Sustainable Procurement Practices for Hardware and Equipment Used on AWS

If you are using the power of AWS for your organisation, it’s time to consider the sustainability of your hardware and equipment procurement. Sustainable procurement practices are vital for environmental, social, and legal reasons.

Explore the significance of sustainable procurement practices for hardware and equipment used on AWS and how they can contribute to greener and more responsible business operations.

Overview of AWS and its Hardware and Equipment
AWS, a leading cloud computing platform, uses various hardware and instruments, including servers, storage devices, and networking equipment. However, the environmental impact of procuring and using these technologies is a concern.

The production and disposal of these devices contribute to carbon emissions, resource depletion, and electronic waste. According to the UN Global E-waste Monitor, 53.6 million metric tonnes of e-waste was generated globally in 2019. Data centres contribute a significant percentage of that waste. However, AWS has begun implementing sustainable hardware usage and disposal practices, including the reverse logistics program.

The reverse logistics program exemplifies Amazon Web Services’ commitment to sustainability by repurposing retired hardware from data centres; they minimise waste and maximise resource utilisation. Functional, sanitised, and retired server racks and components are demanufactured, repaired and tested for reuse in the AWS data centres.

Benefits of Sustainable Procurement Practices for AWS
Sustainable procurement practices for hardware and equipment on AWS offer benefits for your company beyond environmental responsibility, including:

● Reduction in Carbon Footprint
By selecting energy-efficient devices and prioritising renewable energy sources, AWS can minimise its greenhouse gas emissions.

● Cost Savings Through Energy Efficiency
Hardware and equipment with energy-efficient features reduce energy consumption and cost savings for AWS and its customers.

● Enhanced Brand Reputation and Customer Loyalty
Embracing sustainable practices enhances AWS’s brand reputation, attracting customers who value ethical and eco-friendly business practices and fostering increased loyalty and trust.

Key Sustainable Procurement Practices for Hardware and Equipment on AWS
To ensure sustainable procurement of hardware and equipment on AWS, several key practices can be adopted, like:

● Choosing Energy-Efficient Equipment
Opt for devices with high energy efficiency ratings to minimise power consumption and optimise resource utilisation.

● Prioritising Products with Environmentally Friendly Certifications
Select AWS products with certifications like ENERGY STAR or EPEAT, ensuring energy efficiency and reduced environmental impact.

● Considering the Entire Lifecycle of the Product
Evaluate the environmental impact of hardware from manufacturing to disposal. Choose devices with lower environmental footprints for a greener approach.

● Encouraging Suppliers to Adopt Sustainable Practices
Collaborate with suppliers to promote environmentally responsible manufacturing, waste reduction, and energy optimisation.

AWS Initiatives for Sustainable Procurement
AWS prioritises sustainable procurement, aiming for 100% renewable energy usage and collaborating with suppliers for environmentally responsible practices.

Initiatives like the AWS Supplier Code of Conduct and supplier sustainability assessments drive environmental stewardship. AWS promotes a greener future and sustainable procurement industry-wide through collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Tips for Individuals and Organizations Using AWS
Incorporating sustainable procurement practices while using AWS is essential for promoting a positive environmental impact. By prioritising eco-friendly hardware, selecting products with sustainable certifications, and assessing the lifecycle impact of purchases, organisations can harness the full potential of AWS while actively working towards a more sustainable future.

Paving the Way to a Greener Future with Sustainable AWS Procurement
Choose a sustainable path with AWS and make a positive difference today. Contact our team of Amazon Web Services experts at WOLK Technology for guidance and support on your sustainable procurement journey.

Compliance with industry regulations and standards is vital for data protection and maintaining trust in the modern business landscape. AWS is a valuable ally for companies of all sizes, offering a strong infrastructure and comprehensive compliance framework.

Discover how AWS empowers organisations to confidently meet industry-specific requirements, ensuring seamless compliance and strengthening their overall security posture.

Understanding Industry Regulations and Standards
Different industries are bound by specific regulations and standards designed to protect data and ensure privacy.

Examples include the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) for healthcare and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) for handling cardholder data.

Compliance with these regulations is mandatory; failing to meet them can cause severe penalties and reputational damage.

AWS Compliance Framework
AWS provides a comprehensive compliance framework that assists businesses in meeting regulatory requirements.

