AWS Security: Your Configuration Is Your Responsibility
Most AWS breaches don’t happen because AWS failed. They happen because someone misconfigured it. Proper identity management and access control aren’t optional extras — they’re the foundation everything else sits on.
- Unauthorized access, misconfigured services, and weak account controls consistently top the list of cloud security threats globally.
- The companies hit hardest are those that assumed their cloud provider would handle security for them — it doesn’t work that way.
- Across 68 projects, we find the most critical gaps hiding in IAM, Firewall Manager, and logging tools left incomplete or misconfigured.
Common AWS Security Weak Spots
After 68 projects inside AWS environments, we know exactly where the most dangerous gaps hide. They’re rarely exotic — they’re predictable, preventable, and surprisingly easy to miss.
Identity & Access Management (IAM)
- Overpermissioned roles and policies.
- Root account used for routine operations.
- Single IAM accounts as master keys.
- No role separation between environments.
- Stale or orphaned access credentials.
AWS Firewall Manager
- Policies inconsistently applied across accounts.
- Security Groups with overly broad access ranges.
- Missing WAF rules on public-facing endpoints.
- No centralized policy enforcement.
- Gaps between network layers.
Logging & Monitoring Gaps
- CloudTrail not logging API call history.
- Amazon GuardDuty disabled or misconfigured.
- CloudWatch lacking critical alert thresholds.
- No alerts for unusual login or access patterns.
- Incomplete audit trails across regions.
S3 Bucket Exposure
- Buckets open with public read or write permissions.
- Encryption disabled on sensitive data.
- Public AMIs containing proprietary business data.
- Machine state snapshots in public storage.
- No bucket policy versioning or access logging.
Hardcoded Credentials
- Auth credentials embedded in startup scripts.
- API keys committed to version control.
- Secrets not rotated or managed via AWS Secrets Manager.
- Environment variables exposed in Lambda functions.
- Long-lived access keys for service accounts.
Multi-Factor Authentication Gaps
- MFA disabled on root and privileged accounts.
- MFA not enforced via IAM policies.
- Console access allowed without MFA requirement.
- No hardware MFA for highly sensitive accounts.
- Inconsistent MFA enforcement across teams.
Typical AWS Misconfigurations We Find
These are the gaps we encounter most often when we step into a new AWS environment. Each one is entirely preventable — and each one represents a real attack surface if left unaddressed.
MFA disabled on key accounts
Multi-factor authentication missing on root accounts, privileged IAM users, and console access — leaving the most sensitive credentials protected by a password alone.
CloudTrail not logging API calls
API call history for critical resources left untracked. Without full CloudTrail coverage, unauthorized actions can go undetected indefinitely across your environment.
Open S3 bucket permissions
Buckets configured with wide-range public permissions, exposing sensitive data to anyone on the internet. One of the most common and highest-impact misconfigurations we find.
Single IAM accounts as master keys
One IAM account with access to multiple systems, no role separation, and no least-privilege enforcement. A single compromised credential becomes a full-environment breach.
Overly broad Security Groups
Security Groups configured with access ranges far wider than any service requires — often a legacy of rushed deployments that never got tightened down.
Hardcoded credentials in scripts
Authorization credentials embedded directly in startup scripts and configuration files — readable by anyone with repository or instance access.
Sensitive data in public AMIs
Public Amazon Machine Images carrying proprietary business data or internal configuration details that were never intended to be accessible outside the organization.
Snapshots in public storage
Machine state snapshots stored in public-facing storage buckets. These often contain full copies of instance data that would otherwise be protected behind access controls.
Root account for routine ops
The root account used for day-to-day operations instead of properly scoped admin roles — maximizing blast radius if those credentials are ever compromised.
No login anomaly alerts
No alerts configured for unusual login patterns or access spikes. Attackers can operate inside your environment for weeks before anyone notices anything is wrong.
Encryption disabled on data
Encryption turned off on sensitive S3 buckets and EBS volumes — meaning that if access controls fail, the underlying data is available in plain text.
Nadia Khan
Cloud Solution Architect
at INNERLUXES
“What automated tools miss, experienced testers catch. In real engagements, we’ve found fully exposed archived data snapshots accessible through a single overlooked script — infrastructure that looked properly secured on paper. Human-led penetration testing is not optional. It’s where the real vulnerabilities hide.
