This report challenges five outdated AWS IAM assumptions: one account is safer, pipelines require unrestricted access, read-only roles are harmless, service identities are low risk, and IAM can be configured once and ignored. It recommends multi-account architectures with layered SCPs, RCPs, permission boundaries, VPC endpoint policies, session policies, and fine-grained grants. Pipelines should use reviewed roles and tools such as Role Vending Machine, IAM Access Analyzer, and Checkov. Read-only and service roles should be treated as privileged, monitored, and tightly scoped. Continuous analysis is essential for finding unused permissions and zombie accounts. The report promotes automation, least privilege, dynamic guardrails, and ongoing review as the foundation of modern cloud identity

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