AWS opens cloud for classified data

NOTE: This article first appeared on GCN.com.

Federal agencies now have the ability to store and work with classified data in the Amazon Web Services Secret Region.

Within the intelligence community, all 17 IC agencies will be able to run classified workloads up to the secret level on the new AWS Secret Region through the CIA's Commercial Cloud Services contract with AWS. Since AWS had previously developed an air-gapped top secret region for the IC, the company now provides cloud services that can meet security requirements for unclassified, sensitive, secret and top-secret data.

With the launch of the AWS Secret Region, “the U.S. Intelligence Community can now execute their missions with a common set of tools, a constant flow of the latest technology and the flexibility to rapidly scale with the mission,” said Teresa Carlson, AWS’ vice president for worldwide public sector. “Ultimately, this capability allows more agency collaboration, helps get critical information to decision makers faster, and enables an increase in our nation’s Security.”

The AWS Secret Region also will be available to non-IC U.S. agencies, provided they have secret-level network access and their own contract vehicles for using the AWS Secret Region.  Non-intelligence agencies will not be able to use the CIA's Commercial Cloud Services contract.

“The AWS Secret Region is a key component of the Intel Community’s multi-fabric cloud strategy," said CIA CIO John Edwards said. "It will have the same material impact on the IC at the Secret level that C2S has had at Top Secret.”

AWS said the new Secret Region will be assessed and  accredited for compliance under the Intelligence Community Directive 503 from the Director of National Intelligence and the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Special Publication 800-53 Revision 4.

The Defense Information Systems Agency recently issued AWS provisional authorities to operate six services at Impact Level 5 in its GovCloud region, giving the company's Defense Department customers and partners the ability to run workloads for controlled unclassified information exceeding impact level 4 and for unclassified National Security Systems.