When implementing a permissions boundary in AWS, what should be noted about existing user permissions?

When implementing a permissions boundary in AWS, it's important to understand that existing user permissions remain intact unless they are specifically modified. A permissions boundary acts as a policy that limits the maximum permissions that an identity (such as a user or role) can have, but it does not affect the current permissions granted to that identity.

This means that if a user has specific permissions assigned to them, those permissions will continue to exist and function as they did before the boundary was applied. The permissions boundary simply serves as a governing constraint, which means that any permissions that exceed the boundaries set by the policy will be effectively disabled. Therefore, users maintain their existing permissions unless an administrator goes in to change them, either by adding conditions or modifying the user’s individual policies. This is essential for managing access in a cloud environment safely and effectively.

In summary, while permissions boundaries play a critical role in defining the scope of what actions a user can perform, they preserve existing permissions intact, providing both flexibility and security within the AWS platform.