- The approval covers AWS services for NATO, member governments and defense industry partners
- AWS operates 15 regions within NATO member nations, including seven in mainland Europe
- Spain’s National Cryptographic Centre evaluated AWS capabilities during the approval process
Amazon Web Services has secured approval from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for its cloud capabilities to handle NATO Restricted information in regions located within member nations. AWS said Tuesday it is the first cloud provider to receive this authorization.
What Does the NATO Approval Cover?
AWS operates 15 Regions within NATO member nations, including seven in mainland Europe. The approval covers the use of approved AWS services for NATO Restricted workloads in any of those regions by NATO, member governments and defense industry partners.
The authorization also gives participating nations a common security reference when considering AWS for NATO Restricted workloads. Countries can use the NATO approval as an initial basis for their respective national accreditation reviews.
David Appel, acting vice president of worldwide public sector at AWS, said governments and citizens deserve the same infrastructure and services that drive innovation in the private sector, adding that AWS will continue working to provide the interoperability that allied nations need to strengthen their resilience and protect their citizens.
What Security Requirements Did AWS Meet?
NATO D32 sets the security requirements for public cloud environments handling NATO Restricted information. AWS documented its capabilities against those requirements during the approval process.
Spain’s National Cryptographic Centre evaluated AWS capabilities as part of the approval process. NATO subsequently approved the capabilities and made them available to member nations.
Accreditation for NATO Restricted workloads remains the responsibility of individual member nations or the NATO Communications and Information Agency when acting as the host nation.
AWS said its Trusted Secure Enclave – Sensitive Edition provides a foundation for customers seeking to use the approved capabilities. National security and defense organizations can also work with AWS account teams to determine how the authorization applies to their specific workloads.
