Simplifying ISO 27001 Compliance with Pre-Built Sentinel Policies for AWS

In a move to streamline cloud governance and security, HashiCorp and AWS have jointly introduced a new set of pre-written Sentinel policies designed specifically for AWS environments. These policies target ISO/IEC 27001 compliance, helping organizations enforce critical security controls without the heavy lifting of writing policy from scratch. Below, we answer key questions about this release, its benefits, and how to get started.

What new pre-written Sentinel policies have been announced and what compliance framework do they support?

HashiCorp and AWS have launched a fresh collection of pre-written Sentinel policies tailored for AWS services, aimed at supporting ISO/IEC 27001 compliance. This globally recognized information security standard provides a systematic approach to managing sensitive company information. The policy set maps directly to key controls from ISO 27001 Annex A, covering areas such as access control, cryptography, logging, monitoring, and secure configuration. By offering these ready-made policies, the partnership lowers the barrier to implementing policy as code for organizations seeking certification or alignment with the standard. The policies are now live in the Terraform Registry, making them easily accessible to Terraform users managing AWS infrastructure.

Why did HashiCorp and AWS collaborate to create these pre-written policies?

Adopting a policy-as-code model can be complex and resource-intensive, especially when translating compliance frameworks like ISO 27001 into enforceable rules. Many organizations lack the in-house expertise or time to build such policies from scratch. To address these challenges, HashiCorp and AWS worked closely to simplify hybrid-cloud governance and compliance. This collaboration builds on earlier joint releases for frameworks such as CIS Benchmarks and AWS Foundational Security Best Practices. By combining AWS’s deep cloud knowledge with HashiCorp’s policy engine, the companies deliver a robust foundation that reduces manual policy development and helps teams consistently enforce governance controls across their cloud environments.

Which specific ISO 27001 controls do these policies map to?

The pre-written Sentinel policies are designed to map to key ISO 27001 Annex A controls. These include, but are not limited to: access control (A.9), cryptography (A.10), logging and monitoring (A.12.4), and secure configuration management (A.12.5). Each policy enforces a specific requirement—for instance, ensuring that S3 buckets are not publicly accessible, or that encryption is enabled for sensitive data stores. By covering these critical areas, the policy sets help organizations adopt a secure-by-default posture for their AWS infrastructure. With hundreds of policies now available, teams can immediately start enforcing controls that align with the standard without needing to interpret each clause themselves.

How do these pre-written policies help organizations adopt policy as code?

Policy as code is a powerful approach for automating governance, but it can be daunting to implement from zero. The pre-written Sentinel policies eliminate the need to write rules by hand, providing a ready-to-use library that maps directly to compliance frameworks. This reduces the time and expertise required, allowing organizations to quickly enforce security controls across their AWS resources. By integrating with HashiCorp’s Sentinel policy engine, teams can test policies during development, enforce them at deployment, and audit compliance continuously. The result is a faster path to achieving ISO 27001 alignment, while also promoting consistent governance across multi-team and multi-account environments. These policies serve as a strong foundation, freeing teams to focus on higher-value security tasks.

Where can users access these policies and what other policy sets are available?

The pre-written Sentinel policies for ISO 27001 are available in the Terraform Registry under HashiCorp’s pre-written policy library. Alongside this new set, users can find several other pre-built collections, including: Pre-written Sentinel Policies for AWS CIS Foundations Benchmarking, Pre-written Sentinel Policies for AWS Foundational Security Best Practices (FSBP), Pre-written Sentinel Policies for AWS NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5, Pre-written Sentinel Policies for AWS PCI DSS, and AWS Networking Sentinel Policies for Terraform. Each set targets a specific compliance or security framework, allowing organizations to mix and match based on their requirements. All are freely accessible and can be imported directly into your Terraform workflows.

How can organizations get started with implementing these policies in their AWS environments?

To get started, refer to the pre-written policy library documentation on HashiCorp’s site. The documentation provides step-by-step guidance on importing the policy sets into your HCP Terraform or Terraform Enterprise instance. If you’re new to Terraform, you can begin by signing up for HCP Terraform (formerly Terraform Cloud) to manage your infrastructure in any environment. Once your workspace is set up, link your HCP Terraform and HashiCorp Cloud Platform (HCP) accounts for a seamless sign-in experience. After that, enable the desired policy set, customize any parameters if needed, and start enforcing ISO 27001 controls automatically across your AWS resources. This approach turns compliance from a manual checklist into an automated, code-driven process.