Introduction to Control Groups:
Control Groups are pivotal in governing access and permissions within HashiCorp's HCP (HashiCorp Cloud Platform) Vault, ensuring robust security practices for sensitive data and resources. This knowledge article serves as an in-depth resource for both HashiCorp employees and the general public, offering insights into Control Groups' purpose, configuration intricacies, and best practices for optimized access control.
Prerequisites:
Access to HCP Vault: HCP Vault cluster with access to UI & CLI both.
Understanding of Access Control Concepts: Recommend familiarity with access control concepts, including policies, permissions, and role-based access control (RBAC).
Steps:
By following these steps, you can effectively implement Control Groups in HCP Vault to manage access permissions and enhance security within your Vault environment.
https://developer.hashicorp.com/vault/tutorials/enterprise/control-groups#lab-setup
Access HCP Vault Console:
Log in to your HCP Vault account and navigate to the Vault console/dashboard.
Navigate to Control Groups Section:
Look for the Control Groups section in the Vault console. This may be located under the access management or permissions settings.
Create a New Control Group:
Click on the option to create a new Control Group. You'll typically find a button or link for this action.
Provide a descriptive name for the Control Group, following any naming conventions recommended for consistency.
Define Membership:
Once the Control Group is created, add members to it. Members can be individual users, service accounts, or other entities.
Specify the permissions or access level that members of this Control Group should have within the Vault environment.
Set Up Policies:
Define policies that govern the access permissions for the Control Group. These policies determine what actions members of the Control Group can perform within the Vault.
Attach the defined policies to the Control Group, ensuring that members are subject to the specified access restrictions.
Review and Test:
Before deploying the Control Group into production, review the membership list and associated policies to ensure they align with your security and access control requirements.
Test the Control Group by assigning it to a test user or application and verifying that the access permissions are enforced as expected.
Deploy and Monitor:
Once you're satisfied with the setup and testing, deploy the Control Group into your production environment.
Monitor the Control Group's performance and usage regularly, making adjustments to membership or policies as needed to maintain optimal access control.
Limitations & Considerations:
For read and list operations, when CG is implemented, we get this prompt:
For creation/deletion/update operations, we get this prompt:
Users should not get confused between these two separate prompts, the method to perform the capabilities remains the same.