Infrastructure requirements¶

To host cloud challenges:

• Cloud Provider Accounts (AWS/GCP/Azure) – Free tiers work for basic labs.

• Terraform/Ansible – Automate deployment of vulnerable setups.

• Containerization (Docker/Kubernetes) – For isolated, ephemeral challenge environments.

• Monitoring & rate limiting – Prevent abuse (e.g., AWS GuardDuty, custom scripts).

• Flag Validation System – Auto-check exploit success (e.g., stolen secrets, RCE).

This I will combine with AWS Security: Protecting Your Cloud Kingdom from Barbarians (and Dave), Azure Security: Defending Microsoft’s Mansion from Uninvited Guests, GCP Security: Keeping Google’s Playground from turning into a Hackfest, and On-Prem “Cloud” Security: Playing Sysadmin on Nightmare Mode.

First set up secure pipelines for a small dockerized app, then introduce vulnerabilities.