> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://cortex-docs.paloaltonetworks.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://cortex-docs.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex-xsiam/configure-cortex-xsiam/cortex-xsiam-data-sources/cloud-service-provider-csp-onboarding/alibaba-cloud-cloud-onboarding/alibaba-security-capabilities-and-deployment-planning.md).

# Alibaba security capabilities and deployment planning

Plan Alibaba Cloud security capabilities for Cortex XSIAM onboarding.

## **Security capabilities and deployment planning**

Plan your deployment by reviewing the security capabilities available for Alibaba Cloud. The onboarding process deploys the capabilities using a single Terraform connector template. Alibaba Cloud onboarding currently supports two capabilities: Discovery and Permissions. No additional capabilities (such as agentless disk scanning, data security, audit logs, registry scanning, serverless scanning, or automation) are currently supported.

### **Core capabilities (Discovery and Permissions)**

The Discovery and Permissions capabilities are mandatory and are deployed automatically when you onboard an Alibaba Cloud account to Cortex XSIAM. Discovery inventories cloud resources across supported services, while Permissions analyzes IAM configurations and monitors access policies.

| Module      | Identity created              | Resources created                                         | Purpose                                                                                                                 | Regional scope                    |
| ----------- | ----------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| Discovery   | CortexPlatformRole (RAM role) | RAM Role, Custom Policy, Policy Attachment, OIDC Provider | Read-only discovery and inventory of Alibaba Cloud resources across ECS, OSS, VPC, RDS, SLB, CEN, ActionTrail, and NAS. | All supported internal regions.   |
| Permissions | CortexPlatformRole (RAM role) | RAM Role, Custom Policy, Policy Attachment, OIDC Provider | IAM permission analysis and monitoring across RAM users, roles, groups, and policies.                                   | Global (RAM is a global service). |

### **Read-only permissions by service**

The Terraform template provisions a custom RAM policy with 46 read-only permissions grouped by Alibaba Cloud service:

<table><thead><tr><th width="146.5703125">Service</th><th>Permissions</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>ECS</td><td>DescribeInstances, DescribeDisks, DescribeInstanceRamRole, DescribeSecurityGroups, DescribeSecurityGroupAttribute</td></tr><tr><td>OSS</td><td>ListBuckets, GetBucketInfo, GetBucketLogging, GetBucketVersioning</td></tr><tr><td>RAM</td><td>ListUsers, ListRoles, ListGroups, ListPolicies, GetPolicy, GetPolicyVersion, ListPoliciesForUser, ListPoliciesForRole, ListPoliciesForGroup, GetLoginProfile, GetUserMFAInfo, ListAccessKeys, GetPasswordPolicy</td></tr><tr><td>RDS</td><td>DescribeDBInstances, DescribeDBInstanceIPArrayList, DescribeDBInstanceSSL, DescribeDBInstanceEncryptionKey, DescribeDBInstanceTDE, DescribeDBInstanceAttribute</td></tr><tr><td>VPC</td><td>DescribeVpcs, DescribeFlowLogs, DescribeVpnConnections, DescribeVpnConnection, DescribeSslVpnServers</td></tr><tr><td>SLB</td><td>DescribeLoadBalancers, DescribeLoadBalancerAttribute, DescribeVServerGroups, DescribeMasterSlaveServerGroups, DescribeCACertificates, ListTLSCipherPolicies, DescribeLoadBalancerHTTPSListenerAttribute</td></tr><tr><td>ActionTrail</td><td>DescribeTrails, GetTrailStatus</td></tr><tr><td>CEN</td><td>DescribeCens, DescribeCenInterRegionBandwidthLimits</td></tr><tr><td>NAS</td><td>DescribeFileSystems</td></tr></tbody></table>


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the following URL with the `ask` and `goal` query parameters:

```
GET https://cortex-docs.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex-xsiam/configure-cortex-xsiam/cortex-xsiam-data-sources/cloud-service-provider-csp-onboarding/alibaba-cloud-cloud-onboarding/alibaba-security-capabilities-and-deployment-planning.md?ask=<question>&goal=<user_goal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is what the user is ultimately trying to achieve, the reason they need the answer. Sharing it helps GitBook give you a better, more relevant answer. A goal is most helpful when it describes the outcome the user wants rather than restating the question. For example, with `ask=how do I create an API token`, a goal like `automate deployments from our CI pipeline` lets GitBook tailor the answer to that use case.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.