# Ensure AWS Config is enabled in all regions

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/a_1793292198680176-ensure-aws-config-is-enabled-in-all-regions
- Section: [Solutions](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions) › [AWS_Checks_v5.39.1](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/c_1793285913477877) › [AWS Checks](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/folders/f_1793287194371224)
- Last updated: 2026-10-29
- Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com)

**Description**

Ensure that AWS Config has a configuration recorder in every region, that the recorder is turned on (recording), and that its last recording status is not a failure. AWS Config records the configuration of supported resources and keeps a history of their changes.

**Rationale**

Regions without an active AWS Config recorder are blind spots: configuration changes made there are not captured, which weakens change tracking, auditing and compliance evaluation. An attacker can change resources or create new ones in an unmonitored region without a configuration history. Enabling AWS Config with continuous recording in every region, and keeping the recorder healthy, ensures that all resource changes can be reviewed and investigated.

**Impact**

-   Provides a configuration history and change tracking for resources in every region
    
-   Enables AWS Config rules and conformance packs for continuous compliance evaluation
    
-   AWS Config charges apply for each configuration item recorded and each rule evaluation
    
-   Configuration snapshots and history files are delivered to an S3 bucket, which adds storage costs
    

**Default Value**

AWS Config is not enabled by default. No configuration recorder exists in any region until AWS Config is set up.

**Pre-Requisites**

-   IAM permissions: config:DescribeConfigurationRecorders, config:DescribeConfigurationRecorderStatus, config:PutConfigurationRecorder, config:PutDeliveryChannel, config:StartConfigurationRecorder and iam:CreateServiceLinkedRole
    
-   An S3 bucket to receive configuration snapshots and history (the console can create it during setup)
    
-   A decision on which resource types to record
    

**Remediation**

**Test Plan**

**Console:**

1.  Sign in to the AWS Management Console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com](https://console.aws.amazon.com/).
    
2.  Open the AWS Config console and select **Settings** in the left menu.
    
3.  Check that the recorder is turned on (recording) and that its status does not show a failure. If the console shows the **Set up AWS Config** page instead, no recorder exists in the region.
    
4.  Repeat for each region.
    
5.  If any region has no recorder, a recorder that is not recording, or a recorder in failure state, follow the implementation steps.
    

**CLI:**

Show the recorder status in a region:

aws configservice describe-configuration-recorder-status --region <REGION> --query "ConfigurationRecordersStatus\[\].\[name,recording,lastStatus,lastErrorCode\]" --output table

A region fails if the command returns no recorder, if recording is False, or if lastStatus is Failure.

**Implementation Steps**

**Console:**

1.  Sign in to the AWS Management Console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com](https://console.aws.amazon.com/).
    
2.  Open the AWS Config console in the affected region.
    
3.  If AWS Config is not set up, choose **Set up AWS Config** (or **Get started**):
    
    -   select a resource recording option,
        
    -   choose an existing S3 bucket or create a new one for delivery,
        
    -   keep the default AWS Config service-linked role,
        
    -   choose **Confirm** to start recording.
        
4.  If a recorder exists but is not recording, open **Settings** and turn recording on.
    
5.  If the recorder is in failure state, review the error shown on the **Settings** page (for example missing permissions on the S3 bucket or the IAM role) and correct it.
    
6.  Check on the **Settings** page that the recorder is recording and shows no failure.
    
7.  Repeat for each affected region.
    

**Backout Plan**

1.  Sign in to the AWS Management Console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com](https://console.aws.amazon.com/).
    
2.  Open the AWS Config console in the region and select **Settings**.
    
3.  Turn recording off.
    

**CLI:**

aws configservice stop-configuration-recorder --configuration-recorder-name <RECORDER\_NAME> --region <REGION>

Note: while recording is off, configuration changes in that region are not recorded and AWS Config rules are not evaluated against new changes.

**Reference**

-   [https://docs.aws.amazon.com/config/latest/developerguide/gs-console.html](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/config/latest/developerguide/gs-console.html)
    
-   [https://docs.aws.amazon.com/config/latest/developerguide/stop-start-recorder.html](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/config/latest/developerguide/stop-start-recorder.html)
    
-   [https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/mt/aws-config-best-practices/](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/mt/aws-config-best-practices/)
    
-   [https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/configservice/describe-configuration-recorder-status.html](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/configservice/describe-configuration-recorder-status.html)

## Related compliance guidance

- [SOC 2 compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria): Configuration checks like this one are the technical half of a SOC 2 / ISO 27001 programme — the guide shows where they fit, what else an auditor expects, and how to evidence them.
- [ISO/IEC 27001:2022 compliance: a practical implementation guide](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022): ISO 27001 Annex A.8 (technological controls) is where cloud hardening evidence lands; the guide shows how to run the ISMS around it.