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Cloud Computing · Foundational

IAM Policy

JSON document defining permissions with Effect, Action, Resource and optional Condition elements.

Definition

IAM policies include identity-based policies (attached to users, groups or roles, either AWS managed, customer managed or inline), resource-based policies, permissions boundaries, SCPs, RCPs and session policies. Each statement allows or denies actions on resources, optionally under conditions such as source IP, MFA presence or tags.

Example

{"Effect":"Allow","Action":"s3:GetObject","Resource":"arn:aws:s3:::reports/*"} grants read access to objects in a bucket.

Exam tip

Know the difference: AWS managed policies are maintained by AWS, customer managed are reusable, and inline policies are embedded in one identity.

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