11 - Ensure Root is not Used

Ensure the root user is not used to access the account

The user or email address that was used to create the AWS account is known as the root account. The root account has the highest privileges and should not be used except for setting the password policy. For this reason it is considered a security best practice to ensure the account is not used and monitor its usage. Ensuring that the root account is not used will help you with CIS and NIST Compliance.

Audit & Remediation

Login into your AWS account.
Navigate to the IAM service at: https://console.aws.amazon.com/iam
On the left hand panel, navigate to Access reports, the select Credential report.
Select the button Download Report.
Open up the excel spreadsheet that was downloaded and look for password_last_used attribute next to the root_account>user.

Repeat the outlined steps in each of your accounts.

See all of your AWS EC2 Instances in a single place!

Do you want to see all of your AWS EC2 Instances in once place for all regions and all accounts?
Login to our online demo to see exactly what this looks like.
demo.intelligentdiscovery.io

Other Key Features

Inventory

Consolidate your inventory management with consistent and frequent security logs, inventories, and change logs. Dashboard reporting for extensive analytical value.

learn more +

Cost & Usage

Access consolidated capacity, cost, and volume tools in a scaling environment without impacting production or breaking the bank.