What is Infrastructure as Code?
Managing and provisioning computing infrastructure through machine-readable configuration files rather than manual processes, enabling reproducible and auditable deployments.
Also known as: IaC
IaC treats infrastructure configuration like software — versioned, reviewed, and reproducible.
Privacy/Security Benefits
- Auditable: Every configuration change is in version control
- Reproducible: Deployments are identical every time
- Reviewable: Security settings can be peer-reviewed before deployment
- No drift: Systems match their defined configuration exactly
Tools
- Terraform: Multi-cloud infrastructure provisioning
- Ansible: Configuration management and automation
- Pulumi: IaC using programming languages
- Docker Compose: Container orchestration
For Privacy Projects
IaC is especially valuable for privacy infrastructure (VPN servers, email servers, Tor relays) because it ensures consistent security configuration and makes it easy to rebuild from scratch if compromised.
Related Terms
Immutable Infrastructure
A deployment model where servers are never modified after deployment — changes require building and deploying a new server, reducing the risk of persistent compromise.
Zero-Trust Architecture
A security model that assumes no user, device, or network is inherently trusted, requiring continuous verification for every access request.
Have more questions?
Use our guided flow to get the right next privacy step for Infrastructure as Code.
Open Guided Flow