Identifying AWS shadow IT resources

Shadow IT in AWS refers to ad hoc resources created by DevOps teams that often lack proper management and documentation, leading to challenges in maintaining and securing infrastructure. These resources can include virtual machines, S3 buckets, and virtual private clouds, typically created through the AWS web console without standardized naming or tagging conventions. The lack of information about these resources, such as ownership, purpose, and application details, poses security risks and complicates troubleshooting and management. To address these issues, it is essential to implement a consistent tagging strategy that identifies the team responsible, the deployment project, and the environment associated with each resource. Additionally, using declarative templates like CloudFormation for resource creation helps manage infrastructure by allowing for easier recreation and detection of unauthorized changes. Scripts can be utilized to identify resources lacking the necessary tags or those not created by CloudFormation templates, thereby helping to manage and bring shadow IT resources under control. This approach not only enhances the visibility and accountability of resources but also facilitates the effective scaling of infrastructure.