AWS Security Blog
Category: How-To
How to Use AWS Organizations to Automate End-to-End Account Creation
AWS Organizations offers new capabilities for managing AWS accounts, including automated account creation via the Organizations API. For example, you can bring new development teams onboard by using the Organizations API to create an account, AWS CloudFormation templates to configure the account (such as for AWS Identity and Access Management [IAM] and networking), and service control […]
How to Use Batch References in Amazon Cloud Directory to Refer to New Objects in a Batch Request
In Amazon Cloud Directory, it’s often necessary to add new objects or add relationships between new objects and existing objects to reflect changes in a real-world hierarchy. With Cloud Directory, you can make these changes efficiently by using batch references within batch operations. Let’s say I want to take an existing child object in a […]
How to Configure Even Stronger Password Policies to Help Meet Your Security Standards by Using AWS Directory Service for Microsoft Active Directory
With AWS Directory Service for Microsoft Active Directory (Enterprise Edition), also known as AWS Microsoft AD, you can now create and enforce custom password policies for your Microsoft Windows users. AWS Microsoft AD now includes five empty password policies that you can edit and apply with standard Microsoft password policy tools such as Active Directory […]
How to Increase the Redundancy and Performance of Your AWS Directory Service for Microsoft AD Directory by Adding Domain Controllers
You can now increase the redundancy and performance of your AWS Directory Service for Microsoft Active Directory (Enterprise Edition), also known as AWS Microsoft AD, directory by deploying additional domain controllers. Adding domain controllers increases redundancy, resulting in even greater resilience and higher availability. This new capability enables you to have at least two domain […]
How to Facilitate Data Analysis and Fulfill Security Requirements by Using Centralized Flow Log Data
I am an AWS Professional Services consultant, which has me working directly with AWS customers on a daily basis. One of my customers recently asked me to provide a solution to help them fulfill their security requirements by having the flow log data from VPC Flow Logs sent to a central AWS account. This is […]
How to Deploy Local Administrator Password Solution with AWS Microsoft AD
September 16, 2019: We’ve updated this post to reflect current AWS service names. Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) from Microsoft simplifies password management by allowing organizations to use Active Directory (AD) to store unique passwords for computers. Typically, an organization might reuse the same local administrator password across the computers in an AD domain. However, […]
How to Control TLS Ciphers in Your AWS Elastic Beanstalk Application by Using AWS CloudFormation
Securing data in transit is critical to the integrity of transactions on the Internet. Whether you log in to an account with your user name and password or give your credit card details to a retailer, you want your data protected as it travels across the Internet from place to place. One of the protocols […]
How to Update AWS CloudHSM Devices and Client Instances to the Software and Firmware Versions Supported by AWS
Note from September 18, 2017: In this blog post, “AWS CloudHSM” refers to the product that’s now known as AWS CloudHSM Classic. As I explained in my previous Security Blog post, a hardware security module (HSM) is a hardware device designed with the security of your data and cryptographic key material in mind. It is […]
How to Visualize and Refine Your Network’s Security by Adding Security Group IDs to Your VPC Flow Logs
September 9, 2021: Amazon Elasticsearch Service has been renamed to Amazon OpenSearch Service. See details. August 31, 2020: The directions in this blog post for how to create an Amazon ES cluster have been updated. February 28, 2019: The features and services described in this post have changed since the post was published and the […]
How to Enable the Use of Remote Desktops by Deploying Microsoft Remote Desktop Licensing Manager on AWS Microsoft AD
AWS Directory Service for Microsoft Active Directory, also known as AWS Microsoft AD, now supports Microsoft Remote Desktop Licensing Manager (RD Licensing). By using AWS Microsoft AD as the directory for your Remote Desktop Services solution, you reduce the time it takes to deploy remote desktop solutions on Amazon EC2 for Windows Server instances, and […]