Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

Infrastructure as Code treats infrastructure configuration like software code—versioned, tested, and deployed through automated pipelines.

Popular IaC tools

• Terraform: Cloud-agnostic, declarative, state-based.
• AWS CloudFormation: AWS-native, JSON/YAML templates.
• Azure Bicep/ARM: Azure-native infrastructure templates.
• Pulumi: General-purpose languages (Python, TypeScript, Go).
• Ansible: Procedural, agentless configuration management.

Security benefits

• Version control: Track all infrastructure changes in Git.
• Peer review: Pull requests catch misconfigurations before deployment.
• Consistency: Eliminate configuration drift between environments.
• Auditability: Complete history of who changed what and when.
• Rapid recovery: Recreate infrastructure from code after incidents.

Security risks to manage

• Secrets in code: Never commit credentials; use secret managers.
• State file exposure: Terraform state contains sensitive data.
• Overly permissive defaults: Review resource configurations carefully.
• Drift detection: Monitor for out-of-band changes.

Best practices

1. Store state remotely with encryption (S3, Azure Blob, GCS).
2. Use policy-as-code tools (OPA, Sentinel) for guardrails.
3. Scan IaC files with tools like Checkov, tfsec, or Terrascan.
4. Implement least-privilege for IaC pipeline service accounts.
5. Use modules for consistent, reusable configurations.