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Abstract

7156">I covered user-specific secrets here:</p><div id="744d" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/create-a-per-user-secret-in-secrets-manager-part-1-bb97b66e2a2d"> <div> <div> <h2>User-Specific Secrets on AWS: IAM Policies</h2> <div><h3>ACM.82 IAM Policies to allow users to describe their own secrets</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*PcniDpBJq2db0jbdryc_Nw.png)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><h2 id="aada">Create the user-specific Secret to store the automation credentials</h2><p id="a515">Next I create <b>SandboxDevAutomationSecret</b> in Secrets Manager, encrypted with my <b>Sandbox KMS key</b>.</p><figure id="e15e"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*DQonCyF8UzPnZZoiGOKD9w.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure id="f7b3"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*zITxEtD__wFDwpPrBpqv4w.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><h2 id="2e63">Create a user-specific EC2 instance role for the SandboxDev user</h2><p id="3417">Next I create an EC2 instance role that the developer is allowed to pass to EC2 instances named <b>SandboxDevEC2Role</b>.</p><figure id="44ef"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*__fohZeTWjwdYrS__B4imQ.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><p id="eee9">The role will have a prefix with the username:</p><figure id="7afa"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*7dKW5KiQMivtKqjgzA_1Gw.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><p id="a338">This role is granted access to:</p><ul><li>Read the<b> SandboxDevSecret.</b></li><li>Pull containers from the <b>sandbox Elastic Container Repository.</b></li><li>Use the <b>sandbox KMS key </b>to access decrypt the secret and the container in the repository</li></ul><h2 id="df90">Create the Automation user</h2><p id="b752">Create the <b>SandboxDevAutomation</b> user. Do not give this user console access.</p><figure id="ddeb"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*QWVvQMA9aDCtmiVxSR61iw.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><p id="c19e">Remember that I already have a role (<b>CloneGitHubtoCodeCommitRole</b>) used by my batch job from prior posts. Create a policy that allows the SandboxDevAutomation user to use STS to assume that role.</p><p id="559f">The <b>SandboxDev</b> user needs permission to change the <b>credentials</b> <b>and</b> MFA device of the <b>SandboxDevAutomation</b> user.</p><h2 id="0f53">Edit the batch job role trust policy to allow the SandboxDevAutomation role to assume it</h2><p id="7f1d">We need to modify the trust policy to allow the <b>SandboxDevAutomation</b> <b>user</b> to assume the <b>CloneGitHubtoCodeCommitRole</b> role with MFA.</p><figure id="6ad1"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*xAHGslW3SSbv6c5NO8mhzg.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><p id="7ad0">Edit the trust policy:</p><figure id="cfaf"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*Vna71G_F2e-8Vdtw4yBwFw.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><p id="6a5a">Change the user to SandboxDev:</p><figure id="f788"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*vpSqEqjFa_qg59v_dnPCzQ.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><h2 id="49b3">Add permissions to KMS Key Resource Policy</h2><p id="8cf1">Next I need to allow the <b>SandboxDev</b> user to encrypt and decrypt and the <b>SanboxDevEC2Role</b> to decrypt with the <b>sandbox KMS Key.</b> I edit my automation to add those two roles to the encrypt and decrypt users.</p><figure id="380f"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*UkzCt10p0iqCR4OpMs6uhQ.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><h2 id="d015">Login as SandboxDev</h2><p id="725d">Log into the AWS Console with the SandboxDev user. If you’ve been following along, you have an account with a prefix specific to your organization and -Dev at the end if you used my deployment scripts.</p><figure id="13d5"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*5L-3C9ORVXOWv6KRdCkBLg.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><h2 id="d260">Add MFA devices</h2><p id="5cca">Add a Hardware MFA device to the SandboxDev User.</p><figure id="21f0"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*8s8rTuyWOsLAQUEqfwTtOQ.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><p id="c0e6">Add a Virtual MFA device to the SandboxDevAutomation User.</p><p id="5cec">I explain why I do not use a Yubikey to generate MFA codes here:</p><div id="1308" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/the-yubikey-cli-and-aws-mfa-50e6be0698a7"> <div> <div> <h2>The Yubikey CLI and AWS MFA</h2> <div><h3>ACM.11 Considering the attack surface and MFA choices for our Security Batch Jobs</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*SFAKbcK__GlbJbJJJVXK9w.png)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><figure id="5893"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*iFl4DTQNuplt-SGONHpNYw.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><h2 id="d7df">Create automation credentials</h2><p id="b9e4">Create an <b>Access key</b> for the <b>SandboxDevAutomation</b> user.</p><figure id="7f1e"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*KoVfxp-aJvzBiacPyFeMlA.png"><figcaption></figcap

