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37 changes: 29 additions & 8 deletions content/well-architected-framework/data/docs-nav-data.json
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}
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Expand Down Expand Up @@ -431,17 +460,9 @@
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---
page_title: Build a culture of security automation
description: Learn how to build security into your organization's culture.
---

# Build a culture of security automation

Security is no longer a separate function in modern
infrastructure. Organizations must incorporate security in all phases of
infrastructure deployment and software development lifecycles (SDLC).

Waiting for security teams to review and approve changes manually can lead to delays, increased risk of human error, and inconsistent security practices. Waiting for audits and compliance checks to verify your security program does not allow you to respond to emerging threats, leaving your organization vulnerable.

When you build a culture of security automation, you integrate security practices and
tools into your organization's culture, processes, and workflows. When you
approach security as a necessary part of your organization's culture, you can
mitigate security risks more effectively and efficiently.

When you build a culture of security automation, you create the following benefits
in your organization:

**Developer Experience:**

- Developers get immediate feedback on security issues through their workflows.
- Security becomes part of the development workflow, not an external gatekeeper.
- Learning happens in context when teams discover security issues.

**Operations Teams:**

- Infrastructure security through familiar code-based workflows.
- Security policies enforced and deployed automatically, reducing manual oversight burden.
- Compliance becomes a byproduct of standard operations rather than a special process.

**Security Teams:**

- Shift from being gatekeepers to being enablers and consultants.
- Focus on defining policies and standards rather than manual reviews.
- Gain visibility into security posture across the entire organization.

## What is security automation?

Security automation involves using tools and processes to automate security
tasks, such as scanning for vulnerabilities, managing secrets, applying
security patches, and monitoring for threats. You can automate these
tasks as code, instead of performing the tasks manually. By automating tasks
like policy provisioning, or scanning for secrets, your security posture improves.

<VideoEmbed url="http://youtube.com/watch?v=eamE18_WrW0"/>

Another important aspect of security automation and building a culture around
security is understanding that various compliance standards do not inhibit
innovation. It can be easy to blame compliance requirements for slowing down
development and infrastructure innovation. However, when you teach teams that
security and compliance give you the necessary guardrails to innovate, you can
build a culture that embraces security.

## Deploy security as code with Terraform

You can adopt security as code practices using Terraform to automate
the deployment of security [policies as
code](/well-architected-framework/secure-systems/compliance-and-governance/policy-as-code)
in your infrastructure. You can manage policies for HashiCorp Vault, Boundary,
and Sentinel, as well as policies for public cloud providers and orchestration
platforms like Kubernetes, and Nomad.

You can also use Terraform to manage common infrastructure components such as
user accounts, firewall configurations, and network settings.

- **Security policies become testable code:** Teams can unit test, peer review, and version control security configurations just like application code.
- **Prevents configuration drift:** Automated detection when infrastructure deviates from secure baselines, encouraging teams to maintain security standards.
- **Enables security guardrails:** Terraform can enforce organization-wide security policies that prevent non-compliant infrastructure deployment.
- **Democratizes security knowledge:** Security configurations are documented in code, making security requirements visible and understandable to all team members.
- **Creates security feedback loops:** Failed deployments due to security violations become learning opportunities rather than blame events.

This shifts security from being a "blocker" to being an integral part of how you
design and deploy infrastructure.

## Shift security left with HCP Vault Radar

Security teams can help shift security left with HCP Vault Radar. Shifting security
left means software and IaC developers integrate security tools into their
development process. HCP Vault Radar [scans for
secrets](/well-architected-framework/secure-systems/secrets/manage-leaked-secrets)
in source code during development, or once they commit their code to a version
control system (VCS) such as GitHub.

- **Continuous education:** Integrating scanning into the software development
lifecycle helps developers understand how secrets leak.
- **Immediate feedback:** Real-time alerts when developers commit secrets help
improve secure coding practices.
- **Integration with development workflows:** Security scanning becomes part of
the development process, not a separate security audit.
- **Cross-team visibility:** Security teams can see patterns and provide
targeted training based on actual findings.


