Prevention Strategies

Prevention Strategies

Preventing IaC vulnerabilities requires multiple complementary approaches. Security scanning in CI/CD pipelines catches issues before deployment. Policy as Code enforces organizational standards automatically. Security-approved module libraries provide pre-validated configurations. Regular security training helps developers understand vulnerability patterns.

Default-secure templates provide safe starting points for infrastructure. These templates encode security best practices, requiring developers to explicitly remove protections rather than remember to add them. Version-controlled template libraries ensure teams use current, secure configurations.

Regular security assessments of deployed infrastructure validate that IaC configurations actually provide intended security. Penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, and compliance audits verify security controls work correctly. Findings from these assessments feed back into IaC improvements, creating a continuous security improvement cycle.

Infrastructure as Code vulnerabilities can have devastating consequences, but they're largely preventable through proper practices and tooling. Understanding common vulnerability patterns enables teams to build secure infrastructure by default. The next chapter explores implementing secure GitOps practices, ensuring security throughout the infrastructure deployment lifecycle.