Security

A comprehensive guide to securing your Terraform configurations and infrastructure deployments.

Provider Authentication

Secure Credentials Management

1. Never Store Credentials in Code

   # DON'T do this
   provider "aws" {
     access_key = "AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE"  # WRONG!
     secret_key = "wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/bPxRfiCYEXAMPLEKEY"  # WRONG!
   }

   Instead, use:

   • Environment variables

   • Instance profiles/managed identities

   • Vault integration

   • Cloud-native credential management

2. Use Provider Authentication Best Practices

   AWS Example:

   provider "aws" {
     region = "us-west-2"
     assume_role {
       role_arn = "arn:aws:iam::ACCOUNT_ID:role/ROLE_NAME"
     }
   }

   Azure Example:

   provider "azurerm" {
     features {}
     use_msi = true
   }

Infrastructure Security

Network Security

1. Default Security Groups

   resource "aws_security_group" "default" {
     ingress {
       from_port   = 0
       to_port     = 0
       protocol    = "-1"
       cidr_blocks = ["0.0.0.0/0"]  # WRONG!
     }
   }

   Instead:

   resource "aws_security_group" "secure" {
     ingress {
       from_port   = 443
       to_port     = 443
       protocol    = "tcp"
       cidr_blocks = [var.allowed_cidr]
     }
   }

2. Network Isolation

   • Use private subnets for resources

   • Implement proper network segmentation

   • Use VPC endpoints where possible

Access Management

1. IAM Best Practices

   • Use least privilege principle

   • Implement role-based access control

   • Regular rotation of access keys

   • Enable MFA for user accounts

2. Resource Policies

   resource "aws_s3_bucket" "secure_bucket" {
     bucket = "my-secure-bucket"
     
     versioning {
       enabled = true
     }
     
     server_side_encryption_configuration {
       rule {
         apply_server_side_encryption_by_default {
           sse_algorithm = "AES256"
         }
       }
     }
   }

Code Security

Secret Management

1. Use Secret Management Tools

   • HashiCorp Vault

   • AWS Secrets Manager

   • Azure Key Vault

   • Google Secret Manager

2. Sensitive Data Handling

   variable "database_password" {
     type      = string
     sensitive = true
   }

Module Security

1. Module Source Control

   module "secure_vpc" {
     source = "git::https://github.com/example/terraform-modules.git//vpc?ref=v1.2.3"
   }

2. Version Pinning

   • Pin provider versions

   • Pin module versions

   • Use checksums for external modules

Compliance and Auditing

Compliance Controls

1. Resource Tagging

   resource "aws_instance" "example" {
     tags = {
       Environment = var.environment
       Owner       = var.owner
       CostCenter  = var.cost_center
       Compliance  = var.compliance_level
     }
   }

2. Compliance Validation

   • Use terraform-compliance

   • Implement OPA/Conftest

   • Regular security scanning

Audit Logging

1. Enable Provider Logging

   • AWS CloudTrail

   • Azure Activity Logs

   • GCP Audit Logs

2. Infrastructure Changes Tracking

   • Use detailed commit messages

   • Implement change management

   • Track state changes

Security Testing

Automated Security Checks

1. Static Analysis

   • tfsec

   • checkov

   • terrascan

2. Dynamic Testing

   • Inspec

   • ServerSpec

   • Custom validation scripts

Incident Response

Security Incident Handling

1. Preparation

   • Document emergency procedures

   • Maintain backup states

   • Keep destruction procedures ready

2. Recovery

   • State recovery procedures

   • Infrastructure rebuild process

   • Secure state restoration

Security Checklist

• Secure credential management implemented

• Network security controls in place

• IAM policies follow least privilege

• Secret management solution integrated

• Module sources verified and pinned

• Compliance controls implemented

• Audit logging enabled

• Security testing automated

• Incident response procedures documented

• Regular security reviews scheduled