Is your AWS environment as secure as you think? 95% of reviews reveal high-risk flaws

In our experience of conducting AWS Well-Architected Reviews, we find at least one high-risk security issue in 95% of the environments we assess – issues that can lead to downtime, compliance failures or reputational damage if left unchecked.

That’s a startling figure, but it usually isn’t a sign of poor management. It’s simply the reality of running a modern, evolving business where blind spots can creep in more easily than you’d expect.

In this article, we’ll look at why these vulnerabilities appear so often, share three quick actions you can take today, and outline a clear path to building confidence in your AWS security.

Why security gaps are common

• Organic growth: An environment that starts small and scales quickly often outgrows its original security design. What’s acceptable for a startup is rarely secure enough for an enterprise. And even in new AWS environments, shortcuts taken to go live fast can leave misconfigurations – and vulnerabilities – in place from day one.
• Team changes: When a key DevOps or cloud specialist leaves, valuable knowledge can leave with them. Without a clear handover and consistent meaningful monitoring, security settings can be left unmanaged and processes forgotten.
• Inherited infrastructure: Taking on an AWS setup after a merger or acquisition brings unique challenges. You’re suddenly responsible for an environment you didn’t design, often with limited visibility of how it was built.

Your first three AWS security steps

The good news is you can strengthen your security posture right away. Think of these as useful starting points that reduce immediate risk, but not a substitute for the governance and continuous monitoring all well-governed businesses need.

1. Review your IAM policies

Identity and access management (IAM) controls who can do what in your account. Following the principle of least privilege – giving people and applications only the access they absolutely need – reduces the risk of accidental or malicious breaches. A short review often uncovers overly broad permissions that are easy to fix.

2. Enable AWS Security Hub

If you’re not already using it, Security Hub pulls all your security alerts into a single dashboard. Instead of juggling multiple tools, your team sees the full picture at a glance, helping them focus on high-priority issues and spend less time chasing alerts.

3. Implement AWS Web Application Firewall (WAF)

If you have a public-facing website or application, WAF is essential. It blocks common exploits like SQL injection and cross-site scripting that could disrupt your service or compromise customer data.

From quick fixes to clear action plan

While these checks are a great first step, real long-term resilience and security come from understanding the bigger picture.

AWS Well-Architected Review provides a full health check of your environment against the latest AWS best practices. The process is designed to uncover hidden risks and find opportunities to improve security, reliability and performance.

Instead of a long, complicated report, you get a clear, prioritised action plan that shows you exactly what to fix and why. This structured approach is designed with enterprises in mind – from meeting compliance requirements like Cyber Essentials and ISO 27001 to ensuring resilience and cost efficiency at scale.

At Zen, our AWS-certified experts go beyond identifying risks. We work alongside your team to resolve them quickly, drawing on years of AWS Partner experience and more than 50 AWS certifications across security, networking and architecture. With one of only 15 AWS security SMEs worldwide and no sales commissions, our advice is always impartial and in your best interest.

Beyond the here-and-now, Zen’s Managed AWS Services provide continuous monitoring and expert management to keep your environment secure and efficient over the long term.

The best security is proactive

Hidden risks are common in AWS, but they’re entirely fixable with the right help. Understanding where your vulnerabilities are is the first step toward building a more resilient and secure business.

Are you concerned you might be in the 95%? Start reducing risk and strengthening compliance with a complimentary AWS Well-Architected Review from Zen.