Overview
VPC Flow Logs record metadata about every accepted or rejected IP packet across:
- VPC, subnet, and ENI (network interface) traffic
- Source and destination IPs, ports, protocol, and bytes
- Action (
ACCEPT/REJECT) and security group decision
Atatus reads VPC flow logs that have been delivered to a CloudWatch log group.
Prerequisites
- A VPC with flow logging enabled and configured to deliver to CloudWatch Logs.
- IAM credentials with read access to that log group.
Step 1: Enable VPC Flow Logs (if not already)
- Open the AWS Console → VPC.
- Select the VPC, subnet, or ENI to monitor and choose Flow logs → Create flow log.
- Configure:
- Filter:
All(recommended) orReject/Accept. - Destination: Send to CloudWatch Logs.
- Log group: select an existing group or create one (for example,
vpc-flow-logs-group). - IAM role: the role that allows VPC to publish to CloudWatch Logs.
- Filter:
- Click Create flow log.
Step 2: Create an IAM user with log read access
- Open IAM → Users → Create user, name it
atatus-vpc-flow-reader. - Attach an inline policy granting:
logs:DescribeLogGroupslogs:DescribeLogStreamslogs:GetLogEventslogs:FilterLogEvents
- Scope the policy to the flow logs log group ARN.
- Create an access key under Security credentials → Create access key and copy both values.
Step 3: Connect AWS VPC Flow Logs in Atatus
- In Atatus, go to Security → Cloud SIEM → Integrations.
- Locate the AWS VPC Flow Logs card and click Connect.
- Fill in the form:
| Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| AWS Access Key ID | IAM user access key from Step 2. | AKIA... |
| AWS Secret Access Key | The matching secret key. | •••••••• |
| AWS Region | Region of the log group. | us-east-1 |
| CloudWatch Log Group | Log group receiving the VPC flow logs. | vpc-flow-logs-group |
| Poll Interval (minutes) | How often to fetch new entries. | 5 |
| Enabled | Turn collection on. | true |
- Click Connect.
Verification
- The AWS VPC Flow Logs card shows Configured.
- Flow records appear in Security → Cloud SIEM → Audit Logs → Events with source
aws_vpc_flow_logs.
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