AWS is stepping up their security game by making Multi Factor Authentication (MFA) mandatory for users signing in to root accounts. The new feature is expected to be rolled out by mid 2024 with affected users being notified via e-mail channels.

This is a welcome change that probably should have been implemented since day 1. As I've mentioned in previous newsletters and YouTube videos, the amount of users that suffer from inexplicable "hacks" to their AWS account is frighteningly large. This new enforcement of MFA on root is a step in the right direction, but won't protect you from all security vulnerabilities such as accidentally leaking your access/secret keys to github—whoops!

For those of you who don't already have MFA enabled, you absolutely should—and not just for your root account, but for ALL your accounts. There's an easy way to get this set up using your Cell Phone and the Google Authenticator app (iOS link, Android link). Here's an old tutorial video walking you through the process of setting MFA up. Note that the exact UI interface may have changed but the concepts remain the same.

Using Google Authenticator is an easy way to get started at no additional cost, but this will require a couple of extra phone taps that can get annoying—especially if you're like me and like to keep your cell phone in another room to avoid distractions.

If you're looking for more convenient hardware based alternatives take a look at Yubikeys. These little gems plug directly into your USB for easy access. When prompted to provide your MFA, you simply long-press your Yubikey and it auto-fills the input. They cost about $50 USD for the cheapest one but are much more convenient than needing to use a Cellphone. I've been using Yubikeys for the past 5 years and I can't speak more highly of them.

Now here's a recap of the most notable videos published in the past few weeks.

Video Recaps

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As mentioned in my previous newsletter, Amazon Bedrock — AWS' generative AI service, is now generally available. In this video, I walk you through the console and get you set up using the playground execution mode. I also show you how to invoke one of Bedrock's models programmatically using boto3 and Python.

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If you've every wondered how big tech companies organize themselves to build large software projects, give this video a watch. In it, I walk through the process of how these companies are structured, the ideation process (top down vs bottom up), and the actual steps used to scope and develop projects that cut across multiple teams.

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