What are IAM roles for AWS Lambda and how do they enhance security?

What are IAM roles for AWS Lambda and how do they enhance security?

IAM roles for AWS Lambda are permissions that define what actions your Lambda function can perform. They enhance security by allowing you to grant only the necessary permissions to your functions, minimizing the risk of unauthorized access.

Can you give me an example of how to set up an IAM role for a Lambda function?

Sure! To set up an IAM role for a Lambda function, go to the IAM console, create a new role, select 'AWS Lambda' as the trusted entity, and attach the necessary policies that define the permissions your function needs.

What policies should I attach to the IAM role?

It depends on what your Lambda function needs to do. Common policies include 'AWSLambdaBasicExecutionRole' for logging to CloudWatch and specific service permissions like 'AmazonS3ReadOnlyAccess' if it needs to access S3.

How can I test if the IAM role is set up correctly?

You can test the IAM role by invoking the Lambda function and checking the logs in CloudWatch. If the function executes successfully without permission errors, the role is set up correctly.