Under the shared responsibility model, AWS secures the underlying infrastructure, while customers must implement controls to secure their data and applications. This collaborative approach allows organisations to benefit from AWS’s robust security infrastructure while maintaining control over compliance efforts.

Ensuring Security and Privacy on AWS
AWS offers many security features and services to protect data in the cloud. Implementing best practices such as strong encryption, access controls, and network security measures strengthens the security posture.

AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) allows you to manage user access and permissions for AWS resources. You can create and manage user accounts, assign permissions, and enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) to add an extra layer of security.

AWS also provides various encryption options to protect data at rest and in transit. AWS Key Management Service (KMS) enables you to create and manage encryption keys, while services like Amazon S3, Amazon EBS, and Amazon RDS support server-side encryption. AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) enables easy provisioning and management of SSL/TLS certificates.

Auditing and Monitoring on AWS
Continuous auditing and monitoring play a vital role in maintaining compliance. AWS offers services such as AWS CloudTrail and AWS Config, which provide detailed logs and visibility into account activity, resource configurations, and changes.

These services aid in identifying potential compliance issues, enabling prompt responses to security incidents, and facilitating compliance audits.

Compliance Automation and Documentation
AWS offers automation tools and services to streamline compliance processes. AWS Config Rules and AWS Security Hub automate compliance checks and provide real-time alerts.

Additionally, AWS Artifact and AWS Systems Manager assist in documentation and compliance workflow management, simplifying the process of demonstrating adherence to regulations.

Safeguard Your Company on AWS
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Implementing Security Controls and Monitoring Mechanisms to Ensure Compliance on AWS

With 94% of businesses relying on cloud services, implementing strong security controls on AWS has become essential for safeguarding sensitive data and ensuring regulatory compliance. Effective monitoring mechanisms are critical for promptly detecting and responding to security incidents.

Discover the importance of security controls on AWS and the necessity of monitoring for compliance.

What are Security Controls on AWS?
To understand security controls on AWS, it’s essential to know about the AWS Shared Responsibility Model. While AWS ensures the security of the cloud infrastructure, customers are responsible for securing their data and applications on AWS. There are several types of security controls available to customers, including:

● Identity and Access Management (IAM)
IAM allows users to manage user accounts, access policies, and enable multi-factor authentication for improved security.

● Network Security
With the network security control, you can configure VPCs, use security groups and network ACLs, and monitor with AWS CloudWatch to establish a secure network infrastructure.

● Data Encryption
Protect data at rest and in transit with AWS encryption options, like Amazon S3 Server-Side Encryption (SSE), Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS), and AWS Key Management Service (KMS).

● Logging and Monitoring
Utilise AWS CloudTrail for auditing and AWS GuardDuty for threat detection to proactively monitor and respond to security incidents.

● Incident Response and Recovery
Establish incident response and recovery procedures to ensure business continuity and minimise the impact of disruptions.

How You Can Implement Security Controls on AWS?
To effectively implement security controls on AWS, follow these steps:

Create and manage user accounts, set up access policies and roles, and implement multi-factor authentication for improved security.
Configure your VPC to isolate resources, utilise security groups and network ACLs to control inbound and outbound traffic, and monitor network traffic using AWS CloudWatch for early threat detection.
Understand the different encryption methods, encrypt data to protect sensitive information, and manage encryption keys effectively to maintain strong security measures.

Monitoring Mechanisms for Compliance
AWS offers monitoring mechanisms for compliance, including AWS CloudTrail for tracking API calls and auditing, AWS Config for assessing resource configurations and compliance, and AWS GuardDuty for continuous threat detection.

CloudTrail logs identify suspicious activities, while Config ensures adherence to industry standards. GuardDuty increases security by providing proactive monitoring and response to potential incidents. These tools enable organisations to maintain a secure environment and ensure compliance on AWS.

Ensuring Compliance on AWS
To ensure compliance on AWS, organisations must conduct regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing and implement a strong patch management strategy. They should also perform security audits and compliance checks and establish strong incident response and recovery procedures.

These measures help identify and address security weaknesses, apply necessary updates, assess adherence to regulations, and respond effectively to incidents, ensuring a secure and compliant environment on AWS.

Fortify Your AWS Infrastructure With WOLK
Fortify your AWS infrastructure and optimise its architecture with the expertise of WOLK, an AWS Well-Architected Program Partner. Contact WOLK today to take your AWS environment to the next level of security and efficiency.

