IAM Role
A security identity used in AWS that grants permissions to perform actions on AWS resources.
Description
In the context of Amazon Web Services (AWS), an IAM Role is a set of permissions that define what actions are allowed or denied on specific resources. Unlike IAM users, roles are not associated with a specific person or service. Instead, they can be assumed by anyone who needs them, such as AWS services, applications, or users from external accounts. IAM Roles enable temporary access to AWS resources, which is particularly useful for applications running on Amazon EC2 instances, AWS Lambda functions, or containers that need to interact with other AWS services without embedding long-term access keys in the code. For example, an EC2 instance running a web application can assume a role that allows it to read from an S3 bucket, thus effectively managing permissions while enhancing security by reducing the risk of credential leaks. Roles can also be used in cross-account access scenarios, allowing resources in one AWS account to interact with resources in another account securely.
Examples
- An EC2 instance assuming a role to access an S3 bucket for storing application logs.
- A Lambda function using a role to read from a DynamoDB table and write to another S3 bucket.
Additional Information
- IAM Roles are typically used in scenarios requiring temporary access, thus minimizing the risk of credential exposure.
- Roles can be assumed by AWS services as well as by users or applications, making them versatile for managing permissions.