Securing Temporary Credentials in AWS: Best Practices for Safe Role Usage

Temporary credentials are one of the most powerful — and misunderstood — access mechanisms in AWS. They’re essential for enabling short-lived, tightly scoped access without the long-term baggage of static IAM user credentials. But with this flexibility comes a new surface for mistakes, misuse, and oversights. In this post, I’ll walk through the core use cases for temporary credentials, how they work, where they go wrong, and the best ways to keep them secure in your environment. ...

May 11, 2025 · 4 min · 763 words · Javier Pulido

AWS Incident Response Playbook Template (Free Download)

A downloadable AWS incident response playbook for small teams, including isolation workflows, evidence handling, and post-incident reporting guidance.

May 4, 2025 · 2 min · 359 words · Javier Pulido

Incident Response in AWS: A Practical Guide

Learn how to run an effective incident response process in AWS using automation and forensic best practices — without needing a separate IR account.

May 4, 2025 · 5 min · 903 words · Javier Pulido

How I Passed the AWS Certified Security – Specialty (SCS-C02) Exam in 2025

My real-world journey passing the AWS Certified Security – Specialty (SCS-C02) exam. Study strategies, mistakes, resources, and tips for future candidates.

April 28, 2025 · 3 min · 635 words · Javier Pulido

Building Least-Privilege IAM Roles with IAM Access Analyzer

Use IAM Access Analyzer to build least-privilege IAM roles in AWS — includes policy generation from CloudTrail, Terraform integration, and AWS best practices.

April 21, 2025 · 4 min · 799 words · Javier Pulido

How to Detect AWS Root Account Usage (And Respond to It)

Detect and alert on AWS root account usage using CloudTrail, EventBridge, SNS, and optional Slack notifications. Step-by-step setup and Terraform included.

April 21, 2025 · 3 min · 446 words · Javier Pulido

AWS Security Checklist 2025: Best Practices Guide

A step-by-step checklist to secure your AWS account in 2025 — includes IAM hardening, S3 lockdown, logging, and budget alerts. Beginner to intermediate friendly.

April 20, 2025 · 3 min · 540 words · Javier Pulido

IAM Users Are Dead: Modern AWS Access Control for 2025

Stop using IAM users in AWS. This guide explains why they’re risky and how to migrate to Identity Center, STS, and OIDC-based access — step-by-step.

April 20, 2025 · 3 min · 437 words · Javier Pulido

5 Critical AWS Security Misconfigurations (2025 Edition) – How to Find & Fix Them

Five AWS misconfigurations still causing breaches in 2025 — includes fixes for public S3 buckets, over-permissive IAM, open security groups, and missing monitoring.

April 19, 2025 · 4 min · 645 words · Javier Pulido