What purpose do IAM Roles serve in AWS?

IAM Roles in AWS are designed to enable secure access to AWS resources by providing temporary credentials to AWS services or users. When a role is assumed, it grants the entity assuming the role the permissions associated with that role for a limited time, which enhances security by minimizing the risk associated with long-term credentials. This temporary nature of the credentials allows for dynamic access management, which is especially useful in scenarios where services need to interact securely without embedding permanent access keys.

Roles can be assumed by AWS services like EC2, Lambda, or even other AWS accounts, creating a flexible way to assign permissions and manage access without hard-coding sensitive information. This is particularly advantageous in environments that require frequent changes to access or where roles need to be adjusted based on the context of the operation being performed.

The other options refer to different functionalities that are not related to IAM Roles. Some provide insights into incorrect concepts, such as long-term credentials and billing management, which are outside the scope of how IAM Roles operate. IAM Roles specifically focus on temporary credentials and permissions rather than issues like billing or network security.