Lab 2: Cloud Misconfiguration Analysis

25:00
Lab Objective: AWS S3 Cloud Security Assessment
Why This Lab Matters:

Cloud misconfigurations are the #1 cause of data breaches today. A single misconfigured S3 bucket can expose millions of customer records, financial data, or intellectual property to the internet. This lab teaches you to identify these critical security flaws before attackers find them.

Real-World Application:

Cloud security engineers perform daily audits of AWS infrastructure, scanning for public buckets, unencrypted data, and weak access controls. Companies like Capital One, Equifax, and Facebook have suffered major breaches due to S3 misconfigurations. This lab simulates the automated security scanning that prevents these disasters.

Skills You'll Learn:
  • Cloud Security Assessment: Identifying dangerous public access configurations
  • Compliance Checking: Verifying encryption and data protection controls
  • Risk Prioritization: Understanding which misconfigurations create immediate threats
  • Configuration Management: Reading and analyzing cloud infrastructure settings
Task: Follow the interactive security assessment exercise
Points: 15 points for working security analysis
Configuration File You'll Analyze
s3_config.yaml
Cloud storage security settings to check
What's YAML? Think of it like a recipe card. It lists ingredients (settings) with clear labels and indentation, like:
bucket_name: my-storage
public_access: true
Easy for humans to read, unlike messy code.
Security Issues to Identify
Public Access
Buckets accessible without authentication
Missing Encryption
Unencrypted data at rest
Versioning Issues
Disabled versioning and MFA delete
Logging Gaps
Missing access logging configuration
Interactive Typing Lab - S3 Security Check

Type each line exactly as shown. Press Enter after each line to continue. For empty lines, just press Enter.

Interactive Terminal

Progress: 0/15 lines completed

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Expected Output - Compare Your Results
S3 SECURITY REPORT
====================
Bucket: production-data-bucket

✗ PUBLIC ACCESS: RISK DETECTED
  Action: Remove public access

✓ ENCRYPTION: ENABLED

RISK LEVEL: HIGH
What This Output Means:
  • ✗ PUBLIC ACCESS: The bucket allows anyone on the internet to access data - major security risk
  • ✓ ENCRYPTION: Data is encrypted at rest - good security practice
  • RISK LEVEL HIGH: Public access overrides encryption protection - immediate action needed
Grading Criteria (15 points total)
  • Public access detection (5 points)
  • Encryption analysis (5 points)
  • Security report generation (5 points)
AWS S3 Security Best Practices Reference
Public Access Controls
  • Block Public ACLs: true
  • Block Public Policies: true
  • Ignore Public ACLs: true
  • Restrict Public Buckets: true
Encryption Standards
  • Server-Side Encryption: Required
  • Algorithm: AES256 or aws:kms
  • Versioning: Enabled
  • MFA Delete: Enabled for sensitive data