Options

tion></figure><p id="217e">I have explained before that I disagree with the verbiage on this page. The CLI in the browser has a much larger attack surface and it depends how you are using the keys.</p><figure id="0423"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*_CCe4xu8AcNLloUHgvF5Aw.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><h2 id="8caa">Store the credentials in the SandboxDevAutomationSecret</h2><p id="24aa">Head to the Secrets Manager dashboard.</p><p id="432d">Click on the SandboxDevAutomationSecret.</p><figure id="6893"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*cz9jnYSnBsGXf9Y8VZjGPQ.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><p id="f616">Store the secret key id and secret access key.</p><figure id="4b95"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*-G9eR929nKSsGWrsOuzucg.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><h2 id="5496">Test Launching an EC2 Instance with the SandboxDev role</h2><p id="8907">Head over the EC2 dashboard and test launching an EC2 Instance. Recall that the Instance name needs to match what we specified in the policy above.</p><figure id="a1c7"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*FqCLLp7V854JJZa88TIdvA.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><p id="2bc8">If you need to decode any error messages I explained how to do that here:</p><div id="bb13" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/decoding-aws-error-messages-db0e0cbecf0d"> <div> <div> <h2>Decoding AWS Error Messages</h2> <div><h3>Free Content on Jobs in Cybersecurity | Sign up for the Email List</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*4oxP4LXk8l8c3mpRvO7ejg.png)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="bd85">Choose the existing networking created for EC2 instances from prior posts.</p><div id="a149" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/automating-cybersecurity-metrics-890dfabb6198"> <div> <div> <h2>Automating Cybersecurity Metrics (ACM)</h2> <div><h3>A series of blog posts on cybersecurity metrics and security automation</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*L9lEIsaWt6xm2Op2ww-G5w.png)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="2937">Choose the role we created under Advanced details.</p><figure id="8870"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*oHJior3Ueea6woDB1zqqKQ.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><p id="a822">One note that took me a bit to resolve. The message when your user does not have permission to pass the IAM role to the EC2 instance is a bit ambiguous.</p><div id="a0fb" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/ambiguous-error-message-when-a-user-doesnt-have-permission-to-pass-a-specific-iam-role-to-an-ec2-b005f338b6df"> <div> <div> <h2>Ambiguous Error Message When a User Doesn’t Have Permission to Pass a Specific IAM Role to an EC2…</h2> <div><h3>This error message needs to be more specific and doesn’t show up in CloudTrail for the User Name</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*4oxP4LXk8l8c3mpRvO7ejg.png)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="51b2">Getting the resources setup took some time because I realized I had to revise my approach. I didn’t automate any of this but I will in the future. For now I just want to make sure it works. I can also figure out what permissions each policy requires.</p><p id="1fb5">I will test the initialization script in the next post.</p><p id="2c31">Follow for updates.</p><p id="4a3a">Teri Radichel | <i>© <a href="https://2ndsightlab.com/?source=post_page---------------------------">2nd Sight Lab</a> 2023</i></p><div id="8b5f"><pre><span class="hljs-section">About Teri Radichel:

⭐️ Author: Cybersecurity Books
⭐️ Presentations: Presentations by Teri Radichel
⭐️ Recognition: SANS Award, AWS Security Hero, IANS Faculty
⭐️ Certifications: SANS ~ GSE 240
⭐️ Education: BA Business, Master of Software Engineering, Master of Infosec
⭐️ Company: Penetration Tests, Assessments, Phone Consulting ~ 2nd Sight Lab</pre></div><div id="caae"><pre><span class="hljs-section">Need Help With Cybersecurity, Cloud, or Application Security?
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🔒 Cybersecurity Speaker for Presentation</pre></div><div id="530b"><pre>Follow <span class="hljs-keyword">for</span> more stories like <span class="hljs-keyword">this</span>:

❤️ Sign Up my Medium Email List ❤️ Twitter: <span class="hljs-meta">@teriradichel</span> ❤️ LinkedIn: https:<span class="hljs-comment">//www.linkedin.com/in/teriradichel</span> ❤️ Mastodon: <span class="hljs-meta">@teriradichel</span><span class="hljs-meta">@infosec</span>.exchange ❤️ Facebook: 2nd Sight Lab ❤️ YouTube: @2ndsightlab</pre></div><figure id="eecf"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/0*H9Ew1KCl-29nZiPR.jpeg"><figcaption></figcaption></figure></article></body>

Free Luxury Get Away, A Tale Of Utter Rebellion On My Part!