HashiCorp resources:

- [Correlate HCP Vault Radar findings with HCP Vault](/hcp/tutorials/hcp-vault-radar-operations)
- [Boundary credential brokering with Vault](/boundary/tutorials/credential-management/hcp-vault-cred-brokering-quickstart)
- [Enforce policies in HCP Terraform using Sentinel](/terraform/tutorials/policy/policy-quickstart)

External resources:

- [NIST cyberssecurity framework](https://www.nist.gov/cyberframework)
- [Navigating behavioral change in security awareness and culture](https://www.ibm.com/think/insights/security-awareness-culture)
- [Why Culture Is the First Line of Defense in the Age of Agentic AI](https://www.cio.com/article/4043094/why-culture-is-the-first-line-of-defense-in-the-age-of-agentic-ai.html)

## Next steps

In this section of how to Secure infrastructure, you learned why it is important to
build a culture where security is integrated into every aspect of your
organization's operations. Build a culture of security automation is part of the [Secure systems
pillar](/well-architected-framework/secure-systems).

Following these documents in order ensures a logical progression through the key
concepts and best practices, helping you build a strong foundation for your
organizations security program.

- Integrate Terraform and Vault into common industry
workflows, such as
[GitOps](/well-architected-framework/define-and-automate-processes/process-automation/gitops)
to further automate security practices.
- [Implement zero trust security and networking](/well-architected-framework/secure-systems/infrastructure/zero-trust-security)
- [How to secure cloud infrastructure with identity-based access control](/well-architected-framework/secure-systems/infrastructure/identity-new-perimeter)
- [Build a culture of security automation](/well-architected-framework/secure-systems/infrastructure/build-culture-security) **(this document)**
- [Secure network traffic with ingress and egress](/well-architected-framework/secure-systems/infrastructure/manage-network-ingress-egress)
- [Secure human access to infrastructure](/well-architected-framework/secure-systems/infrastructure/secure-access)
- [Prevent lateral movement](/well-architected-framework/secure-systems/infrastructure/prevent-lateral-movement)
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---
page_title: How to secure cloud infrastructure with identity-based access control
description: Identity is the new perimeter. Learn zero trust security, dynamic credentials, MFA, and least privilege access for cloud infrastructure.
---

# Identity-based security for modern infrastructure

Modern infrastructure encompasses a mix of on-premises, cloud, and
software-as-a-service (SaaS) workloads. Securing modern infrastructure requires
a shift in focus to securing access to resources using identities, as the network
perimeter is no longer a reliable security boundary.

Identity has become the new perimeter for securing modern infrastructure.
Instead of relying on network security tools to secure access to resources,
organizations must focus on securing user and machine identities. In addition to
shifting focus to identities, organizations must also ensure all services:

- **Follow the principle of least privilege:** Grant the minimum access necessary to perform their tasks.
- **Use strong authentication and authorization mechanisms:** Implement robust sign-in workflows, including multi-factor authentication (MFA), to access resources.
- **Use ephemeral credentials:** Use ephemeral, short-lived credentials to reduce the risk of credential theft.
- **Classify data:** Implement a data classification scheme for all services.
- **Isolate workloads and resources:** Limit the effect of potential security breaches.
- **Continuously monitor and audit access:** Detect and respond to potential threats.

<VideoEmbed url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYBni2ojyE"/>

## Benefits of identity-based security

Every user, machine, or service has an identity. Leveraging the identities of your users through an identity provider (IdP) allows you to manage access to resources more effectively. You can also leverage trusted platforms, such as your cloud provider or self-managed infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) platforms, to verify a workload's identity.
By adopting identity as the new perimeter, organizations can build a secure infrastructure to handle the challenges of modern workloads.

By adopting identity as the new perimeter, organizations can build a more secure
infrastructure that is better equipped to handle the challenges of modern
workloads.

