Securing AWS Using CIS Foundations Benchmark Security Standard
AWS breaches cost organisations millions—and most stem from misconfigured security foundations. This course teaches you the CIS Benchmark standard that Fortune 500 companies use to audit and harden their AWS environments, giving you the framework to prevent costly vulnerabilities before they happen.
AIU.ac Verdict: Essential for cloud engineers, DevOps practitioners, and security-conscious architects who need to implement industry-standard AWS hardening. Best suited to those with basic AWS knowledge; the course assumes familiarity with core AWS services but doesn’t require prior CIS experience.
What This Course Covers
You’ll work through the CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark—a prescriptive security standard covering identity and access management, logging, networking, and compliance monitoring. The course breaks down each control into actionable steps: configuring IAM policies correctly, enabling CloudTrail and VPC Flow Logs, securing root accounts, and auditing your environment against the benchmark checklist. Darwin Sanoy walks you through real-world misconfigurations and how to spot them.
Hands-on labs let you apply controls in a live AWS sandbox, so you’re not just learning theory—you’re practising remediation. By the end, you’ll understand which CIS controls matter most for your risk profile, how to prioritise implementation, and how to document compliance for audits or certifications.
Who Is This Course For?
Ideal for:
- Cloud engineers and DevOps leads: Need to secure infrastructure at scale and meet compliance requirements without slowing deployment pipelines.
- AWS solutions architects: Advising clients on security posture and want to reference a recognised, vendor-neutral standard in recommendations.
- Security practitioners moving to cloud: Transitioning from on-premises security roles and need a structured framework for AWS-specific hardening.
May not suit:
- Complete AWS beginners: You’ll need foundational knowledge of EC2, IAM, and S3 first; this course assumes you can navigate the AWS console.
- Compliance auditors only: Focused on hands-on implementation rather than audit methodology or documentation workflows.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Securing AWS Using CIS Foundations Benchmark Security Standard take?
3 hours 11 minutes of video content. Most learners complete it in one or two sittings, though hands-on labs may add time depending on your pace.
Do I need AWS certification to take this course?
No certification required, but you should be comfortable navigating AWS services like IAM, EC2, and CloudTrail. Basic cloud knowledge is assumed.
Will this help me pass AWS security exams?
It’s excellent preparation for AWS Certified Security – Specialty and complements the Security Best Practices domain. CIS Benchmark knowledge is tested in advanced AWS certifications.
Can I use this in production immediately?
Yes. The course teaches controls you can implement right away, though you’ll want to test in non-production first and prioritise based on your risk profile.
Course by Darwin Sanoy on Pluralsight. Duration: 3h 11m. Last verified by AIU.ac: March 2026.
