Automation of Secure and Compliant Infrastructure Orchestration Utilizing Terraform

Singamaneni, Anusha (2024) Automation of Secure and Compliant Infrastructure Orchestration Utilizing Terraform. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

The complexity of managing secure and compliant infrastructure increases the need now for applying automation technologies. In this research, we focus on a secure and compliant approach for the automation of infrastructure orchestration with Terraform, which is an open-source IaC tool. Ideally, it aligns the goals to automate the provisioning of secure cloud infrastructure aligned to best practices and compliance rules. This research stream also applies infrastructure automation from the Terraform tool, reduces human intervention, and enforces compliance standards when defining, provisioning and managing resources.

This paper explores different approaches to the incorporation of security controls and compliance standards into Terraform practices to bolster cloud security. It is done through the recording of fundamentals and the weighing of several techniques like role-based access control, encryption, and continuous monitoring of infrastructure with the view of making sure that it is provisioned safely. Also, the thesis explores issues with working with multiple clouds and state files for Terraform in a large enterprise. This research also helps to address the existing gap in the adoption of Terraform in securing cloud infrastructure through presenting improved mechanisms of compliance and automation The research also provides a baseline for future developments in the automation of secure infrastructure management.

Practical use and theoretical examination show that with proper application and planning, Terraform can be as effective at providing idempotent and compliant solutions that can scale as desired, although there is room for future growth and improvement in the automation of security.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Supervisors:	Name Email Gupta, Shaguna UNSPECIFIED
Subjects:	Q Science > QA Mathematics > Electronic computers. Computer science T Technology > T Technology (General) > Information Technology > Electronic computers. Computer science T Technology > T Technology (General) > Information Technology > Cloud computing Q Science > QA Mathematics > Computer software > Computer Security T Technology > T Technology (General) > Information Technology > Computer software > Computer Security
Divisions:	School of Computing > Master of Science in Cloud Computing
Depositing User:	Ciara O'Brien
Date Deposited:	16 Jul 2025 13:57
Last Modified:	16 Jul 2025 13:57
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/8155

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