AWS security is one layer of defense. Continue on the Cybersecurity track for threat modeling, secure SDLC, encryption in transit, incident response, and compliance frameworks that wrap cloud skills.
What you built on AWS
- IAM identity and least privilege
- Network segmentation with VPC and security groups
- Data protection with S3 encryption and RDS private access
- Observability with CloudWatch
What Cybersecurity adds
- OWASP Top 10 for web apps on top of EC2/Lambda
- Secrets management culture beyond AWS mechanics
- Supply chain security for CI/CD dependencies
- Detection, response, and forensics when breaches occur
- Compliance mappings (SOC 2, GDPR awareness)
Defense in depth diagram (mental model)
Internet → WAF / CloudFront (edge) → ALB + TLS → App (input validation, auth) → Private RDS (encrypted) → IAM + KMS + logging + alerts
Each layer assumes others can fail—no single control is sufficient.
Forward link
Start Cybersecurity introduction next. Keep sandbox accounts for AWS experiments separate from production identity providers and payment methods where possible.
Practice: Review prior modules, then answer interview prompts without notes. Optional: sketch a three-tier architecture on paper (ALB, EC2, RDS, S3).
Important interview questions and answers
- Q: Defense in depth?
A: Multiple independent security layers so one failure does not expose everything. - Q: AWS vs app security?
A: AWS secures hypervisor and physical data centers; you secure application code, auth, and data handling.
Self-check
- Name two topics the Cybersecurity track adds beyond IAM.
- What is defense in depth?
Next: Continue to Cybersecurity intro for OWASP and incident response.
Interview prep
- Defense in depth?
Multiple security layers so single control failure does not expose all assets.
- Next track?
/cybersecurity/intro for OWASP, incident response, and compliance beyond AWS mechanics.