Terraform vs CloudFormation: Which Is More Secure?

Terraform Vs Cloudformation Security Comparison
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Terraform and CloudFormation are two well-known infrastructure-as-code (IaC) tools. The former, however, is significantly more popular, as it has around 30 percent market share. Amazon’s AWS CloudFormation tool has a rather modest share but it is still relatively well-known, especially among DevOps teams that work solely within the AWS ecosystem.

These tools are designed to ensure intuitive and efficient IaC management, which is particularly important as organizations increasingly embrace IaC. The two platforms are not so different when it comes to features and functions, but an important concern about their use needs to be discussed: security. Given the growing sophistication of cyber threats, security is a high-priority concern. When considering using Terraform and CloudFormation, scrutinizing the security implications of each platform is a must.

Comparing Terraform and CloudFormation

But before diving into the Terraform vs CloudFormation security comparison, here’s an overview of the two.

Developed by HashiCorp, Terraform is an open-source IaC tool that uses declarative language to define and provision cloud infrastructure resources such as networks, virtual machines, and storage. It enables the management of infrastructure across multiple cloud providers (cloud-agnostic), providing a simple workflow for change definition, planning, and application.

Terraform also supports robust state management functions, which make it easy to monitor infrastructure changes. Additionally, it comes with a multitude of plugins and modules to add more functionality users may need to make their deployment process faster and more convenient.

CloudFormation, on the other hand, is Amazon Web Services (AWS) native service for the automation of AWS infrastructure management and provisioning. With this tool, users can define infrastructure through templates written in JSON or YAML. The templates describe the intended state of resources such as databases, S3 buckets, and EC2 instances. The descriptions in these templates include instructions on the provisioning process and handling of resource dependencies, all of which help ensure the consistency of deployments across different environments.

Terraform and CloudFormation may be similar tools, but they have major differences. For one, Terraform is available with open source and BUSL licenses (1.5.x and older are open source, the newer versions are BUSL), while CloudFormation is a proprietary solution from Amazon Web Services. Terraform is created for different cloud platforms, from Microsoft’s Azure to Google Cloud and even AWS, while CloudFormation is only intended for AWS.

Both support modular configurations and are built to be intuitive. However, AWS customers are likely to find CloudFormation easier to use given their familiarity with the AWS ecosystem.

Exploring the Security Features

Terraform, which started as an open-source project, expectedly has a host of security features that have been improved and augmented over the years by expert developers who have contributed to the project. Similarly, AWS CloudFormation is hardly a laggard when it comes to security. Here’s a summary of the security-related features of these IaC management tools.

Management of secrets

This is a basic security concern that is adequately addressed by Terraform and CloudFormation. What makes them different, though, is that the former features mechanisms such as encrypted variables that are designed to address security needs in different environments. Terraform also supports the use of an external secret management tool. Meanwhile, CloudFormation only works with the AWS Secrets Manager or Systems Manager Parameter Store tools.

Authorization

Terraform enables the definition of access controls and permissions within configuration files. With CloudFormation, authorization is more seamless, as it comes with the AWS identity and access management (IAM) tool, which makes for a more fine-grained regulation of resource access.

Authentication

Both Terraform and CloudFormation have authentication features. Terraform supports provider-specific authentication including AWS credentials, the use of environment variables to pass sensitive data without hardcoding it in the configuration files, and the installation of authentication plugins. For CloudFormation, authentication relies on the AWS native identity and access management system.

Encryption

Terraform has built-in encryption settings for different resources. It can encrypt at-rest data for storage resources. The AWS tool also has encryption functions, but they are accessed via the AWS Key Management Service. Both encryption solutions are adequately reliable.

Privilege granting

Terraform emphasizes the principle of least privilege by setting resource access or permissions as low as possible, limited to what is only required to complete a specific task. With CloudFormation, the granting of privileges is controlled by IAM policies and permissions set at the stack and resource levels. It’s possible to enforce the principle of least privilege in CloudFormation, but this is not an easily accessible security feature.

Audit trails and logs

The two tools compared here both have auditing and logging features. Terraform is capable of integrating external logging and monitoring tools to facilitate the tracking and auditing of changes made to infrastructure configurations. CloudFormation, on the other hand, relies on the proprietary tools AWS CloudTrail and AWS Config for its logs and audit trails.

Rollback capabilities

Both CloudFormation and Terraform allow rolling back changes in case of errors or discovering unauthorized modifications. The difference between the two, however, is that CloudFormation has an automatic rollback function to immediately address errors such as stack update failures. With Terraform, rollbacks are done manually.

Which Is More Secure?

Is the open-source/BUSL Terraform better than the proprietary AWS CloudFormation, or is it the other way around? There is no definite answer here. These two options have their respective strengths.

Terraform’s security features are intended for more environments or platforms. This can mean two things: either the tool is flexibly effective or it has half-baked security because it tries to address risks and threats across multiple environments. So far, Terraform has shown dependability in addressing security concerns. Problems can arise when new users aren’t quick enough to master the tool and maximize its security features.

Arguably, those who only work in AWS cloud environments are logically better off with CloudFormation. Its developers have a thorough understanding of the problems and concerns affecting the AWS cloud since this tool is specifically built for AWS. Users will find CloudFormation’s interface and processes more familiar because of its affinity to the AWS environment.

Nevertheless, Terraform’s larger community of users cannot be downplayed. More users typically mean a more well-maintained software tool with many users and developers spotting and addressing issues as they emerge. The AWS CloudFormation security team is not necessarily inferior when it comes to detecting and resolving security issues. However, it is usually a safer bet to go with the tool that has a considerably broader user base. As mentioned, Terraform takes up a market share of around 30 percent.

Community Strength Terraform Vs Cloudformation

In Pursuit of Safer IaC

To recap, it’s possible to use Terraform for managing different cloud environments, whereas CloudFormation is exclusive to AWS. People loyal to the AWS cloud are the only ones concerned about which tool to use, as both can securely execute IaC work. It does not make sense for Google or Azure cloud users to consider CloudFormation.

With that said, there are no significant differences in the ability of either Terraform or CloudFormation, Terraform vs CloudFormation to provide adequate security to their users. The two platforms possess comparable security functions and features despite the different structures of their relevant modules. The choice between the two boils down to preference and convenience. AWS cloud users may find it more favorable to stick to the AWS native tool. Meanwhile, organizations expecting to switch to other cloud environments may consider Terraform as the more flexible and overall better choice.

Thank you for reading!