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S3 exposure and data protection

What is this lab?​

A hands-on Amazon S3 lab for reviewing buckets and objects through a security lens: public exposure, bucket policies, ACLs, block public access, encryption, logging, versioning, and related controls.

What you will learn​

  • How buckets, objects, and policies interact to allow or deny access
  • Finding public or overly broad exposure via policies, ACLs, and settings
  • Encryption, versioning, and logging as part of a data-protection story
  • Practical review workflows for storage risk in AWS

Prerequisites​

Tools​

  • Web browser and access to the AWS console or lab portal

Knowledge​

  • Basic S3 concepts (bucket, object, prefix)

Launch the lab​

Open S3 exposure and protection in CSN Labs →

Getting started​

  1. Start the lab and open the console or portal URL provided.
  2. List buckets and sample objects relevant to the exercise.
  3. Inspect block public access, bucket policies, ACLs, and encryption settings before drawing conclusions.

How to use this lab​

  • Reconcile bucket-level and object-level settings; neither alone tells the full story.
  • Note how public access block settings interact with policies and ACLs.
  • Record findings as: bucket or object, issue, data at risk, recommended control.

Challenge themes​

  • Recon — what is stored and how is it reachable?
  • Public exposure — policies and ACLs that widen access
  • Encryption — server-side encryption coverage and key usage
  • Logging and versioning — visibility and recovery readiness
  • Hardening — least privilege, restricted policies, monitoring

Scenarios​

Scenario walkthroughs for this lab will be added here over time.

Safety and ethics​

Use only accounts and data you are authorized to assess.

References​