AWS Cloud Security Posture Assessment Home-Lab using Prowler
CIS-based AWS security audit identifying real misconfigurations and remediation guidance.
Overview
- Performed an AWS Security Posture Assessment using Prowler aligned with the CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark (v1.5).
- Assessed the AWS account using a read-only IAM user, ensuring no configuration changes during the audit.
- Executed scans from a dedicated Linux cloud server using Prowler’s CLI within a Python virtual environment (venv) for isolation and dependency management.
- Evaluated security controls across critical AWS services:
- IAM
- S3
- CloudTrail
- CloudWatch
- EC2
- KMS
- AWS Config
- Identified real-world security misconfigurations and compliance gaps with clear PASS / FAIL status and severity classification.
- Generated audit-ready reports in multiple formats:
- HTML (human-readable compliance report)
- CSV (remediation tracking)
- JSON (automation and SIEM integration)
- Used the Prowler Dashboard to visualize findings and compliance status.
- Accessed the dashboard securely via SSH local port forwarding, avoiding public exposure of sensitive security data.
- Analyzed high-impact failed controls such as:
- Root and IAM user MFA enforcement
- S3 public access misconfigurations
- Logging and monitoring gaps
- Applied select remediation actions in AWS and re-ran scans to validate security improvements.
- Demonstrated a real SOC-style cloud security audit workflow, from assessment to validation.
What You'll Learn
-
Cloud Security Posture Assessment
Learn how to evaluate an AWS account against CIS benchmarks to identify real security misconfigurations and compliance gaps.
-
Hands-on AWS Security Auditing
Gain practical experience using Prowler to scan live AWS environments, analyze findings, and prioritize security risks.
-
Secure Operations & Validation
Understand how to safely access security dashboards, apply remediation, and re-validate improvements using industry best practices.
Prerequisites
- Basic understanding of AWS services such as IAM, S3, EC2, and CloudTrail
- An active AWS account with permission to create IAM users
- Access to a Linux-based cloud server or virtual machine
- Familiarity with basic Linux commands and terminal usage
- Basic knowledge of cloud security concepts and access controls
About Trainer
Aman Gupta
Aman Gupta is an emerging voice in automation-driven cybersecurity, combining strong engineering skills with a passion for knowledge sharing. He has worked on advanced projects spanning security monitoring, intelligent alerting, process automation, and AI-powered decision systems. With experience bridging software engineering and modern DevSecOps practices, Aman focuses on simplifying complex technologies into practical, real-world applications.
Related Projects
Practical AWS Cloud Security Posture Assessment Using Scout Suite
Identify real-world AWS attack surfaces through visual security posture analysis.
Wazuh + n8n + Anyrun: Automated Malware Analysis
Automate malware analysis by sending Wazuh-detected suspicious files into ANY.RUN, retrieving detailed reports and IOCs, and integrating results back into your SOC workflow.
Apache Web Server Log Monitoring using Wazuh
Real-time detection of HTTP errors, brute-force and suspicious requests from Apache logs