Zero Trust Infrastructure as Code

Zero Trust Infrastructure as Code

Zero trust principles increasingly influence IaC security designs. Future IaC patterns will embed zero trust concepts like continuous verification, least privilege, and assume breach into infrastructure definitions. Every resource interaction will require explicit authorization, with no implicit trust based on network location or previous authentication.

Microsegmentation through IaC enables granular security boundaries around individual workloads. Network policies, service meshes, and identity-based controls create multiple security layers. Future IaC tools will automatically generate these microsegmentation configurations based on application communication patterns and security requirements.

# Zero Trust IaC Patterns
module "zero_trust_network" {
  source = "./modules/zero-trust-network"
  
  # No implicit trust between any resources
  default_security_rule = "deny_all"
  
  # Explicit allow rules with continuous verification
  communication_policies = [
    {
      source      = module.frontend.identity
      destination = module.api.identity
      protocol    = "https"
      port        = 443
      authentication = "mutual_tls"
      authorization = "oauth2"
      continuous_verification = {
        interval = "5m"
        checks = [
          "certificate_validity",
          "device_compliance",
          "user_risk_score",
          "anomaly_detection"
        ]
      }
    }
  ]
  
  # Identity-based perimeter
  identity_perimeter = {
    require_managed_device = true
    require_mfa = true
    require_location_check = true
    session_duration = "1h"
    
    risk_based_access = {
      low_risk    = "full_access"
      medium_risk = "read_only"
      high_risk   = "deny"
    }
  }
}

# Ephemeral Infrastructure with Zero Standing Privileges
resource "aws_iam_role" "ephemeral_access" {
  name = "ephemeral-infrastructure-role"
  
  # No permanent permissions
  assume_role_policy = jsonencode({
    Version = "2012-10-17"
    Statement = [{
      Effect = "Allow"
      Principal = {
        Federated = "arn:aws:iam::${data.aws_caller_identity.current.account_id}:oidc-provider/auth.example.com"
      }
      Action = "sts:AssumeRoleWithWebIdentity"
      Condition = {
        StringEquals = {
          "auth.example.com:aud" = "infrastructure-automation"
        }
        NumberLessThan = {
          "auth.example.com:auth_time" = "${timestamp() + 3600}" # 1 hour max
        }
      }
    }]
  })
  
  # Permissions granted just-in-time through dynamic policies
  max_session_duration = 3600
}