EC2
8 articles on EC2 — AWS security, compliance, and account management from the Vigilare team.
AWS Crypto Mining Detection: Finding and Stopping Mining Before the Bill Arrives
Cryptocurrency mining is the most common form of unauthorized resource use in AWS accounts. This guide covers how mining activity looks in CloudTrail, GuardDuty, and billing data — and how to detect it in minutes rather than days.
Viktor B. · December 31, 2025 · 8 min read
AWS Spot Instances: Running Interruptible Workloads at 90% Discount
Spot Instances offer up to 90% savings compared to On-Demand pricing, but require workloads designed for interruption. This guide covers spot pricing mechanics, instance selection strategies, and architectures that work well with spot capacity.
Vigilare Engineering · December 4, 2025 · 8 min read
AWS Reserved Instances Guide: Maximizing Commitment Discounts
Reserved Instances deliver 30-60% discounts on EC2, RDS, and other services compared to On-Demand pricing. Getting the most from RIs requires understanding the purchase models, instance flexibility rules, and when to buy vs. when to use Savings Plans.
Vigilare Engineering · December 2, 2025 · 9 min read
AWS EC2 vCPU Limits: Managing the Instance Ceiling That Catches Teams Off Guard
EC2 vCPU limits are quota-based, region-scoped, and instance-family-specific. Hitting them mid-scaling event means instances fail to launch silently. Here's how to understand, monitor, and proactively manage EC2 capacity limits.
Viktor B. · November 28, 2025 · 7 min read
EC2 Patch Management with AWS Systems Manager: Keeping Instances Current
Unpatched EC2 instances are a leading source of AWS security findings — and a common path to account compromise. AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager automates patching across your entire fleet. Here's how to set it up correctly.
Vigilare Engineering · November 22, 2025 · 9 min read
Migrating to IMDSv2: Blocking SSRF Attacks on EC2
IMDSv1 is exploitable via SSRF — a single vulnerable web app can hand an attacker your EC2 instance credentials. IMDSv2 requires a session-oriented token request that breaks the attack chain. Here's how to migrate without breaking your applications.
Vigilare Engineering · November 21, 2025 · 8 min read
Detecting Unauthorized EC2 Instances Before AWS Does
Unauthorized EC2 instances — whether from compromised credentials, rogue developers, or crypto mining attacks — are a leading cause of unexpected AWS bills and account suspension. Here's how to detect them in real time.
Viktor B. · November 20, 2025 · 7 min read
EC2 Security Groups Audit: Finding and Fixing Dangerous Rules
Overly permissive security groups are one of the most common findings in AWS security reviews. This guide shows how to audit every security group in your account, identify dangerous 0.0.0.0/0 rules, and build a process to catch drift before it becomes a breach.
Vigilare Engineering · November 19, 2025 · 8 min read