Problem Statement
What risks are introduced when using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) in cloud deployments, and how can you mitigate them?
Explanation
Using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) brings speed and repeatability, but also introduces risks: mis-checked permissions in templates, hard-coded credentials, insecure defaults, drift between declared state and actual state, and uncontrolled changes. Mitigation strategies include embedding security-checks in CI/CD pipelines (linting, static analysis, policy-as-code), enforcing least privilege for IaC service accounts, conducting template reviews, using version control, and running periodic drift scans. Discussions on Reddit and practitioner blogs show these are increasingly expected in cloud-security interviews. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}