Infrastructure as code (IaC) in the cloud
1. Infrastructure as code (IaC) in the cloud
Implementing infrastructure in the cloud for the first time might seem like a large task for cloud security professionals —and even organizations— to take on. Luckily, there’s a bright side. You have a lot of different tools and strategies you can use to help mitigate this challenge. One of those tools is infrastructure as code. So, what is infrastructure as code? Infrastructure as code, or IaC, is the practice of provisioning and managing infrastructure using reusable scripts. It’s another important tool in the DevSecOps toolkit and replaces the time consuming and expensive manual provisioning of infrastructure. IaC’s automation capabilities are important in cloud computing. The increase of infrastructure components, plus the need to easily scale resources, makes automation essential. Let’s examine a scenario where IaC can address a situation that might occur in traditional IT infrastructure. There is a multinational plant supplier that ships plants across the globe. As different holidays approach, their mobile app and website traffic grows. Currently, they use traditional IT infrastructure to run their website and mobile app, but their IT department struggles to keep up with the increasing demand. Because of this, employees make uncoordinated changes to the system on a case-by-case basis to keep their resources running and their customers satisfied. The company also has a business objective to cut costs to account for the slow winter season. So how can the company solve its IT infrastructure problem and meet its business objective? Well, this is where IaC can help! To adopt IaC, organizations develop a configuration file that houses the source code that is used to build their infrastructure. Using code makes it easier to manage and distribute the infrastructure. One reason is because the code is stored in a shared repository, so teammates have visibility into what changes are made. IaC supports an immutable environment. Immutable means that outdated resources are torn down and replaced with an updated version instead of merely patching the issue. The ability to quickly release improved infrastructure keeps IT and customers happy. As a cloud security professional, you can use the primary programming model to configure IaC, called declarative. Using the declarative approach, you define the system’s desired state from the start, including any resources and corresponding properties you might need. IaC tools first look at the current state of the infrastructure, and then make the appropriate changes to achieve the desired state for you, keeping a list of your system’s objects and making your infrastructure easier to control. Adopting IaC provides lots of benefits. One benefit is that IaC lowers costs because of decreased time, effort, and complexity of using cloud resources. IaC saves costs by freeing developer time to focus on other projects, not to mention saving money by eliminating physical hardware and the space needed to store it. Using IaC also means IT no longer needs to manually configure their infrastructure. Removing manual configuration can help to eliminate the risk of human error. Next, IaC encourages faster and more efficient development. The Dev and Ops teams deploy the same infrastructure throughout the software development lifecycle. This efficiency leads into the next benefit, which highlights IaC's usefulness in the DevSecOps workflow. It accelerates the speed of delivery using automation. Automation of the same infrastructure deployment ensures the Dev and Ops teams collaborate on the same source code, which helps keep the CI and CD pipeline running smoothly. This automation works to reinforce security by integrating security checks earlier in the development process. Another important benefit of IaC is it reduces configuration drift. Configuration drift is when a resource’s configuration has altered from its original or expected state. Typically, drift happens because of unplanned changes to the configuration code or even with unmonitored software or hardware updates. IaC reduces configuration drift by enforcing consistency through automation and using one configuration file as the single source of truth. Lastly, IaC increases accountability. Teams that share the same repository increase visibility into changes made to the configuration code, which allows for revisions, as needed. As a cloud security professional, you'll work on IaC components to provide a seamless experience. Implementing security checks at the infrastructure layer ensures provisioned resources remain safe. One method of incorporating security is to automate scanning the infrastructure regularly. These scans are important for detecting configuration drift and policy violations. There are several tools available that aid in configuration management and orchestration. IaC’s ability to automate scaling and security checks, and enforce version control make it an invaluable cloud computing methodology. Transitioning from manual processes to automated ones can be daunting. However, remember that bright side: you have the IaC framework available to you. It’s a huge asset in a cloud security professional's toolkit.2. Let's practice!
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