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Section 12: Monitoring, Detection, and Response with AWS Services

Maintaining security in AWS—especially for government and classified workloads—requires ongoing monitoring, automated threat detection, and strong incident response.

1. Monitoring with AWS CloudWatch​

Summary:
Centralizes metrics and logs from AWS resources. Sends alerts when thresholds or anomalies are detected.

Key Features:

  • Metrics & dashboards for resource health
  • Logs for audit and forensics
  • Alarms for immediate notifications

2. Threat Detection with AWS Security Services​

Summary:
Automates threat identification and compliance across AWS accounts. Aggregates security findings and prioritizes risks.

Key Services:

  • Security Hub: Central dashboard for findings & compliance.
  • GuardDuty: ML-powered threat detection.
  • Inspector: Vulnerability scans.
  • Config: Configuration compliance checks.
  • WAF & Shield: Web exploit and DDoS protection.

3. Incident Response and Operations​

Summary:
Logs actions, investigates breaches, and automates response tasks.

Key Services:

  • CloudTrail: Tracks all actions for audits.
  • Systems Manager: Executes commands, gathers evidence, applies patches securely.

Integration:
SIEM/SOAR platforms connect for centralized incident analysis and automated workflows.

Best Practice:
Enforce least privilege. Automate monitoring and response. Integrate all logs and alerts for unified security and compliance.