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AWS IAM Interview

This document provides 20 questions about AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) that could be asked in an interview, grouped into basic, intermediate, and advanced categories. The questions cover IAM concepts like users, roles, policies, multi-factor authentication, and how to implement security best practices regarding access control and permissions.

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khokaryunus3
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15 views

AWS IAM Interview

This document provides 20 questions about AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) that could be asked in an interview, grouped into basic, intermediate, and advanced categories. The questions cover IAM concepts like users, roles, policies, multi-factor authentication, and how to implement security best practices regarding access control and permissions.

Uploaded by

khokaryunus3
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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AWS Interview Preparations

Certainly! Here are some IAM (Identity and Access Management) questions that could be
asked in an interview, along with brief explanations for each:

### Basic Questions


1. **What is IAM in AWS?**
- AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) is a service that helps you securely
control access to AWS services and resources for your users.

2. **Why is IAM important in AWS?**


- IAM is crucial for security, ensuring that only authorized users can access and
perform actions on AWS resources.

3. **What is the difference between IAM users and roles?**


- IAM users are individual named accounts with specific credentials, while IAM roles are
assumed by entities (users, applications, or services) that need temporary permissions.

4. **What are IAM policies?**


- Policies are JSON documents that define permissions. They specify who can do what
on which resources.

5. **Can you explain the principle of least privilege?**


- It’s a security practice where users are given the minimum levels of access – or
permissions – needed to perform their job functions.

### Intermediate Questions


6. **How do IAM groups work?**
- Groups allow you to assign permissions to multiple users collectively, making it
easier to manage permissions for a large number of users.

7. **What are managed policies and inline policies?**


- Managed policies are standalone policies that you can attach to multiple users,
groups, or roles, while inline policies are embedded directly into a single user, group, or
role.

8. **How does IAM integrate with other AWS services?**


- IAM integrates by providing fine-grained access control to AWS resources. Many AWS
services use IAM to manage access.

9. **What is an IAM role trust policy?**


- A trust policy specifies which entities (users, roles, or AWS services) are allowed to
assume the role.
10. **What is multi-factor authentication (MFA) in IAM?**
- MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to provide two forms of
authentication: something they know (password) and something they have (a security
token).

### Advanced Questions


11. **How do you create a custom policy in IAM?**
- Custom policies are created by writing JSON policy documents that specify allowed
or denied actions, resources, and conditions.

12. **What are resource-based policies?**


- Resource-based policies are policies attached directly to resources (like S3 buckets,
Lambda functions), specifying who can access that resource and what actions they can
perform.

13. **How do you troubleshoot IAM access issues?**


- Troubleshooting involves checking IAM policy permissions, evaluating IAM role
assumptions, using AWS IAM policy simulator, and reviewing CloudTrail logs for denied
actions.

14. **Can you explain the use of IAM roles with Amazon EC2?**
- IAM roles can be assigned to EC2 instances to grant temporary permissions to
applications running on those instances, allowing them to access AWS services securely
without needing permanent credentials.

15. **What is the AWS STS (Security Token Service)?**


- STS is a web service that enables you to request temporary, limited-privilege
credentials for IAM users or for users you authenticate (federated users).

### Scenario-Based Questions


16. **How would you secure access to an S3 bucket using IAM?**
- Apply IAM policies to restrict access, use bucket policies, enable MFA delete, and
configure S3 bucket encryption.

17. **Describe a situation where you would use an IAM role instead of an IAM user.**
- Use an IAM role for applications running on EC2 instances that need access to AWS
resources, as roles provide temporary credentials that are automatically rotated.

18. **How do you implement least privilege access in a large organization?**


- Conduct regular audits, create fine-grained policies, use IAM groups to manage
permissions, and apply role-based access control (RBAC).

19. **What steps would you take to grant temporary access to an external consultant?**
- Create a role with the necessary permissions, configure a trust policy for the
consultant's AWS account, and use STS to grant temporary access.

20. **How would you manage IAM permissions across multiple AWS accounts?**
- Use AWS Organizations for centralized management, create cross-account roles, and
apply Service Control Policies (SCPs) to manage permissions consistently.

These questions cover various aspects of AWS IAM and can help gauge a candidate's
understanding of IAM concepts, best practices, and practical implementation.

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