Rule: RDS DB Instance Multiple AZ Should Be Enabled

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) provides guidelines for how organizations can manage and reduce cybersecurity risk. Within these guidelines, ensuring the availability of critical services is a key component. For AWS RDS (Relational Database Service) instances, enabling Multi-AZ (Availability Zone) deployments is a best practice for high availability and fault tolerance and is supportive of the NIST CSF goals.

The Multi-AZ feature for RDS involves the provision of a primary DB instance and a synchronous secondary instance (standby) in a different Availability Zone. The data is replicated synchronously to the standby to ensure up-to-date copies of the database. In the event of a planned or unplanned outage of the primary, RDS automatically fails over to the secondary without administrative intervention, thus minimizing downtime.

Enabling RDS Multi-AZ aligns with the following NIST CSF categories:

• PR.AC-1: Access to assets and associated facilities is limited to authorized users, processes, or devices, and to authorized activities and transactions.
• PR.IP-8: Process and procedures are maintained and tested to ensure timely response to detected cybersecurity events.
• DE.AE-1: A baseline of network operations and expected data flows for users and systems is established and managed.

Firstly, verify whether your DB instance is already in a Multi-AZ deployment:

If the above command reveals that Multi-AZ is not enabled, you can modify the RDS instance with the following command:

Use

--apply-immediately

Make sure the changes have been applied by re-running the describe command from Step 1.

If you receive an "Access Denied" error when running the commands, ensure you have the necessary permissions within AWS IAM (Identity and Access Management) to modify RDS instances.

Ensure that subnet groups and security groups are properly configured to allow the RDS instances to communicate across different Availability Zones.

Verify that there is enough allocated storage for both the primary and standby replicas, as insufficient space can block the enabling of Multi-AZ.

If you encounter issues during the process, review AWS documentation on RDS Multi-AZ deployments, check your service quotas, and ensure your AWS account is in good standing. For persistent issues, contact AWS support.

By ensuring that all RDS DB instances utilize the Multi-AZ feature, you will enhance your AWS environment's alignment with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and thus improve the resilience and reliability of your operations. This approach not only supports compliance but also improves SEO by aligning with best practices and the latest standards in cybersecurity resilience.

Regularly review AWS RDS instances for Multi-AZ deployments as part of a comprehensive strategy to adhere to the NIST CSF and other frameworks, ensuring high availability and contributing to an overall robust cybersecurity posture.