Login.gov on AWS: One Username and Password for Every Public User

Login.gov delivers an identity platform for public users interacting with government websites by combining maximum security standards, open source technologies, and the AWS Cloud.

The goal is simple: one username and one password for every public user who interacts with government websites. To accomplish this, login.gov merges a user-focused design with the highest security standards from the National Institute for Standards in Technology (NIST) and the Cybersecurity National Action Plan. The team also committed to making login.gov an open project that leverages key technologies—like Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS), and Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3)—to build a highly-available and scalable platform.

While performance of the platform is critical, security is paramount to the platform’s success. Login.gov is leveraging AWS services to give the platform the strongest security disposition possible. This includes using AWS to rapidly iterate and keep up with the latest technologies and current cyber threats.

The team can quickly stand up new environments to validate patches, push changes, or test new solutions. Additionally, login.gov is leveraging key AWS services, like Amazon CloudWatch and AWS Key Management Service (KMS), to keep their platform secure. KMS is critical in deploying their ‘vault’ and allowing data encryption unique to every individual.

Login.gov will not only make accessing government websites easier, but it will also aid federal agencies in deploying identity solutions. With the login.gov team managing the system, federal agencies no longer have to spend time, money, and resources developing and maintaining their own identity platform. This means federal agencies can spend fewer resources on developing identity solutions and more resources on their mission.