AWS has a new way to secure remote working
Amazon’s cloud division has announced (opens in new tab) the general availability of AWS Verified Access (opens in new tab).
Verified Access was designed to tackle security issues related to working from home or locations outside of the fixed workplace, without having to install a VPN, and it’s a solution that promises to be much more customizable than the business VPN many of us may have used at some point to access our work’s servers.
The tool allows for granular control over access to different apps and services, and a number of third-party integrations have already been confirmed including Okta.
AWS Verified Access
AWS has also added a pair of new features which indicate its commitment to making Verified Access better over time.
Integration with AWS Web Application Firewall (WAF) means that customers can protect web applications by filtering out common exploits like SQL injection and cross-site scripting while continuing to maintain granular control over access.
Furthermore, the tool will allow you to pass signed identity context to your application endpoints, such as emails, usernames, and other attributes. The announcement explains the benefits:
“This enables you to personalize your application using this context, eliminating the need to re-authenticate the user for personalization. The signed context allows the application to verify cryptographically that Verified Access has authenticated the request.”
Having helped customers migrate during the preview stage, the company has given two common use cases that could apply to companies looking to transition. They include AWS Site-to-Site VPN and an Internet-facing corporate application.
The post also touches on a handful of key areas for consideration before migrating applications to AWS Verified Access, highlighting the fact that the transition might not be as black and white as some may hope.