Policy as Code with Ansible

1. Introduction

Policy as Code (PaC) is a method of defining and managing security policies through code, enabling automated compliance checks and enforcement. Ansible, a popular automation tool, facilitates this approach through its playbooks and modules.

2. Key Concepts

3. Implementation Steps

Follow these steps to implement Policy as Code using Ansible.

1. Define the security policies you want to enforce.
2. Create Ansible playbooks that reflect these policies.
3. Integrate playbooks into the CI/CD pipeline.
4. Automate compliance checks using Ansible's reporting features.

3.1 Example Playbook

- name: Ensure SSH is configured properly
  hosts: all
  tasks:
    - name: Ensure SSH is running
      service:
        name: sshd
        state: started

    - name: Ensure SSH port is 22
      lineinfile:
        path: /etc/ssh/sshd_config
        regexp: '^Port '
        line: 'Port 22'
        state: present
        validate: '/usr/sbin/sshd -t -f %s'
        notify: restart ssh
  handlers:
    - name: restart ssh
      service:
        name: sshd
        state: restarted
        

4. Best Practices

• Version control your playbooks.
• Use descriptive names for your playbooks and tasks.
• Test playbooks in a staging environment before production.
• Regularly review and update policies based on changing compliance requirements.

5. FAQ