This product has charges associated with it for hardening and maintenance. This Citadel VM is secured using 300+ open source security controls and validated using Citadel Audit.
This product has charges associated with it for hardening and maintenance. This Citadel Hardened VM is secured using 300+ security controls and validated using Citadel Audit. This AMI has been hardened by security professionals to meet the rigorous standards of the PCI DSS.
This AMI delivers a secure, stable, and high-performance environment, ideal for developing and running cloud and enterprise applications. Regularly updated and maintained, this Citadel VM stands at the forefront of reliability and efficiency.
Deploying this image, hardened with the latest open source security frameworks and verified by Citadel Audit, significantly enhances your operational security while reducing costs, time, and associated risks. Tailored to meet PCI compliance standards, it offers a robust foundation for securing sensitive data. However, we recommend customers conduct their own verification using their preferred tools to ensure full compliance.
We've meticulously configured our Citadel VM to incorporate the most effective security recommendations, ensuring maximum protection without compromising the technology's functionality or performance.
This is our recommended default Hardened AMI, backed by our commitment to providing continuous security and maintenance updates, ensuring your infrastructure remains secure and up-to-date with the latest standards.
Highlights
Current and Consistent: Citadel's hardened images are kept up-to-date with the latest security patches and updates, ensuring you always have the most recent advancements in security and technology at your fingertips.
Built on open source secure frameworks and validated by Citadel Audit, our solutions offer unparalleled security and reliability, widely accepted by governments and industries. Our community-driven approach safeguards critical infrastructure and sensitive data, proving our commitment to the highest cybersecurity standards. Essential for top-tier security defense.
AWS Marketplace now accepts line of credit payments through the PNC Vendor Finance program. This program is available to select AWS customers in the US, excluding NV, NC, ND, TN, & VT.
Pricing is based on actual usage, with charges varying according to how much you consume. Subscriptions have no end date and may be canceled any time. Alternatively, you can pay upfront for a contract, which typically covers your anticipated usage for the contract duration. Any usage beyond contract will incur additional usage-based costs.
Additional AWS infrastructure costs may apply. Use the AWS Pricing Calculator to estimate your infrastructure costs.
You pay by the hour based on the ARM-based EC2 instance type you run. Each dimension maps to one instance size, so pricing scales with the compute, memory, and storage that instance provides. Smaller instances like t4g.nano and a1.medium cost less per hour, while metal and large multi-xlarge instances such as m8g.metal-48xl cost more. There are no tiers or add-ons to choose. You select the instance that fits your workload, and the software charge applies on top of standard AWS infrastructure charges for that instance.
Top-of-mind questions for buyers
What exactly does the hourly software charge cover on each instance?
You pay for a hardened, PCI-compliant Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 ARM image maintained by the vendor. It includes over 100 security controls, PCI documentation, monthly updates, and vendor support. This software charge applies per running instance-hour, on top of standard AWS infrastructure charges for that instance.
Am I charged the hourly software fee when an instance is stopped?
The software charge meters running instance-hours. Stopped or powered-off instances do not accrue this hourly software fee. You may still pay standard AWS storage charges for attached volumes while the instance is stopped, but the software license bills only running time.
How do I move from a small instance to a larger one for growing workloads?
Each dimension maps to one ARM instance size, so you pick the instance matching your workload. To scale up, you launch or resize to a metal or multi-xlarge instance. The hourly software rate then follows the new instance size. There are no tiers or thresholds to trigger.
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Vendor refund policy
At present, Citadel does not provide refunds. Billing will be only for the actual duration of instance use. Just like other Citadel offerings, our primary objective is to ensure complete satisfaction for all our customers. Should you need further assistance, please reach out to our team directly at support@citadelelement.com.
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An AMI is a virtual image that provides the information required to launch an instance. Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) instances are virtual servers on which you can run your applications and workloads, offering varying combinations of CPU, memory, storage, and networking resources. You can launch as many instances from as many different AMIs as you need.
Version release notes
Security patches and package updates (June 2026)
Additional details
Usage instructions
Connect over SSH using the key pair selected at launch. The default user is shown above. See the listing's usage instructions for full details.
Our skilled support team is prepared to assist with any questions regarding our virtual machine images. For further detailed guidance, we offer on-demand support services at an additional fee. Should you need any assistance, feel free to contact us at support@citadelelement.com. We're always here to help.
AWS infrastructure support
AWS Support is a one-on-one, fast-response support channel that is staffed 24x7x365 with experienced and technical support engineers. The service helps customers of all sizes and technical abilities to successfully utilize the products and features provided by Amazon Web Services.
This product has charges associated with the pre-built security hardening and recurring maintenance. Deploy a Amazon Linux 2023 virtual machine hardened with 300+ security controls to support PCI DSS needs. Save time. Launch secure. Accelerate compliance.
This product has charges associated with it for hardening and maintenance. This Citadel VM is secured using 300+ open source security controls and validated using Citadel Audit.
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