Innovations in Data Centre Design and Energy-Efficient Cooling Systems to Reduce Energy Consumption on AWS

Data centres have become the backbone of modern business operations, supporting various industries and enabling seamless connectivity. However, their growing energy consumption has raised concerns about environmental sustainability.

Explore how AWS is pioneering innovative data centre design and energy-efficient cooling systems to address infrastructure challenges, reduce energy consumption, and drive your business towards a more sustainable future.

Traditional Data Centre Challenges and Innovations in Data Centre Design
Traditional data centre design results in high energy consumption and a devastating environmental impact. This is primarily caused by inefficient cooling systems and non-renewable energy usage. According to experts, data centres are projected to consume 20% of the world’s power supply by 2025.

Advancements in data centre design have revolutionised the way we approach efficiency and sustainability, leading to innovations such as:

● Modular Data Centre Architecture
Many data centres now employ modular designs, offering flexibility, scalability, and reduced energy consumption. This allows for easier expansion and resource optimisation. Currently, AWS only offers its Modular Data Centre services for the U.S. Department of Defense. However, the design may soon be commonplace across numerous locations and applications.

The AWS Modular Data Centre is potentially a convenient solution for customers seeking high-availability infrastructure. Equipped with internal networking, cooling, and power distribution equipment, it supports AWS Outposts or Snowball Edge devices for compute and storage needs. Scalability is achieved through additional modular units. Low latency applications can be run from any location using AWS services and APIs.

● Liquid Cooling Systems
Advanced cooling technologies, such as immersion cooling and direct evaporative cooling, have been successfully implemented on AWS. These systems minimise energy usage and improve efficiency.

AWS Cooling Systems incorporate innovative technologies and cooling mediums to minimize environmental impact. By optimising cooling infrastructure and using advanced techniques like free cooling, AWS reduces energy consumption by up to 20% and limits greenhouse gas emissions associated with data centre cooling, ensuring a greener cloud infrastructure.

● Renewable Energy Integration
Data centres are reducing their carbon footprint by harnessing solar, wind, and hydroelectric power. AWS is leading the way by promoting the use of renewable energy sources.

AWS has invested in 10.9 gigawatts of clean wind and solar power to provide energy for their data centres across the globe. This includes over 200 on-site solar facilities and 164 wind and solar farms.

● Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Cooling Optimization
Artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms optimise cooling systems through real-time monitoring and analysis. These technologies enable proactive adjustments to cooling resources based on temperature and performance data, maximising energy efficiency.

Predictive maintenance algorithms can also help identify potential issues, enabling timely interventions and preventing energy wastage.

Data Centres and AWS Leading the Charge Towards Energy Efficiency
As data centres continue to evolve, energy efficiency becomes increasingly important. WOLK Technology, a certified AWS Well-Architected Program partner, offers tailored IT solutions to help businesses optimise their operations and adopt energy-efficient practices.

Contact us today to learn more about our services and drive your company towards a greener and more sustainable future.

Protecting Sensitive Data with AWS Encryption Services and Key Management Best Practices

Protecting your most sensitive data is a priority for all companies, whether you manage a large or smaller business. No target is too small to be vulnerable to cyber threats, and small-to-mid-sized businesses (SMBs) are at the highest risk of cyber-attacks and data breaches.

Learn how Amazon encryption services like AWS Key Management Services (AWS KMS) can protect your business data and what are the best practices to follow for maximum efficiency. The best part is, you don’t need to sweat the detail. When you’re a client, these services are all managed under WOLK’s Managed Services Agreement.

How AWS Key Management Service (KMS) Protects Sensitive Data
AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS) is a convenient managed service allowing business owners and IT system managers to create and manage cryptographic keys. These keys are used in data encryption, protecting your most sensitive data from unauthorised access.

AWS KMS is easy to use, reducing the process of setting up and managing cryptographic keys to just a few clicks. It is also fully integrated with other critical Amazon services, such as Elastic Block Store (EBS), Amazon S3, and RedShift.

AWS KMS allows you to centralise your cryptographic key management in one easy-to-use point, letting you create, rotate, manage, and delete keys and key permissions.

