IAM Analyzer
Identity and access management insights
read time
audience
9/4/2025
difficulty
TL;DR
What it is
Automatically scans your AWS environment to find users and systems with dangerous permissions — like developers who can access customer data or service accounts with admin rights
Why it matters
81% of data breaches involve compromised credentials. IAM Analyzer finds over-privileged access before attackers do
Quick action
Connect your AWS account (read-only) and get a risk assessment in 5 minutes showing exactly who has excessive access
Problems IAM Analyzer solves
🚨 Common IAM Security Problems
"We don't know who has access to what" — Common in fast-growing SMBs where permissions accumulate over time
"Former employees still have access" — Analyzer flags inactive accounts and orphaned permissions
"Our developers need admin for testing" — Shows safe alternatives to giving broad admin rights
"Compliance auditors always find access issues" — Pre-identifies problems before expensive audit findings
"We can't tell if someone's account got compromised" — Monitors for unusual privilege escalations
What you'll see in your first scan
High-Risk Users
(typically 20-40% of accounts)
- Developers with production database access
- Service accounts using wildcard permissions (*:*)
- Users with both read and delete capabilities on sensitive data
- Cross-account roles that allow external access
Over-Permissive Roles
(usually 60-80% need attention)
- Lambda functions that can access all S3 buckets
- EC2 instances with unnecessary admin privileges
- Applications with broader permissions than their actual usage
- Backup systems that can modify (not just read) production data
How IAM attacks work (and how Analyzer stops them)
Traditional attack path
- 1Attacker compromises one user account (phishing, password reuse, etc.)
- 2Discovers the account has broader access than expected
- 3Uses legitimate permissions to access sensitive systems
- 4Escalates privileges using over-permissive roles
- 5Moves laterally through the environment without triggering alerts
With IAM Analyzer
- Prevention:Identifies over-privileged accounts before they're compromised
- Detection:Alerts when permissions are used outside normal patterns
- Evidence:Documents all access for compliance and forensics
- Remediation:Provides exact steps to implement least-privilege access
What IAM Analyzer monitors continuously
IAM Risk Detection Capabilities
Scan for users with admin privileges who rarely use them
Identify service accounts with wildcard permissions
Flag inactive accounts with persistent access
Monitor cross-account role assumptions
Track privilege escalation attempts
Analyze actual vs. granted permissions
Free vs. Full feature comparison
What's Included in Free vs. Paid Plans
- Basic IAM risk scan (up to 50 users) — FREE
- Over-privileged user identification — FREE
- PDF compliance report — FREE
- Real-time privilege escalation alerts — FULL
- Automated least-privilege recommendations — FULL
- Usage-based permission rightsizing — FULL
- Multi-account monitoring — FULL
- Integration with incident response tools — FULL
Compliance frameworks IAM Analyzer supports
Step-by-step: Using IAM Analyzer
See it in Securitain
Initial Setup (5 minutes)
Connect your AWS account with read-only permissions
- 1Click 'Connect AWS Account' → Follow the CloudFormation deployment
- 2Grant read-only IAM permissions (no write access to your systems)
- 3Run initial scan → Review discovered users and roles
- 4Download baseline report for your security records
Daily Operations (2 minutes/day)
Monitor new risks and track improvements
- 1Check the Risk Dashboard for new high-priority findings
- 2Review any privilege escalation alerts from the past 24 hours
- 3Approve or investigate any unusual access pattern notifications
- 4Track progress on implementing least-privilege recommendations
Compliance Reporting (monthly)
Generate evidence for auditors and assessments
- 1Navigate to Compliance → Select your framework (SOC 2, HIPAA, etc.)
- 2Export attestation PDF showing current IAM control status
- 3Review remediation progress and update risk register
- 4Schedule quarterly access reviews based on analyzer findings
Pricing & plans
🎯 IAM Analyzer Pricing
FREE FOREVER
Free Plan
$0/month
- ✓ Manual scans
- ✓ Basic over-privilege detection
- ✓ Up to 50 IAM users
- ✓ Email alerts
MOST POPULAR
Standard Plan
$19.99/month
- ✓ Weekly automated scans
- ✓ Unlimited IAM users
- ✓ HIPAA + CIS compliance
- ✓ Real-time alerts
- ✓ Priority support
ENTERPRISE
Premium Plan
$49.99/month
- ✓ Daily automated scans
- ✓ Multi-account monitoring
- ✓ SOC2 + ISO + NIST frameworks
- ✓ Slack/Teams integration
- ✓ API access
💡 Annual billing saves 2 months free • Seats pooled per organization • 14-day trials available
Getting started checklist
Before You Begin
Prerequisites: AWS account with admin access (to deploy read-only monitoring). Time required: 10 minutes for setup, 20 minutes to review initial findings.
Quick Wins (First Week)
- Identify obvious over-privileged accounts (usually 5-10 users need immediate attention)
- Remove admin access from developers (set up temporary escalation instead)
- Disable inactive accounts (typically 10-20% of accounts in growing SMBs)
- Document findings for compliance (export PDF for your security documentation)
Sources & References
- 1.AWS IAM Best Practices
Official AWS guidance on access management
- 2.NIST SP 800-53: Access Control (AC)
Federal standards for access control
- 3.Verizon DBIR 2024: Credential Compromise Statistics
Source for breach statistics involving compromised credentials
- 4.AWS Security Audit Guidelines
Framework for conducting IAM security assessments
Connect your AWS account in 5 minutes and see exactly which users and systems have dangerous permissions
Start your free IAM risk assessmentReady to get started?
Transform your security posture with enterprise-grade tools designed for growing businesses.
No credit card required • Free forever • Setup in 5 minutes