Introduction
AWS offers multiple compliance and configuration management tools, and they often overlap. For SMBs, the question isn't "which one should we use?" — it's "how do we use them together effectively?"
AWS Config Rules and Security Hub serve distinct but complementary roles. Let's break them down — and show how Securitain unifies both under one dashboard.
AWS Config: Continuous Compliance
AWS Config continuously evaluates your AWS resources against desired configurations using Config Rules.
Example Config Rules:
- S3 buckets should not be public
- EC2 volumes must be encrypted
- IAM users must have MFA enabled
- RDS instances must have backup retention enabled
These are precise, real-time checks that trigger notifications when a rule is violated.
AWS Security Hub: Posture Management
Security Hub aggregates findings from multiple AWS services (GuardDuty, Config, Inspector) and benchmarks them against frameworks like CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark and NIST 800-53.
What Security Hub Provides:
Centralized Dashboard
Single pane of glass for all security findings
Compliance Scores
Automated scoring against industry frameworks
Cross-Service Integration
Correlates findings from GuardDuty, Config, Macie, and Inspector
Automated Insights
Prioritizes findings by severity and compliance impact
Where Config shows specific resource misconfigurations, Security Hub provides high-level compliance posture.
When to Use Which
Use AWS Config For:
- • Granular configuration checks
- • Real-time compliance monitoring
- • Custom rule creation
- • Resource-specific audits
- • Configuration history tracking
Use Security Hub For:
- • Organization-wide visibility
- • Framework compliance scoring
- • Multi-service aggregation
- • Executive reporting
- • Threat intelligence correlation
Best Practice:
Integrate both for end-to-end governance. Use Config for granular checks and Security Hub for organization-wide compliance posture.
How Securitain Brings Them Together
Securitain connects to both services, correlating Config rule violations with Security Hub control scores. The result: a single view showing not only what's wrong, but how it impacts compliance.
Unified Dashboard
See Config rules and Security Hub findings in one place
Compliance Mapping
Automatically map findings to HIPAA, SOC 2, ISO 27001, and more
AI-Powered Insights
Get natural language explanations of complex findings
Evidence Collection
Generate audit-ready reports with a single click
Conclusion
AWS Config and Security Hub aren't competitors — they're allies.
Use Securitain to unify them and simplify compliance across your organization.
Unify Your Compliance Tools