Data Security at the Source with Amazon S3 Server-Side Encryption
The Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) is an object storage service capable of intelligently retrieving data from any location to any device. Amazon S3 is an essential part of many organisations’ workflows, useful for virtually any application: from websites and data archives to mobile applications and enterprise-grade storage.

Besides its storage capabilities, Amazon S3 has many benefits for workplace security and sensitive data protection.

All businesses using Amazon S3 can benefit from its server-side encryption, protecting your data before it reaches AWS data centres and decrypting it when retrieved. Amazon S3 is designed to integrate with AWS KMS, letting you use the cryptographic keys and encryption standards you configured beforehand.

Additionally, since January 2023, all new objects uploaded to Amazon S3 servers are now automatically encrypted, even if you did not specify a key with AWS KMS.

Best Practices to Follow with AWS KMS
Follow these security best practices to maximise business security and make the most out of AWS KMS.

● Always follow the principle of least privilege. Each employee or team member should only have the permissions they need and no more.
● Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) on API calls to add another layer of security. MFA ensures that even if an attacker can access an employee’s valid credentials, they cannot tamper with business data without access to that employee’s secure device.
● Allow services such as AWS CloudTrail to audit key usage and monitor all key-related activity.

Enhance Business Data Security with WOLK
As a partner of the AWS Well-Architected Program, WOLK’s team can help your business implement a security plan compliant with the AWS Security pillar. Contact us today to arrange a review.

Best Practices for Building Secure and Compliant Environments on AWS

New cyber threats emerge daily, but building secure environments is the best way to ensure maximum data security and protection against breaches. When working on the cloud with providers such as AWS, complying with the latest data security standards and applying data security best practices is critical to protecting sensitive data.

How Cloud Security Works on AWS
Amazon Web Services (AWS) uses a security and compliance model called AWS Shared Responsibility. Under this model, AWS and customers are jointly responsible for data security and compliance with the latest data protection standards.

AWS is generally responsible for the security of the cloud. Amazon is responsible for data security and regulatory compliance of the AWS global infrastructure, hardware, software, and networking used to run AWS services.

The customer is responsible for security in the cloud. Customers must ensure the safety and compliance of all data, processes, applications, platforms, and operating systems they run using AWS services.

AWS Security Best Practices
While knowing the AWS Shared Responsibility Model is essential, building a secure environment requires following cloud security best practices. Apply the following recommendations to your AWS instances to maximise data safety:

● AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS) to encrypt sensitive data.
● Understand the principle of least privilege and use AWS Identity and Access. Management (IAM) to ensure your team members only have access to the data they need.
● Detect potential threats early with activity monitoring services such as AWS CloudTrail and Amazon CloudWatch.
● Build an incident response and recovery plan to address data breaches, back up your most sensitive data, and recover from other security incidents.
● Create a culture of security awareness within your organisation to encourage good cloud safety habits.

AWS Compliance Best Practices
Regardless of your organisation’s industry, integrating compliance requirements into the design and architecture of your AWS is one of the best ways to meet data security standards. Some compliance best practices to consider include:

● Identify your industry’s regulatory requirements and whether they apply in your region and particular use case. For instance, U.S.-based AWS customers in the medical sector may need to comply with HIPAA or the HITECH Act.
● Use AWS services such as Amazon Macie to identify and protect your data based on its sensitivity. They can ensure your sensitive data receives the protection required by all applicable regulatory standards.
● Visit the AWS compliance resource repository to learn the specific processes and tasks needed to become compliant with your industry’s regulations.

Meet Your Security and Compliance Objectives with WOLK
WOLK Technology is a trusted team of Amazon Web Service experts. We can review your organisation’s cloud security and regulatory needs and help you meet data safety and compliance objectives.

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The Role of Renewable Energy Sources, such as Wind and Solar, in Powering Data Centres

Data centres play a crucial role in digital business operations, but their increasing energy demand raises concerns. They currently account for about 2% of US electricity consumption, with projections of further growth. To address their environmental impact, data centres need sustainable energy solutions.

Renewable energy sources like wind and solar power offer viable alternatives to fossil fuels. Learn how integrating these clean energy sources helps data centres reduce emissions, tackle energy challenges, and create a sustainable future.

The Integration of Wind and Solar Power in AWS Data Centres
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a top provider of cloud computing services. Its extensive network of global data centres supports various industries like e-commerce, healthcare, and finance. The scale of AWS data centres is immense, demanding substantial energy to ensure continuous operations and meet the increasing demand for cloud services.

