Drift Detection and Compliance Monitoring

Drift Detection and Compliance Monitoring

CloudFormation drift detection identifies when actual resource configurations diverge from template definitions. This drift might indicate manual changes, failed updates, or potential security incidents. Regular drift detection ensures infrastructure remains in its intended secure state.

AWS Config integration enables continuous compliance monitoring for CloudFormation-managed resources. Config rules can validate that resources maintain required security configurations throughout their lifecycle. When resources drift from compliance, Config can trigger automatic remediation through Lambda functions or Systems Manager documents.

Stack policies provide an additional security layer by restricting update actions on critical resources. These JSON policies prevent accidental or malicious modifications to production resources, even by users with CloudFormation permissions. Stack policies are particularly important for protecting stateful resources like databases or resources with complex recovery procedures.