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Event Information

  • The google.spanner.admin.instance.v1.InstanceAdmin.CreateInstance event in GCP for CloudSpanner signifies the creation of a new instance in the CloudSpanner database service.
  • This event indicates that a user or an automated process has initiated the creation of a new CloudSpanner instance.
  • The event provides information about the instance, such as its name, configuration, and project ID, allowing administrators to track and monitor the creation process.

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Examples

  1. Inadequate access controls: If security is impacted with the google.spanner.admin.instance.v1.InstanceAdmin.CreateInstance API in GCP for CloudSpanner, it could be due to inadequate access controls. For example, if the API is being called with overly permissive IAM roles or if the service account used to call the API has excessive privileges, it can lead to unauthorized creation of instances and potential data breaches.
  2. Weak encryption settings: Another security impact could be related to weak encryption settings. If the google.spanner.admin.instance.v1.InstanceAdmin.CreateInstance API is used without proper encryption configurations, it can result in data being stored or transmitted without adequate protection. This can expose sensitive information to unauthorized access or compromise the confidentiality of the data.
  3. Lack of network security controls: The use of the google.spanner.admin.instance.v1.InstanceAdmin.CreateInstance API without proper network security controls can also impact security. If the API is called without configuring appropriate firewall rules or network policies, it can expose the CloudSpanner instances to unauthorized network access. This can potentially lead to unauthorized data access, data manipulation, or denial of service attacks.

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Remediation

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Using Console

  1. Enable VPC Service Controls:
    • Go to the GCP Console and navigate to the CloudSpanner instance.
    • Click on the “Edit” button to modify the instance settings.
    • Scroll down to the “VPC Service Controls” section and click on “Enable VPC Service Controls”.
    • Follow the prompts to configure the VPC Service Controls for the CloudSpanner instance.
    • Save the changes.
  2. Implement IAM Roles and Permissions:
    • Go to the GCP Console and navigate to the CloudSpanner instance.
    • Click on the “Permissions” tab to manage IAM roles and permissions.
    • Click on “Add Member” to add the desired user or service account.
    • Select the appropriate IAM role(s) for the user or service account.
    • Click on “Save” to apply the changes.
  3. Enable Audit Logging:
    • Go to the GCP Console and navigate to the CloudSpanner instance.
    • Click on the “Edit” button to modify the instance settings.
    • Scroll down to the “Audit Logging” section and click on “Enable Audit Logging”.
    • Select the desired audit logs to be enabled (e.g., Admin Activity, Data Access, System Event logs).
    • Save the changes.
Note: These steps may vary slightly depending on the specific version of the GCP Console and CloudSpanner. It is always recommended to refer to the official GCP documentation for the most up-to-date instructions.

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Using CLI

To remediate the issues mentioned in the previous response for GCP CloudSpanner using GCP CLI, you can follow these steps:
  1. Enable VPC Service Controls for CloudSpanner:
    • Use the following command to enable VPC Service Controls for CloudSpanner: 
      gcloud services vpc-peerings update --service=servicenetworking.googleapis.com --network=projects/[PROJECT_ID]/global/networks/[NETWORK_NAME] --ranges=[IP_RANGE]
    • Replace [PROJECT_ID] with your GCP project ID, [NETWORK_NAME] with the name of your VPC network, and [IP_RANGE] with the IP range of your VPC network.
  2. Implement IAM Roles and Permissions:
    • Use the following command to grant the necessary IAM roles to the appropriate users or service accounts: 
      gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding [PROJECT_ID] --member=[MEMBER] --role=[ROLE]
    • Replace [PROJECT_ID] with your GCP project ID, [MEMBER] with the email address or service account of the user, and [ROLE] with the desired IAM role.
  3. Configure Audit Logging and Monitoring:
    • Use the following command to enable audit logging for CloudSpanner: 
      gcloud logging sinks create [SINK_NAME] storage.googleapis.com/[BUCKET_NAME] --log-filter="resource.type=spanner_instance"
    • Replace [SINK_NAME] with a name for your sink, and [BUCKET_NAME] with the name of the Cloud Storage bucket where you want to store the logs.
Please note that the above commands are examples and may need to be modified based on your specific environment and requirements. Make sure to refer to the official GCP documentation for detailed instructions and additional options.

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Using Python

To remediate the issues mentioned in the previous response for GCP CloudSpanner using Python, you can follow these steps:
  1. Enable VPC Service Controls:
    • Use the google-cloud-securitycenter library to enable VPC Service Controls for CloudSpanner.
    • You can use the update_organization_settings method to update the organization settings and enable VPC Service Controls.
    • Here’s an example Python script:
    from google.cloud import securitycenter

client = securitycenter.SecurityCenterClient()

organization_settings = client.get_organization_settings(name="organizations/{organization_id}")
organization_settings.enable_vpc_service_controls = True

client.update_organization_settings(organization_settings=organization_settings)
  2. Implement IAM Roles and Permissions:
    • Use the google-cloud-iam library to implement IAM roles and permissions for CloudSpanner.
    • You can use the set_iam_policy method to set the IAM policy for a CloudSpanner instance or database.
    • Here’s an example Python script:
    from google.cloud import spanner_admin_database

client = spanner_admin_database.DatabaseAdminClient()

instance_name = "projects/{project_id}/instances/{instance_id}"
database_name = "projects/{project_id}/instances/{instance_id}/databases/{database_id}"

instance = client.get_instance(name=instance_name)
database = client.get_database(name=database_name)

policy = {
    "bindings": [
        {
            "role": "roles/cloudspanner.databaseReader",
            "members": ["user:[email protected]"]
        }
    ]
}

client.set_iam_policy(resource=instance_name, policy=policy)
client.set_iam_policy(resource=database_name, policy=policy)
  3. Implement Audit Logging:
    • Use the google-cloud-logging library to implement audit logging for CloudSpanner.
    • You can use the write_log_entries method to write audit logs to Cloud Logging.
    • Here’s an example Python script:
    from google.cloud import logging

client = logging.Client()

log_name = "projects/{project_id}/logs/{log_name}"
log_entry = {
    "severity": "NOTICE",
    "log_name": log_name,
    "text_payload": "Audit log entry"
}

client.write_log_entries(entries=[log_entry])
Please note that you need to replace {organization_id}, {project_id}, {instance_id}, {database_id}, {log_name}, and [email protected] with the appropriate values specific to your GCP environment.