IAM Roles

5 minutes 5 Questions

IAM roles are AWS entities that allow you to delegate permissions to users or AWS services to operate on your behalf. Unlike IAM users, IAM roles do not have long-term credentials; instead, they utilize temporary security tokens to assume the role. IAM roles are crucial when granting cross-account permissions or when applications and services need access to another AWS service, like Amazon S3. With IAM roles, you can avoid using root or IAM user credentials, reducing the exposure of your account to potential security risks. Utilizing IAM roles helps you establish a secure environment by delegating permissions and reducing the need for long-term security credentials.

Guide on AWS IAM (Identity and Access Management) Roles

IAM Roles are an essential part of AWS and they play a fundamental role in security. The IAM Role is a set of permissions that grant access to actions and resources in AWS.
Why is it Important?
IAM roles are important as they control who can access your AWS resources and what they can do with them. Instead of sharing security credentials (like Access Keys) with an entity (internal/external) that requires access to a resource, AWS recommends using roles. This prevents unauthorized access and enhancing granular level security.
What is IAM Roles?
IAM Roles is an IAM entity that defines a set of permissions for making AWS service requests. Roles are not associated with a specific user or group, instead, trusted entities assume roles, such as IAM users, applications, or AWS services like EC2.
How does it Work?
IAM roles work by allowing you to delegate access to users or services that normally don't have access to your organization's AWS resources. A role is assumed by a trusted entity (like user, application service, etc.) and this assumed role provides temporary permissions that the entity can use to make calls to AWS services.
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on IAM Roles
1. Remember that IAM roles are not tied to a single user or group, but are assumable by trusted entities.
2. IAM roles do not have any passwords or long-term credentials, they have short term credentials.
3. In exam scenarios, consider using roles when the question implies delegation, sharing of responsibilities, or cross-account access.
4. Keep in mind that one of the key benefits of IAM roles is providing secure access to AWS resources without sharing long-term credentials.

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Question 1

An application running on an EC2 Instance needs temporary access to an S3 Bucket. Which IAM Entity should be used to grant the required permissions?

IAM Role for an EC2 Instance IAM Group IAM Policy IAM User

Correct Answer: IAM Role for an EC2 Instance

IAM Roles for EC2 Instances are the recommended way to grant temporary permissions to applications running on EC2 Instances. This way, you don't need to worry about access keys or long-term credentials.

Question 2

Your team is using AWS Glue to automate ETL jobs, and you want to restrict access to AWS Glue workflows. Which IAM Entity is the best choice to restrict access?

Create a separate AWS Glue resource for each user with the required policies. Create an IAM User with the required policies and use the access keys in AWS Glue. Use the root user access keys to restrict access. Create an IAM Role with the required policies and assign it to AWS Glue.

Correct Answer: Create an IAM Role with the required policies and assign it to AWS Glue.

Creating an IAM Role with the required policies and assigning it to AWS Glue allows you to restrict access without using long-term credentials or access keys. This securely grants permissions without the need to manage access keys, making it the best choice.

Question 3

A new project requires granting several different types of access to various users. What is the most scalable and efficient way to create and manage access permissions?

Use a single IAM User for all users to use. Create an IAM Role for each user and grant required permissions. Use IAM Groups to organize users and grant permissions. Apply separate permission policies to each user.

Correct Answer: Use IAM Groups to organize users and grant permissions.

IAM Groups allow you to define and manage permissions for multiple users in a scalable way. Assigning policies and permissions to groups lets you manage permissions centrally, reducing the complexity of managing access individually.

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