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What is Amazon GovCloud?

Amazon GovCloud is an isolated Amazon Web Service (AWS) designed to allow customers and the U.S government agencies to move their confidential data into the cloud to address their compliance and specific regulatory requirements. It runs under ITAR, the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations. With this cloud service, US citizens can run workloads that contain any government-oriented or controlled information data in the AWS GovCloud region. The service offers features such as FIPS 140-2 endpoints as well as logical and physical, administrative access to citizens of the United States only.

Its users can also use unique capabilities and run unclassified workloads depending on their requirements. AWS is also responsible for managing logical and physical controls for its boundary. However, the overall security of the data moved into the AWS cloud is shared responsibly, where the data owner controls access to the content in their account. The AWS also provides details on setting up an account, and it has features that can distinguish a U.S. account from others. It also defines usage guidelines to allow users to process ITAR-regulated data within their region. Its guide assumes that users are familiar with the services offered by Amazon Web Services.

Where Is the AWS GovCloud Service Located?

The AWS GovCloud region is located in the Northwestern and Northeastern parts of the United States. It comes with two joint authorization boards, where one covers the eastern areas and the other one the western region. Customers can use AWS Artifact to request immediate access to their account at any point. However, government customers might need to submit a request to the compliance agency to access the Amazon Web Service. It supports various existing AWS certifications and security controls and offers the same level of security as other regions. Customers can find (Read more...)