Amazon CloudWatch
Connect Amazon CloudWatch to Safeguard: what it provides, how to set it up, and the frameworks it provides evidence for.
Connect Amazon CloudWatch to collect observability evidence automatically.
| Category | Observability |
| Connect with | API token |
| What a connection produces | Automated evidence collection |
Connect with an API token
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In Amazon CloudWatch:
- Have an IAM administrator create an IAM user for Safeguard and attach the AWS managed policy CloudWatchReadOnlyAccess ("Provides read only access to CloudWatch").
- Sign in to the IAM console as that IAM user (AWS account ID or alias, IAM user name and password).
- In the navigation bar on the upper right, choose your user name, then choose Security credentials.
- In the Access keys section, choose Create access key.
- On the Access key best practices & alternatives page, choose Other, then Next. Optionally set a description tag value, then choose Create access key.
- On the Retrieve access keys page, choose Show or Download .csv file. This is your only opportunity to save the secret access key. Then choose Done.
Amazon CloudWatch shows the secret only once, so copy it before you leave the page.
An IAM user can have at most two access keys. The console steps for attaching the managed policy were not fetched; the policy name and ARN arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/CloudWatchReadOnlyAccess are from AWS's managed policy reference. The policy also allows logs:StartQuery and similar read-side query actions.
Source: docs.aws.amazon.com, docs.aws.amazon.com, checked 2026-10-07.
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On Compliance › Connectors, open Amazon CloudWatch, click Connect, choose API token and fill in:
Field What to enter AWS Access Key ID Required. Stored encrypted and never shown again. AWS Secret Access Key Required. Stored encrypted and never shown again. Region Optional. Session token (optional) Stored encrypted and never shown again. -
Click Connect with token.
Frameworks
Safeguard's automated tests read Amazon CloudWatch and map to the controls below. When a test passes, the result is evidence toward each control it maps to, in every framework listed. It is evidence toward a control, not proof that the control is met on its own.
| Framework | Evidence | Controls | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| SOC2 | Automated tests | A1.1, A1.2, A1.3, C1.1, CC2.3, CC6.1, CC6.2, CC6.3, CC6.6, CC6.7, CC7.1, CC7.2, CC7.3, CC7.4, CC8.1 | 148 |
| ISO/IEC 27001 | Automated tests | A.5.12, A.5.16, A.5.17, A.5.18, A.5.24, A.5.25, A.8.2, A.8.3, A.8.5, A.8.6, A.8.8, A.8.9, A.8.11, A.8.12, A.8.13, A.8.14, A.8.15, A.8.16, A.8.20, A.8.24, A.8.32 | 148 |
| HIPAA Security Rule | Automated tests | 164.308(a)(1), 164.308(a)(4), 164.308(a)(5), 164.308(a)(6), 164.308(a)(7), 164.312(a)(1), 164.312(b), 164.312(d), 164.312(e)(1) | 81 |
| PCI DSS | Automated tests | 1.3.1, 3.5.1, 3.7.4, 4.2.1, 6.3.1, 6.3.3, 6.4.2, 6.5.1, 7.2.1, 7.2.2, 8.2.6, 8.3.6, 8.4.1, 8.4.2, 8.6.3, 10.2.1, 10.3.2, 10.5.1, 11.3.1, 11.5.1, 11.5.2 | 81 |
| NIST CSF 2.0 | Automated tests | DE.AE-02, DE.CM-01, DE.CM-09, ID.AM-07, ID.RA-01, PR.AA-01, PR.AA-03, PR.AA-05, PR.DS-01, PR.DS-02, PR.DS-11, PR.IR-01, PR.IR-03, PR.PS-01, PR.PS-02, PR.PS-04, RS.CO-02, RS.MA-01 | 148 |
| CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark | Automated tests | 1.1, 1.2, 1.6, 1.7, 1.11, 1.13, 1.15, 1.16, 1.17, 1.18, 1.19, 1.20, 1.21, 1.22, 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.3.2, 2.4.1, 3.4, 3.8, 3.9, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 4.10, 4.11, 4.12, 4.13, 4.14, 4.15, 4.16, 5.1, 5.4, 5.6 | 41 |
For a CIS benchmark, the numbers are its recommendations.
These tests are switched on per workspace by the Safeguard team.
Amazon S3, Amazon Web Services, AWS CodeCommit, AWS GovCloud, AWS Inspector, AWS Security Hub connect to the same provider as Amazon CloudWatch, and these tests run for a connection made through any of them.
Related
- Observability connectors
- Compliance connectors: how connecting works, card statuses and multiple accounts
- Connector setup reference: every connector in one table
- Frameworks and connectors: how connectors provide evidence for frameworks