A company is using AWS to run digital workloads.

Amazon Web Services DOP-C02 Question Answer

A company is using AWS to run digital workloads. Each application team in the company has its own AWS account for application hosting. The accounts are consolidated in an organization in AWS Organizations.

The company wants to enforce security standards across the entire organization. To avoid noncompliance because of security misconfiguration, the company has enforced the use of AWS CloudFormation. A production support team can modify resources in the production environment by using the AWS Management Console to troubleshoot and resolve application-related issues.

A DevOps engineer must implement a solution to identify in near real time any AWS service misconfiguration that results in noncompliance. The solution must automatically remediate the issue within 15 minutes of identification. The solution also must track noncompliant resources and events in a centralized dashboard with accurate timestamps.

Which solution will meet these requirements with the LEAST development overhead?

Use CloudFormation drift detection to identify noncompliant resources. Use drift detection events from CloudFormation to invoke an AWS Lambda function for remediation. Configure the Lambda function to publish logs to an Amazon CloudWatch Logs log group. Configure an Amazon CloudWatch dashboard to use the log group for tracking.

Turn on AWS CloudTrail in the AWS accounts. Analyze CloudTrail logs by using Amazon Athena to identify noncompliant resources. Use AWS Step Functions to track query results on Athena for drift detection and to invoke an AWS Lambda function for remediation. For tracking, set up an Amazon QuickSight dashboard that uses Athena as the data source.

Turn on the configuration recorder in AWS Config in all the AWS accounts to identify noncompliant resources. Enable AWS Security Hub with the ~no-enable-default-standards option in all the AWS accounts. Set up AWS Config managed rules and custom rules. Set up automatic remediation by using AWS Config conformance packs. For tracking, set up a dashboard on Security Hub in a designated Security Hub administrator account.

Turn on AWS CloudTrail in the AWS accounts. Analyze CloudTrail logs by using Amazon CloudWatch Logs to identify noncompliant resources. Use CloudWatch Logs filters for drift detection. Use Amazon EventBridge to invoke the Lambda function for remediation. Stream filtered CloudWatch logs to Amazon OpenSearch Service. Set up a dashboard on OpenSearch Service for tracking.

Explanation:

The best solution is to use AWS Config and AWS Security Hub to identify and remediate noncompliant resources across multiple AWS accounts. AWS Config enables continuous monitoring of the configuration of AWS resources and evaluates them against desired configurations. AWS Config can also automatically remediate noncompliant resources by using conformance packs, which are a collection of AWS Config rules and remediation actions that can be deployed as a single entity. AWS Security Hub provides a comprehensive view of the security posture of AWS accounts and resources. AWS Security Hub can aggregate and normalize the findings from AWS Config and other AWS services, as well as from partner solutions. AWS Security Hub can also be used to create a dashboard for tracking noncompliant resources and events in a centralized location.

The other options are not optimal because they either require more development overhead, do not provide near real time detection and remediation, or do not provide a centralized dashboard for tracking.

Option A is not optimal because CloudFormation drift detection is not a near real time solution. Drift detection has to be manually initiated on each stack or resource, or scheduled using a cron expression. Drift detection also does not provide remediation actions, so a custom Lambda function has to be developed and invoked. CloudWatch Logs and dashboard can be used for tracking, but they do not provide a comprehensive view of the security posture of the AWS accounts and resources.

Option B is not optimal because CloudTrail logs analysis using Athena is not a near real time solution. Athena queries have to be manually run or scheduled using a cron expression. Athena also does not provide remediation actions, so a custom Lambda function has to be developed and invoked. Step Functions can be used to orchestrate the query and remediation workflow, but it adds more complexity and cost. QuickSight dashboard can be used for tracking, but it does not provide a comprehensive view of the security posture of the AWS accounts and resources.

Option D is not optimal because CloudTrail logs analysis using CloudWatch Logs is not a near real time solution. CloudWatch Logs filters have to be manually created or updated for each resource type and configuration change. CloudWatch Logs also does not provide remediation actions, so a custom Lambda function has to be developed and invoked. EventBridge can be used to trigger the Lambda function, but it adds more complexity and cost. OpenSearch Service dashboard can be used for tracking, but it does not provide a comprehensive view of the security posture of the AWS accounts and resources.

AWS Config conformance packs

Introducing AWS Config conformance packs

Managing conformance packs across all accounts in your organization

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