AWS is committed to integrating renewable energy sources into its data centre operations, aiming to power its infrastructure with 100% renewable energy by 2025. The company has bought 10.9 gigawatts of clean wind and solar power to reduce its data centre energy consumption, prioritising sustainable energy solutions for a greener future.

Utilisation of Wind Power
AWS currently has 164 wind and solar farms dedicated to powering their data centres. They strategically select wind farm locations based on wind resources and proximity to data centres, enabling direct access to clean and abundant wind energy.

Harnessing Solar Energy
To maximize their clean energy usage, AWS has constructed 237 on-site solar facilities to generate power for their data centres. Solar power offers abundant availability and scalability. However, limitations include sunlight intermittency and space requirements for installations. AWS continues to explore innovative solar initiatives to maximise renewable resource utilisation.

Environmental Impact and Benefits
Integrating renewable energy sources in AWS data centres has brought about several environmental benefits, including:

Reduction in Carbon Footprint
Renewable energy sources in AWS data centres reduce carbon emissions, combating climate change. Amazon also only uses 100% recycled content rather than steel or concrete for new data centre construction to reduce embodied carbon by 70%.

Energy Efficiency Improvements
Renewable energy adoption improves energy efficiency, minimising waste and lowering operational costs in AWS data centres. AWS’s Graviton3-based Elastic Compute Cloud consumes 60% less energy than other cloud server resources.

Revolutionising Data Centres: Empowering the Future with Renewable Energy
As renewable energy adoption rises in data centres, organisations face infrastructure challenges. Overcoming limitations like grid connectivity and energy storage requires innovative approaches and technological advancements to invest in sustainable solutions.

WOLK Technology is an AWS Well-Architected Program partner and your go-to resource for tailored IT solutions that can revolutionise your business. Contact us to help you achieve energy efficiency and adopt green technologies.

AWS’s Approach to Achieving and Maintaining ISO 27001 and SOC Compliance

Two of the world’s most widely used data security standards are ISO 27001 and SOC Compliance Framework. They are two of the many global standards and frameworks Amazon has adopted as part of the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Compliance Programs.

Amazon’s processes achieve and maintain compliance with these standards to ensure AWS customers benefit from strong data security practices and regulatory adherence.

How Amazon Complies with ISO/IEC 27001 Standards
ISO/IEC 27001 is among the world’s most widely-used information security management system (ISMS) standards. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is certified for compliance with ISO/IEC 27001:2013, the 2013 version of the standard.

Amazon’s internal processes for ensuring compliance consist of three elements:

1. Regular evaluations of current information security risks, threats, and vulnerabilities
2. Designing and implementing risk management procedures and other risk controls in accordance with ISO 27001 standards
3. Application of an overall risk management process to ensure current security controls meet Amazon’s needs

Independent third-party auditors conduct AWS’s ISO/IEC 27001:2013 audits to ensure an impartial certification process.

Controls and Measures Ensuring Amazon’s SOC Compliance
System and Organisation Controls (SOC) is a data security auditing standard created by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Service providers must adhere to the five Trust Service Criteria (TSC) to be SOC compliant: Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy.

As a cloud service provider, Amazon’s systems store large quantities of potentially sensitive data. Amazon certifies AWS is fully SOC compliant to ensure data safety, privacy, and protection for all AWS customers.

As with ISO/IEC 27001 standards, AWS receives periodic audits from independent third-party organisations to verify the firm’s adherence to SOC 2 standards. AWS customers can read SOC 1 and SOC 2 reports on AWS Artifact. SOC 3 reports are available publicly in whitepaper format.

Which AWS Regions are Covered by ISO 27001 and SOC Compliances?
AWS regions covered by ISO 27001 certification include 29 data centres worldwide and over 100 AWS Edge locations, ensuring AWS customers have access to an extensive range of ISO 27001-compliant regions.

The SOC 3 report details the list of SOC-compliant AWS regions. SOC-compliant data centres are available in over 20 countries and 140 Amazon Edge locations.

Learn More with an Experienced AWS Well-Architected Partner
Scheduling an AWS Well-Architected Review with experienced AWS partner WOLK Technology is the best solution to ensure the performance of your workflows. Contact us today to learn more.

