Cloud Security Smackdown: AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud

Feature Comparison

Feature	AWS (IAM, KMS, CloudTrail)	Azure (AD, Defender, Compliance)	Google Cloud (IAM, Security Scanner, Compliance)
Identity Management	IAM	Azure AD	IAM
Threat Detection	GuardDuty	Defender for Cloud	Security Command Center
Encryption Service	KMS	Key Vault	Cloud KMS
Security Logging	CloudTrail	Security Center Logs	Cloud Audit Logs
Compliance & Governance	AWS Artifact	Azure Compliance	Google Cloud Compliance
Penetration Testing	No native service	Microsoft Security Scanner	Cloud Security Scanner
Best For	Enterprises with fine-grained IAM needs	Businesses tied to Microsoft tools	AI-heavy and cloud-native companies

Code Samples

AWS Security

Creating an IAM User (Python - Boto3)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
import boto3

iam = boto3.client("iam")

response = iam.create_user(UserName="secure-user")

print("Created user:", response["User"]["UserName"])

Creating an IAM User (C# - AWS SDK)

 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
using Amazon.IdentityManagement;
using Amazon.IdentityManagement.Model;
using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

class Program
{
    static async Task Main()
    {
        var iamClient = new AmazonIdentityManagementServiceClient();
        var request = new CreateUserRequest { UserName = "secure-user" };
        var response = await iamClient.CreateUserAsync(request);

        Console.WriteLine("Created user: " + response.User.UserName);
    }
}

🔗 AWS SDK Docs: Boto3 (Python) | AWS SDK for .NET

Azure Security

Creating an Azure AD User (Python - Azure SDK)

 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential
from msgraph.core import GraphClient

credential = DefaultAzureCredential()
client = GraphClient(credential=credential)

user_data = {
    "accountEnabled": True,
    "displayName": "Secure User",
    "mailNickname": "secureuser",
    "userPrincipalName": "secureuser@yourdomain.com",
    "passwordProfile": {"forceChangePasswordNextSignIn": True, "password": "SecurePassword123!"}
}

response = client.post("/users", json=user_data)

print("Created user:", response.json()["id"])

Creating an Azure AD User (C# - Azure SDK)

 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
using Azure.Identity;
using Microsoft.Graph;
using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

class Program
{
    static async Task Main()
    {
        var credential = new DefaultAzureCredential();
        var client = new GraphServiceClient(credential);

        var user = new User
        {
            AccountEnabled = true,
            DisplayName = "Secure User",
            MailNickname = "secureuser",
            UserPrincipalName = "secureuser@yourdomain.com",
            PasswordProfile = new PasswordProfile { Password = "SecurePassword123!", ForceChangePasswordNextSignIn = true }
        };

        var newUser = await client.Users.Request().AddAsync(user);
        Console.WriteLine("Created user: " + newUser.Id);
    }
}

🔗 Azure SDK Docs: Azure AD API (Python) | Azure Graph API .NET

Google Cloud Security

Creating a Google IAM Policy (Python - Google SDK)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
from google.cloud import iam

client = iam.IAMPolicyClient()

resource = "projects/your-project-id"
policy = client.get_iam_policy(resource)

print("Current IAM Policy:", policy)

Creating a Google IAM Policy (C# - Google SDK)

 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
12
13
14
using Google.Cloud.Iam.V1;
using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var client = new IamPolicyClientBuilder().Build();
        string resource = "projects/your-project-id";

        var policy = client.GetIamPolicy(resource);
        Console.WriteLine("Current IAM Policy: " + policy);
    }
}

🔗 Google Cloud SDK Docs: Google IAM (Python) | Google IAM .NET

Final Thoughts

AWS Security: Best for granular IAM policies, enterprise security, and audit logging.
Azure Security: Ideal for Microsoft-heavy environments, Active Directory integration, and defender security tools.
Google Cloud Security: Great for cloud-native security, built-in compliance, and automated security scanning.

No matter which cloud security you use, never share your keys and rotate credentials regularly—or else, expect an angry email from your CISO. 😅

Cloud Security Comparison: AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud

Cheatsheet comparison of security services in AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, including IAM, compliance, and encryption.