AWS and Cloudanix team co-authored this blog: Real-Time Threat and Anomaly Detection for Workloads on AWS

Security Best Practices | CIS Benchmarks | Cloudanix

Achieve CIS Compliance With Cloudanix

The Center for Internet Security (CIS) helps organizations improve cyber hygiene through a globally recognized framework of security controls. Their 20 CIS Controls are designed to safeguard against the most common and pervasive threats — and are essential for cloud security readiness. Cloudanix helps organizations implement CIS best practices through automated audits, misconfiguration detection, and continuous monitoring — reducing risk without slowing you down.

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What is CIS and Why It Matters

The Center for Internet Security (CIS) is a nonprofit organization founded to create best practice guidelines for securing digital infrastructure. Through partnerships with SANS Institute and industry professionals, CIS developed the 20 Critical Security Controls to help organizations mitigate modern cyber threats. These controls span hardware/software configurations, IAM, malware defense, data recovery, incident response, and more — and apply across both on-prem and cloud environments.

Basic, Foundational, and Organizational Controls

Cover everything from endpoint defense to organizational processes.

Cloud-Compatible Security Framework

Mapped to cloud infrastructure — including AWS, Azure, and GCP.

Implementing CIS Controls in the Cloud

CIS recommends three levels of security: Basic, Foundation, and Organizational.

Cloudanix automates these through prebuilt audit recipes that assess your cloud resources against best practices — across access management, config hardening, and monitoring.

Whether it’s securing your IAM, logging policies, or network boundaries, Cloudanix simplifies your path to CIS-aligned posture.

● Audit Automation: Run continuous scans using CIS-aligned rule sets.
● Risk Reduction at Scale: Address vulnerabilities before they become incidents.

Effortless CIS Alignment with Automation and Visibility

Why Choose Cloudanix for CIS Security

The CIS controls aren’t laws — but they are trusted industry standards. Cloudanix enables your organization to adopt these best practices effortlessly, thanks to our automated audit engine, real-time alerts, and misconfiguration checks. For example, our AWS IAM audits include rules to check MFA on users and rotate access keys regularly — aligned with CIS 1.2 and 1.3. Reports let you know if you’re violating any controls and help guide remediation.

Cloudanix Makes CIS Compliance Easy

Get instant visibility and smart automation to manage your CIS controls in cloud environments.

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Your questions around CIS answered.

Frequently Asked Questions

Learn more about the Center for Internet Security (CIS), its controls, benchmarks, and how it helps your organization stay secure and compliant in the cloud.

The CIS Top 20 Critical Security Controls are a set of prioritized best practices developed by the Center for Internet Security (previously SANS Top 20). These controls are designed to help organizations defend against the most pervasive and dangerous modern cyber threats.
Some foundational CIS controls include: Inventory and Control of Enterprise Assets, Inventory and Control of Software Assets, Data Protection, Secure Configuration, Account Management, Continuous Vulnerability Management, Audit Log Management, and Malware Defenses.
CIS Benchmarks are expert-developed configuration guidelines for securely setting up IT systems, software, and networks. These benchmarks are maintained by a global community of cybersecurity professionals and are widely adopted across industries.
The CIS Risk Assessment Method (CIS-RAM) helps organizations evaluate their cybersecurity practices and implement appropriate security measures. It supports risk-based decision-making and aligns your security posture with CIS best practices.