One Thing About Me, I Can Stand My Ground

Thank you for this Monday’s prompt: “What is your relationship with authority? How do you challenge the status quo?” After realizing what it was, I started to laugh out loud because I have plenty of such rich stories on the subject, but one will be enough for now.

Image courtesy Jean-Luc Benazet via https://unsplash.com/photos/oOvzE2L-n1A that shows a cuter interior renovation zone than what my story is built upon

Rights Are Taken For Granted: I Am Convinced It Is So Because They Were Never A given:

Around the summer/spring of 2017, my complaint to the landlord was finally resolved. I live my life colourfully, and sometimes this is accidental. When I moved to my place, the window in the living room was leaking. Of course, I was introduced to this problem when I entered the high-rise building in the first winter of 2013. Like most people, I first called the property manager politely to emphasize the architectural era I thought they had missed. Okay, the executive lady sent a real estate agent. Didn’t this man say this is common? Does he live like this?

Nonetheless, the property manager inspected the place year after year, ignoring the window issue that was aparent or my complaints to him concerning the harsh winter experiences I lived in. In addition to being uncomfortable with my child, I was still a college student and continued to study overnight as many scholars.

Also, I grew up in a warm climate and the whole experience made my new life so difficult. Therefore, I decided to pay a lot of rent to avoid office staff, and I would go out whenever a notice of routine property inspection was distributed. Meanwhile, I kept records of all my letters to the the rental team, going as far as the head office.

Higher Authority:

I lost all confidence in them, called my city, made my claim, and made sure to describe the background and show my respect for the hierarchy (notify the landlord and negotiate with them before complaining to the municipality). I recalled the initial municipal complaint call and the reception I received from a telephone operator there. To be honest, she was not interested in setting up a date for her colleague to inspect my place. Instead, she asked me why I didn’t go to Walt-Mart to buy plastic panels to insulate the windows.

I swear, life can be difficult sometimes. In any case, I must have called five times before a big man followed the property manager into my house to cheque the scene of my complaint. I was there, small in stature, holding the child in hand, watching the men as they evaluated the window frame in the living room, and concluded that there was nothing to write home about, contrary to my observations and encounters. My jaw dropped. Please note that this event was in the summer.

Community: There Is Power In Numbers:

Many people who know and take care of me in the diaspora will work with me to find solutions. This sense of community membership led me to an African NGO whose agenda is to freely provide us with a legal committee. After a meeting with my legal expertise: they saw the written letters I sent over the years and the telephone conversations to municipal staff. It turned out that my case was easy to resolve.

Nothing Stays Unchanged:

I received a letter informing me that there a construction team was scheduled to work in the apartment. At that time, the ceiling was rotten, and the place gave off an unpleasant smell. These were great news, and I was so happy to update my friends, family, and anyone I could that my life was getting better and better.

Despite everything at home, I still show up at school and aced my academic life to no end. Nothing or no one would steal this opportunity to self-advance from me, and I was motivated to work hard to become a better version of myself.

Happy Endings Are Real:

Therefore, it was not surprising when a short person was introduced to me as a construction worker to fix my living conditions (in the spring/summer of 2017). I was off to send my daughter to her school and to take my class, so there was almost nothing said between us that morning, save for polite greetings.

At the end of that day, I went back to the apartment: there was dust everywhere. Plus, I had no access to the kitchen. I immediately saw that the landlord didn’t respect me at all. I then resorted to placing a quick call to the headquarters, and they had become accustomed to my apartment number reference and probably my name.

I informed them that I was packing a big bag and then booking myself at a hotel of my choice, pending the ongoing renovations. My legal team was very impressed with the way I handled the situation too. So my child and I lived a happy life in a five-star hotel in our city. In terms of diet, we ordered shrimp and all luxury food from my credit card, and the landlord repaid the fee within 24 hours after I returned to the apartment where I currently live.

Thanks for reading!