Enable CloudWatch Alarm Action Rule
This rule ensures that CloudWatch alarm action is enabled for effective monitoring and response.
| Rule | CloudWatch alarm action should be enabled |
| Framework | NIST 800-53 Revision 4 |
| Severity | ✔ High |
Rule Description
The CloudWatch alarm action should be enabled for NIST 800-53 Revision 4 compliance requirements. This ensures that all alarms triggered by CloudWatch events can generate appropriate actions to be taken, ensuring compliance with the security standards set by NIST 800-53 Revision 4.
Troubleshooting Steps
- 1.Validate if the required CloudWatch alarm action is enabled.
- 2.Identify any errors or misconfigurations in the CloudWatch alarm configuration.
- 3.Verify whether the necessary permissions are granted for performing alarm actions.
Necessary Code
There is no specific code required for this rule. However, you may need to review and modify the CloudWatch alarm configuration as needed to enable the required actions.
Remediation Steps
Follow these step-by-step instructions to remediate the issue and enable the CloudWatch alarm actions for NIST 800-53 Revision 4 compliance:
- 1.Access the AWS Management Console.
- 2.Navigate to the CloudWatch service.
- 3.Select the "Alarms" option from the left-hand menu.
- 4.Identify the specific alarm that needs to have actions enabled for NIST 800-53 Revision 4.
- 5.Select the checkbox next to the alarm.
- 6.Click on the "Actions" dropdown menu and select "Enable actions" or "Modify actions".
- 7.Choose the appropriate action(s) to be taken when the alarm is triggered, such as sending notifications, invoking an AWS Lambda function, publishing to an SNS topic, or executing an Auto Scaling action.
- 8.Save the changes by clicking on the "Save" or "Apply" button.
- 9.Verify if the changes have been successfully applied by checking the alarm's configuration.
CLI Commands (if applicable)
Optionally, you can also use the AWS Command Line Interface (CLI) to enable the CloudWatch alarm actions. Here are the steps using CLI commands:
- 1.
Open the command-line terminal.
- 2.
Install and configure the AWS CLI if not already done.
- 3.
Use the following command to enable actions for the CloudWatch alarm:
aws cloudwatch enable-alarm-actions --alarm-name [ALARM_NAME]Replace
with the actual name of the alarm.[ALARM_NAME] - 4.
Check the output to verify the success of the action enabling process.
Note: Ensure that you have the necessary permissions to perform this action.
Conclusion
Enabling CloudWatch alarm actions for NIST 800-53 Revision 4 is essential for maintaining compliance with the defined security standards. By following the provided steps, you can ensure that your CloudWatch alarms can trigger appropriate actions when necessary, helping you meet the compliance requirements.