Amazon introduces its next-generation AWS Verified Access security technology. At its annual AWS re:Invent trade show, the company confirmed that the technology would be available to companies running Apple products through partnerships with Jamf, JumpCloud, and other device management providers in the space.
Securing the remote enterprise, one service at a time
The beauty of AWS Verified Access is that it allows IT to provide secure access to applications without using a VPN. Based on Zero Trust principles, Verified Access enables teams to create, configure, and manage a precise set of policies for accessing private applications.
Think of it as an added layer of protection in the rapidly changing security landscape, also ensuring valuable corporate data isn't transmitted through less-trusted VPN servers. It also means that users won't call for help because they're having VPN issues.
The idea is that IT can define security policies and criteria, and these requirements must be met before users or their devices can access internal services hosted on AWS. Verified Access evaluates each access request in real time and only enrolls users in the app if these conditions are met.
“This means you can set a unique access policy for each app, with conditions based on identity data and device posture,” Amazon explains. “For example, you can create policies that allow only finance team members to access your financial reporting app and use only supported devices.”
Jamf explains that the technology means customers can configure things so that only devices that are managed and come from a specific Internet Protocol (IP) address range, have a certain device risk score, or have a minimum version of the device. of the operating system (OS) can access a system.
What are the benefits?
The biggest change should be an improved security posture. Unlike traditional protections where access is evaluated only once, this system evaluates each application access request as it arrives. This makes it much more difficult for bad actors to jump from one app to another.
AWS also integrates with many device and credential management services (such as Jamf and JumpCloud) and logs all access attempts, making troubleshooting easier.
But for the growing number of hybrid and remote businesses, AWS Verified Access is an opportunity to lock down your enterprise cloud-based services and integration processes even more tightly with the ability to protect users at the edge more effective.
Earlier this fall, Jamf announced that it was working with AWS to create a workflow for managing and providing an additional layer of security for large-scale Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) Mac instances.
“AWS is proud to continue to work with Jamf so organizations can provide reliable access to their users,” said Dave Brown, Vice President of Amazon EC2 at AWS. “Today's announcement of AWS Verified Access Integration is the next step in a powerful partnership to help the business succeed with Apple.
Apple's expanding business game
Of course, the introduction provides further proof of how far Apple continues to grow in the business. After all, this kind of support is unlikely to be available if Macs, iPhones, and iPads hadn't caught on so quickly in recent years. It's also a testament to the security enhancements for Apple products in the business that continue to emerge from players in the space, even as Apple's share grows.
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