Selected AWS & Cloud Security Projects by INNERLUXES
How to Effectively Locate AWS Vulnerabilities
Finding vulnerabilities before attackers do is a discipline — not a one-time task. Here’s how INNERLUXES approaches it across every engagement.
A structured review of your IAM policies, Security Groups, S3 permissions, logging setup, and encryption configuration against AWS security best practices.
Human-led testing that goes beyond automated scanning — probing firewalls, testing scripts, and tracing exactly how far unauthorized access could reach inside your environment.
Proactive monitoring with alerts for unusual login patterns, access spikes, and configuration drift. Security that doesn’t stop at the audit report.
How INNERLUXES Ensures Your AWS Security
Running a complex AWS environment with dozens of services, accounts, and resources is genuinely hard. Security can’t be an afterthought. Here’s what you get when INNERLUXES is managing your AWS security.
Human-led penetration testing
Automated tools scan the surface. Our testers think like attackers — probing every path, script, and access point until we’ve found what’s actually exploitable.
Full IAM audit & remediation
We review every role, policy, and permission. Overpermissioned accounts get tightened. Orphaned credentials get removed. Least privilege gets enforced properly.
GuardDuty & CloudTrail setup
We configure your logging and threat detection tools correctly — not just turned on, but tuned to catch the threats that actually matter in your environment.
S3 & data encryption review
Every bucket permission and encryption setting gets verified. Public exposure gets closed. Sensitive data gets protected at rest and in transit.
Proactive alert configuration
We set up alerts for unusual login behavior, access spikes, and configuration changes so your team knows immediately when something is wrong — not weeks later.
Security built in, not bolted on
We don’t patch security onto the surface of your infrastructure. We address root causes in configuration, access control, and architecture at the source.
AWS expertise
132 IT professionals. 68 projects across 30+ industries. We’ve seen every configuration mistake in the book — and we know exactly how to fix them.
Managed security programs
Beyond one-time audits, we offer fully managed AWS security setups built around your environment — ongoing protection that evolves as your infrastructure grows.
Clear, actionable reporting
Every finding is documented with context, severity, and a concrete remediation path. You always know exactly what was found and what to do about it.
Fast response times
Security issues don’t wait for business hours. Our team responds quickly and keeps you informed throughout every assessment and remediation engagement.
AWS Security Tools & Technologies We Work With
We work across the full AWS security toolchain — and the broader ecosystem that surrounds it.
AWS Security & Identity Services
GuardDuty
CloudTrail
CloudWatch
Security Hub
AWS Config
Inspector
IAM
IAM Identity Center
Secrets Manager
KMS
Cognito
Firewall Manager
AWS WAF
AWS Shield
Network Firewall
VPCMonitoring & Observability
Elasticsearch
Prometheus
Grafana
Datadog
Zabbix
NagiosInfrastructure & Automation
Terraform
Ansible
Puppet
Chef
Docker
KubernetesChoose Your AWS Security Option
AWS Security Assessment
A targeted review of your AWS configuration, IAM setup, logging, and access controls. You get a clear picture of what’s vulnerable and exactly how to fix it.
I’m Interested →Penetration Testing
Human-led penetration testing that probes firewalls, scripts, and access paths the way a real attacker would — finding what automated tools consistently miss.
I’m Interested →Managed AWS Security
Ongoing, proactive security management for your AWS environment. Monitoring, alerting, and expert oversight — so your team can focus on growth, not fire drills.
I’m Interested →AWS Security Issues – Q&A
The most frequent issues we find include MFA disabled on key accounts, CloudTrail not logging API calls, S3 buckets with overly broad public permissions, IAM accounts with excessive privileges, Security Groups with wide-open access ranges, and hardcoded credentials in startup scripts. Most are entirely preventable with a proper configuration audit.
We run structured penetration tests that go far beyond automated scanning. Our team thinks like attackers — probing firewalls, testing scripts, and tracing exactly how far unauthorized access could reach. Automated tools miss things experienced human testers catch. We find the open doors before someone else does.
Ongoing, without question. AWS environments change constantly — new services, new team members, new configurations. A one-time audit gives you a snapshot; ongoing monitoring keeps you protected. INNERLUXES offers both targeted assessments and fully managed AWS security programs depending on your needs.