IAM Users

An IAM user is similar to a user in systems like LDAP or Active Directory, representing a principal identity. Examples of identities include: Developers, Operations professionals, Non-technical project managers, Applications

• IAM users can also have a permission boundary policy, which is crucial for enforcing least privilege.
• IAM users can be associated with different types of permissions
  • Group permissions
  • Inline permissions
  • Managed permissions

Credentials for IAM Users

• IAM users serve as containers for credentials, which include:

  • Sign-in credentials: Username and password for AWS console access.
  • Access keys: A pair of keys (access key ID and secret access key) for programmatic access to AWS services.

• Lesser-used credentials include:

  • CodeCommit credentials for AWS CodeCommit service.
  • KeySpaces credentials for AWS Apache Cassandra service.

Examples of IAM Users

Csmith

• Logs into the AWS console using sign-in credentials and utilizes Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).
• Role: Billing Administrator.

Hsimpson:

• Has sign-in credentials, MFA, and the ability to programmatically invoke AWS using command line or SDK with API keys.
• Role: DevOps Administrator.

Myapp1

• An application without sign-in credentials or MFA, accessing AWS solely through access keys.