AWS Password Exposure Remediation

Learn how to fix password exposures in AWS environments. Follow step-by-step guidance for PCI-DSS compliance.

data exposure

PCI-DSS

aws

Why It Matters

The core goal is to immediately remediate any exposed passwords within your AWS environment, ensuring unauthorized access is prevented and compliance requirements are met. Fixing password exposures in AWS is critical for organizations subject to PCI-DSS, as exposed credentials can lead to payment card data breaches and regulatory violations.

Primary Risk: Data exposure through compromised credentials

Relevant Regulation: PCI-DSS Payment Card Industry Security Standards

Swift remediation prevents credential abuse, secures your infrastructure, and maintains continuous compliance with industry standards.

Prerequisites

Permissions & Roles

  • AWS admin or IAM privileges
  • SecretsManager:, IAM:, CloudTrail:* permissions
  • Ability to modify EC2, RDS, and Lambda configurations

External Tools

  • AWS CLI
  • Cyera DSPM account
  • CloudFormation or Terraform

Prior Setup

  • AWS account with admin access
  • CloudTrail logging enabled
  • Incident response plan documented
  • Password exposure already identified

Introducing Cyera

Cyera is a modern Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) platform that discovers, classifies, and continuously monitors your sensitive data across cloud services. Using advanced AI and natural language processing (NLP) techniques, Cyera can identify hardcoded passwords, API keys, and secrets in code repositories, configuration files, and database records. By automating the remediation workflow for password exposures in AWS, Cyera ensures you can quickly rotate credentials and eliminate security gaps before they lead to breaches.

Step-by-Step Guide

1
Immediate containment and assessment

Disable or rotate any exposed credentials immediately. Use AWS CloudTrail to identify if compromised credentials were used for unauthorized activities.

aws iam update-access-key --access-key-id AKIA... --status Inactive --user-name compromised-user

2
Migrate to AWS Secrets Manager

In the Cyera portal, review identified hardcoded passwords and create corresponding secrets in AWS Secrets Manager. Configure automatic rotation policies for database credentials and API keys.

3
Update applications and configurations

Modify application code, Lambda functions, and EC2 instances to retrieve credentials from Secrets Manager instead of using hardcoded values. Update CI/CD pipelines to prevent future exposures.

4
Implement monitoring and alerting

Configure CloudWatch alarms for unusual API activity, set up GuardDuty for threat detection, and establish continuous monitoring to detect future password exposures in real-time.

Architecture & Workflow

AWS Secrets Manager

Secure storage and automatic rotation of credentials

Cyera Scanner

AI-powered detection of exposed passwords and secrets

AWS CloudTrail

Audit trail for credential usage and remediation activities

Application Integration

Secure credential retrieval and automated rotation

Remediation Flow Summary

Identify Exposure → Contain & Rotate → Migrate to Secrets → Monitor & Alert

Best Practices & Tips

Rapid Response

  • Rotate credentials within 1 hour of detection
  • Check CloudTrail for unauthorized usage
  • Document all remediation activities

Secrets Management

  • Use IAM roles instead of long-term keys
  • Enable automatic rotation for RDS credentials
  • Implement least-privilege access policies

Common Pitfalls

  • Forgetting to check Git history for exposed secrets
  • Not updating all application instances simultaneously
  • Failing to revoke old credentials after rotation

References & Further Reading

Next Steps

🛡️ Prevent: Implement password security controls 🔍 Detect: Continuous monitoring for password exposures