Overview
Most attacks on cloud workloads arrive over the network. DDoS floods target public endpoints, bots scrape and abuse applications, exploit attempts probe web front doors, and compromised instances try to call home over DNS. Teams usually respond by locking down accounts and patching instances. That work matters, but it leaves the network layers largely at their defaults, which is where most of the traffic-level risk lives.
AWS ships managed defenses for each of these layers, and several of them are free or nearly free. What’s usually missing is someone to assess which layers you actually need, turn them on properly, and keep them enforced as the environment grows. That’s the gap this solution closes.
How It Works
Layered network security on AWS works from the outside in:
- Edge layer: Deliver applications through Amazon CloudFront so traffic is absorbed by the AWS global edge network instead of your origin. Attach AWS WAF to block common web exploits, control bots, and rate-limit abuse, using managed rule groups maintained by AWS. AWS Shield Standard provides always-on DDoS protection at no additional cost, and Shield Advanced adds 24/7 access to the AWS Shield Response Team and protection against DDoS-related cost spikes.
- Network layer: AWS Network Firewall gives your VPCs a managed firewall with intrusion detection and prevention, backed by AWS-managed threat intelligence. Filter outbound traffic so compromised workloads can’t reach known-bad destinations, and inspect traffic moving between subnets and VPCs.
- DNS layer: Route 53 DNS Firewall blocks resolution of known malicious domains, cutting off malware command-and-control channels and DNS-tunneling exfiltration before they leave your network. Managed domain lists are maintained by AWS, so protection updates without your attention.
- Central management: AWS Firewall Manager enforces your WAF, Network Firewall, DNS Firewall, and security group policies across every account in your organization from one place, so new accounts inherit your protections automatically and drift stays visible.
Expected Outcomes
- Volumetric attacks absorbed at the edge, away from your origin infrastructure
- Web exploits and bot abuse blocked before they reach your applications
- Compromised workloads contained by egress filtering and DNS controls
- One set of firewall policies enforced across every account, with drift visible
- A defensible, documented network security baseline you can show auditors and customers
Why CloudVantage
As an AWS Partner, we start with a free network security assessment: we review your edge, network, and DNS layers, show you where you’re exposed, and propose a pragmatic baseline sized to your team rather than an enterprise program you’ll never finish. From there we implement, document, and hand over the controls, and we can manage them ongoing if that’s a better fit for your team.