README.md

AWS IAM Mini Project: Access Management in Action

In this practical hands-on IAM (Identity and Access Management) project on AWS, I will control access to AWS using IAM users, groups, roles, and policies to secure AWS resources like EC2 and S3.

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🧠 What is IAM?

IAM is like the security guard of one AWS account. It defines who can do what to which resources. IAM uses:

• Users – individual accounts
• Groups – teams of users
• Roles – temporary access or service permissions
• Policies – rulebooks that define what actions are allowed

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🎯 Project Objectives

• Create and manage IAM users, groups, and policies
• Understand and apply IAM best practices
• Assign access permissions for EC2 and S3 services

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📦 PART 1: Create IAM Policy + User

Step 1: Create a Policy for EC2 Access

1. Go to IAM > Policies
2. Click Create Policy
3. Choose Service: EC2
4. Select All EC2 actions and All Resources
5. Click Next > Create Policy

Step 2: Create User Eric

1. Go to IAM > Users > Click Create User
2. Username: Eric
3. Enable Console Access, set a password
4. Check: User must reset password at next sign-in
5. Attach the policy you just created (policy_for_eric)

💡 Troubleshooting Tips

Issue	Solution
Can't find EC2 policy	Use filter: Customer managed
Login fails for Eric	Check password and console access

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👥 PART 2: Create Group + Add Users + Attach Multi-Service Policy

Step 1: Create IAM Group

1. Navigate to IAM > User Groups
2. Name: development-team
3. Click Create Group

Step 2: Create Users Jack & Ade

1. Go to Users > Create User
2. Usernames: Jack, then Ade
3. Add them to development-team group

Step 3: Create Policy for EC2 & S3 Access

1. Go to Policies > Create Policy
2. Choose services: EC2 and S3
3. Allow All Actions, All Resources
4. Name: development-policy

Step 4: Attach Policy to Group

1. Go to User Groups > development-team
2. Click Add Permissions > Attach Policy
3. Filter: Customer Managed > Select development-policy

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🔒 IAM Best Practices

• 🔐 Use least privilege: grant only what's needed
• 📁 Use groups to manage permissions efficiently
• 🔄 Rotate passwords and use strong password policies
• 🕵️ Enable MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) for critical users
• 📜 Use customer-managed policies for clarity and reuse
• 🧪 Always test policies before wide application

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🔁 Users vs. Roles

• Users = permanent access (your own house key)
• Roles = temporary/assigned access (guest key with time limits)

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🧪 Bonus: Verify Setup

For Users:

aws iam list-users

For Groups:

aws iam list-groups

For Attached Policies:

aws iam list-attached-group-policies --group-name development-team

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📝 Project Reflection

This project helped to:

• Understand IAM concepts by analogy and action
• Apply IAM policies to individual users and groups
• Use best practices to manage access securely in AWS

This project helped me to be more confident in managing cloud security using IAM!