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Checks that AWS users do not have IAM policies attached directly.

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About

When you connect Amazon Web Services (AWS) to DSALTA, the platform syncs your users, roles, and access settings using read-only API access. DSALTA evaluates this control on every sync. If the requirement is not met, DSALTA activates this check.

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Why This Matters

Permissions attached directly to users, stale credentials, and root-account usage all expand your blast radius and make access hard to audit. Managing access through groups and roles under least privilege is a core control in SOC 2 and the CIS Benchmarks.

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How to Fix

Before you begin
  • Ensure you have IAM admin permissions in the AWS account.
Move user policies to groups
  1. Sign in to the AWS Console and navigate to IAM → Users.
  2. For each user with a directly attached policy, identify or create an appropriate IAM group for their role.
  3. Attach the policy to the group, add the user to the group, then detach the directly attached policy from the user.
  4. Confirm the user still has the access they need through group membership.
Once no users have directly attached policies, DSALTA retrieves the change on the next sync and sets the check status to Passing.

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Frequently Asked Questions

This check runs automatically every 24 hours while the Amazon Web Services (AWS) integration is connected. You can also trigger a manual sync from Integrations in the sidebar.
A failing check appears in your Data Library → Tests dashboard. Work through the steps above; once the underlying configuration is fixed, the status updates automatically on the next sync.
Yes. If it does not apply to your environment, mark it as Not Applicable with a justification. The exclusion is documented for auditors.
No. DSALTA uses read-only API access and never modifies, creates, or deletes resources. All remediation is performed by your team directly in Amazon Web Services (AWS).