Shifting security focus to identities provides several benefits:

- **Improved security**: By focusing on securing identities, organizations can
better protect against threats such as phishing, credential theft, and
insider threats.
- **Greater flexibility**: Identity-based security allows organizations to
securely manage access to resources across a mix of on-premises, cloud, and
SaaS workloads.
- **Enhanced user experience**: Identity-based security can provide a more
seamless user experience, reducing the need for users to remember multiple
passwords or navigate complex network security tools.
- **Better compliance**: Identity-based security can help organizations meet
regulatory requirements by providing better visibility and control over
access to sensitive data and resources.

<VideoEmbed url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uNifnVlBy4"/>

## Implement zero trust with Vault and Boundary

HashiCorp Vault allows you to adopt ephemeral, dynamic credentials - replacing
long-lived credentials with short-lived ones to reduce the risk of credential
theft. Vault dynamic credentials support multiple cloud providers like Amazon Web
Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP), as well as
databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB.

HashiCorp Boundary provides identity-aware access without requiring
network-level trust. Instead of opening firewall ports or managing VPN
connections, Boundary verifies user identity and grants just-in-time access to
specific resources based on their authenticated identity and assigned
permissions.

You can further enhance your security posture by integrating Vault and Boundary
to allow identity-based access to target resources without exposing or sharing
the target's credentials. Users authenticate to Boundary through a trusted
identity provider, and Boundary retrieves dynamic credentials from Vault to
access the target resource.

HashiCorp Terraform enables you to manage identity [policies as
code](/well-architected-framework/secure-systems/compliance-and-governance/policy-as-code),
ensuring consistent security configurations across all environments and making
your identity perimeter auditable and version-controlled.

HashiCorp resources:

- Follow the principles of [least
privilege](/well-architected-framework/secure-systems/identity-access-management/grant-least-privilege)
- Implement [strong authentication and authorization
mechanisms](/well-architected-framework/secure-systems/identity-access-management/implement-strong-sign-in-workflows)
- Use [ephemeral, short-lived
credentials](/well-architected-framework/secure-systems/identity-access-management/use-dynamic-credentials)
- Implement a [data classification
scheme](/well-architected-framework/secure-systems/data/classify-data)
- [Generate dynamic secrets in Vault](/vault/tutorials/db-credentials)
- [OIDC authentication to Boundary using Okta](/boundary/tutorials/identity-management/oidc-okta)
- [OIDC authentication to Vault using Okta](/vault/tutorials/auth-methods/vault-oidc-okta)
- [Connect to Kubernetes using Boundary and Vault](/boundary/tutorials/kubernetes-connect)

External resources:

- [What is identity and access management (IAM)?](https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/identity-access-management)
- [Zero trust architecture](https://www.nist.gov/publications/zero-trust-architecture)
- [The real AI risk isn’t AGI — it’s unregulated machine identity](https://www.cio.com/article/4075672/the-real-ai-risk-isnt-agi-its-unregulated-machine-identity.html)

## Next steps

In this section of how to Secure infrastructure, you learned why it is important to
shift to using identity as the new security perimeter. Focusing security
programs around identity allows you create a more comprehensive security
strategy. How to secure cloud infrastructure with identity-based access control is part of the [Secure systems
pillar](/well-architected-framework/secure-systems).

Following these documents in order ensures a logical progression through the key
concepts and best practices, helping you build a strong foundation for your
organization's security program.

- [Implement zero trust security and networking](/well-architected-framework/secure-systems/infrastructure/zero-trust-security)
- [How to secure cloud infrastructure with identity-based access control](/well-architected-framework/secure-systems/infrastructure/identity-new-perimeter) **(this document)**
- [Build a culture of security automation](/well-architected-framework/secure-systems/infrastructure/build-culture-security)
- [Secure network traffic with ingress and egress](/well-architected-framework/secure-systems/infrastructure/manage-network-ingress-egress)
- [Secure human access to infrastructure](/well-architected-framework/secure-systems/infrastructure/secure-access)
- [Prevent lateral movement](/well-architected-framework/secure-systems/infrastructure/prevent-lateral-movement)
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