This product has charges associated with the pre-built security hardening and recurring maintenance. Deploy a Rocky Linux 8.10 virtual machine hardened with 300+ security controls to support PCI DSS needs. Save time. Launch secure. Accelerate compliance.
This Rocky Linux 8.10 image is designed for businesses operating under PCI DSS requirements. It is ideal for payment processors, SaaS platforms, and merchants who store or handle cardholder data. The image includes over 300 system-level security controls that reduce your attack surface and make it easier to meet PCI expectations from day one.
Our PCI-focused images are built using a secure and automated process that applies proven security hardening at the OS level. Controls are selected and implemented to enforce secure defaults, restrict access, and meet high-trust requirements. There are no tools or agents pre-installed. You get a clean and secure starting point ready for audit-driven infrastructure.
This is ideal for companies needing secure infrastructure quickly, without spending weeks building and testing their own hardened images. Most default OS images from cloud providers are not secure by default. Our hardened images reduce risk, save time, and help teams pass audits faster. We are a US-based company with over four years of history. All engineering and support are handled by US-based staff and we are trusted by both enterprise and government customers.
Highlights
Includes over 300 hardened security configurations designed to reduce risk and help meet PCI compliance requirements. You can save weeks of engineering time and get a compliant system in minutes.
Purpose-built for PCI use cases such as payment platforms and cardholder environments. Our hardened images provide a clean deployment experience with secure defaults baked in.
Trusted by payment providers and government entities. Our images have powered over a billion compute hours and are backed by a fully US-based team.
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 for this hardened Rocky Linux 8 image, billed per running instance. Each dimension maps to a specific AWS ARM64 (Graviton) instance type, so your rate depends on the instance you launch. Options span general-purpose, compute-, memory-, and storage-optimized families, plus metal and various sizes from nano through 48xlarge. Larger instances carry higher hourly rates. There are no tiers or commitments—cost scales with the size and number of instances you run and how long they run. AWS infrastructure charges apply separately from this software fee.
Top-of-mind questions for buyers
Am I charged the hourly software fee when my instance is stopped or powered off?
The software fee meters running instance-hours only. A stopped or powered-off instance does not accrue this hourly charge. Note that AWS may still bill separately for attached storage on a stopped instance. The software license here counts only the hours your instance runs.
What do I actually receive for this hourly rate beyond the base operating system?
You get a hardened Rocky Linux 8 image organized around PCI DSS operating-system requirements. It ships with a PCI-focused configuration baseline and a per-image evidence pack as published. Images are patched monthly with an expedited critical-update path. Your team still owns application security, networking, logging, and assessor validation.
How does my bill change if I run several instances or switch to a larger instance type?
Each running instance accrues the hourly rate for its specific type. Running multiple instances adds each rate together on the same invoice. Switching to a larger instance type raises your hourly rate; smaller types lower it. There are no tiers or commitments—cost scales directly with instance size, count, and runtime.
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Refunds are not available. Billing will be assessed per the standard billing terms of the applicable cloud service provider.
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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
This is the first release of the Rocky Linux 8 PCI-hardened image. All current security patches are applied and over 300 security controls are configured by default. The image has no additional software installed.
Additional details
Usage instructions
Launch the image inside your secure VPC.
Scope access to trusted IPs only. Avoid exposing the instance directly to the internet.
Use AWS Systems Manager Session Manager or connect via VPN if possible.
To connect via SSH: ssh rocky@<your-ec2-public-ip>.
Ensure port 22 is open in your security group and locked down to your IP.
No additional steps are required. The system is already fully hardened and ready to use.
Support is part of what you get with a Citadel image, and it comes from a US-based team that works on these builds every day. Email support@citadelpci.com with anything - choosing the right image, how the hardening behaves, patching and releases, evidence for a PCI DSS review, or a question you are not sure who else to ask. We read every message, and we would much rather you ask than guess. More about how we work with customers:
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 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 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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