Setting up Config

The setup of Config is a crucial step in leveraging its full capabilities for continuous compliance monitoring. The process involves several stages, from enabling the service to defining the necessary configurations and rules.

Initial configuration

The initial setup of Config involves the following steps:

1. Enable recording: The first step is to enable Config in the management console.
2. Select resources: Determine which AWS resources need monitoring. Config can monitor most types of AWS resource, including EC2 instances, VPC subnets, S3 buckets, and more.
3. Define the recording scope: Configure the recording of all resources within your AWS environment or select specific resource types for monitoring.
4. Set up a delivery channel: Configure where configuration and compliance data will be stored and how it will be delivered. This typically involves setting up an S3 bucket for storage and an SNS topic for notifications.

After the initial configuration, Config will begin collecting data and recording the configuration history of your AWS resources. You can then use this inventory for auditing, security, and compliance purposes. It is important to regularly review and update Config settings to align with organizational changes and AWS updates.

Defining compliance rules

After setting up Config, the next critical step is to define compliance rules that align with your organization’s policies and regulatory standards. These rules are used by Config to evaluate if AWS resources deployed in an environment comply with best practices, as well as your specific compliance requirements.

Types of rules

Config’s compliance rules can be classified into two main types:

• AWS managed rules: AWS provides a set of pre-built, managed rules that can be readily implemented. These rules cover common compliance scenarios and best practices. Some examples include rules to check for AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) certificate expiration, SSH access restrictions, and S3 bucket public access.
• Custom rules: Organizations can also define custom rules tailored to their specific compliance requirements. This involves writing Lambda functions or Guard rules that evaluate the configuration of AWS resources. For instance, a custom rule might require that all S3 buckets have logging enabled or that EC2 instances are tagged appropriately according to organizational standards.