principle (grant only necessary permissions)

• Rotate access keys regularly

• Enable MFA for all users

• Use roles for applications instead of embedding credentials.

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