Strategies for Achieving Carbon Neutrality and Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions on AWS

Amazon’s commitment to sustainability and carbon neutrality has helped ensure Amazon Web Services (AWS) is one of the world’s most sustainable cloud service providers.

Moving to AWS is one of the most efficient ways to ensure your business can reduce its carbon footprint. Discover the most efficient carbon neutrality strategies on AWS and how to implement them.

Workload Efficiency Optimisation
Numerous AWS services and features are designed to help you optimise your business’s resource utilisation, such as AWS EC2 Auto Scaling. You can also opt for serverless cloud computing solutions like AWS Lambda, reducing costs and resource usage by only paying for the code compute time.

Businesses using resource scaling, optimisation, and serverless computing can reduce their environmental impact. These solutions can lower your organisation’s carbon and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, reduce overall energy consumption, and boost cost-effectiveness.

Selecting a Carbon-Free Region
AWS cloud services is divided into various geographic regions. While many other factors can affect your region choices, such as regulatory compliance, latency, and costs, choosing an AWS region that meets your sustainability goals is possible.

AWS offers multiple carbon-free regions, where data centres receive at least 95% of their power from renewable energy sources. Examples of highly sustainable AWS regions include the following:

● U.S. East: Northern Virginia and Ohio
● U.S. West: Northern California and Oregon
● GovCloud: US-East and US-West
● Canada (Central)
● Europe: Ireland, Frankfurt, London, Milan, Paris, Stockholm

Remember to check the AWS region you selected has the services and features you need to run your workloads. You can use the complete AWS Regional Services Lists to help you make the right choice.

Building Sustainable, Energy-Efficient Applications
Although simply migrating to AWS can help your business become more energy efficient, Amazon recommends following all aspects of the Sustainability pillar of its Well-Architected Framework for the best results.

One of the essential design principles of sustainability is “Understand your impact”. Tools such as the AWS Custom Carbon Footprint Tool are designed to let you track, measure, review, and predict your AWS usage’s carbon footprint. This tool’s information is invaluable to help you build more sustainable and energy-efficient applications.

Using Amazon instance types with the lowest environmental impact can also help reduce your applications’ carbon footprint. For example, consider transitioning away from x86-based EC2 instances in favour of AWS Graviton equivalents. These instances are powered using the energy-efficient Graviton2 and Graviton3 processors, designed to minimise energy consumption for the same or better performance.

Improve Your Company’s Sustainability Goals with WOLK
WOLK Technology offers tailored IT solutions to help your business meet your operational goals sustainably. We are a certified AWS Well-Architected Program partner with the resources to help you become compliant with the AWS Sustainability pillar. Contact us today to learn more.

Understanding the ISO 27001 and SOC Compliance Standards and Their Importance for AWS Customers

Organisations using Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a cloud provider must adhere to the latest data and information security standards. Two standards cover data safety and information security on AWS: ISO 27001 and the SOC Compliance Framework.

Understanding these standards is necessary for AWS customers to build a secure workplace environment.

The ISO 27001 Standard Explained
ISO/IEC 27001 is an international information security management systems (ISMS) standard. It is the world’s best-known ISMS standard and one of the most widely used. Conformity with the ISO/IEC 27001 standard is considered one of the most efficient methods to build an organisation’s resilience against cyber threats of all types.

ISO/IEC 27001 provides organisations with internationally recognised methods to build, implement, maintain, and improve an ISMS. It provides a comprehensive, systematic approach to protecting organisational data and information assets, ensuring safety, integrity, and confidentiality without compromising availability.

Amazon Web Services is certified for compliance with ISO/IEC 27001:2013, the 2013 version of the standard. Most Amazon services, including EC2, S3, Lambda, and Macie, are compliant with ISO/IEC 27001:2013.

What is the SOC Compliance Framework?
The System and Organisation Controls (SOC) Compliance Framework was developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

It is a data security framework designed to protect organisations’ customer data from vulnerabilities, theft, unauthorised access, and other security incidents. The framework assesses an organisation’s data management based on five criteria: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy.

Most AWS services are SOC-compliant, including Amazon Redshift, GuardDuty, FSx, and WorkSpaces.

Why ISO 27001 and SOC Compliance Matter to AWS Customers
Compliance with these standards helps AWS customers build and maintain data security within their workflow and AWS ecosystems. