Lesson 1 of 10

Cloud Computing & Shared Responsibility

Before you can secure the cloud, you need to understand how it works and who is responsible for what. This lesson covers the three major cloud service models — IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS — and the shared responsibility model that defines the security boundary between the cloud provider and the customer. You will learn how misunderstanding this boundary is the root cause of most cloud breaches, and how to map your security obligations for each service model.

Learning Objectives — Deep Dive

Each objective below is broken down into plain English so you know exactly what you are learning, why it matters, and what you will be able to do when you are done. Mark each one complete as you work through the lesson.

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In plain English

This is asking you to build a clear mental model of the concept — not just memorize a definition, but genuinely understand what it means, why it exists, and how it connects to everything else you are learning. When you can explain "IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS service models and their security implications" in your own words to someone who has never heard of it, you have truly learned it.

Why this matters

This objective builds a foundational skill that every security professional uses regularly. Mastering it gives you the vocabulary, mental models, and practical ability to tackle more advanced topics with confidence — and to communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical colleagues.

Real-world analogy

Think of it like learning to drive. You do not need to understand how the engine works to drive safely, but knowing the basics helps you diagnose problems and avoid mistakes that could cause accidents. The same principle applies here — foundational knowledge prevents costly errors.

What you will be able to do

Apply this skill in a real lab environment, explain it clearly to a colleague or client, and use it as a building block for the more advanced techniques that come later in this course.

Beginner tip

Do not try to memorize everything at once. Read through the material once to get the big picture, then go back and work through the lab. The hands-on practice is what makes the concepts stick — passive reading alone will not get you there.

Cloud Computing & Shared Responsibility · Objective 1 of 4

VIDEO

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Map your workload to a service model

List each component of your application and classify it as IaaS, PaaS, or SaaS to determine your security responsibilities.

Verify root account MFA

Log into the AWS console and confirm the root account has MFA enabled and no active access keys.

aws iam get-account-summary --query "SummaryMap.AccountMFAEnabled"

Run a Well-Architected check

Use Prowler to audit your account against the AWS Well-Architected Security Pillar.

prowler aws --compliance aws_well_architected_framework_security_aws

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