More Info:

Password policy should be complex enough so that users can set passwords which are not easy to guess and crack.

Risk Level

Medium

Address

Security

Compliance Standards

HIPAA, ISO27001, PCIDSS, GDPR, CISAWS, CBP, NIST, HITRUST, AWSWAF, SOC2, NISTCSF

Triage and Remediation

How to Prevent

To prevent the misconfiguration of not having a complex password policy in AWS IAM using the AWS Management Console, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to IAM Dashboard:

    • Sign in to the AWS Management Console.
    • In the top navigation bar, click on “Services” and then select “IAM” under the “Security, Identity, & Compliance” section.
  2. Access Account Settings:

    • In the IAM dashboard, on the left-hand side, click on “Account settings.”
  3. Set Password Policy:

    • In the “Password policy” section, click on the “Set password policy” button.
    • Configure the password policy settings to enforce complexity. Ensure you enable options such as:
      • Require at least one uppercase letter.
      • Require at least one lowercase letter.
      • Require at least one number.
      • Require at least one non-alphanumeric character (e.g., !, @, #, $).
  4. Save Changes:

    • After configuring the desired settings, click on the “Save changes” button to apply the new password policy.

By following these steps, you can ensure that a complex password policy is enforced for IAM users in your AWS account.

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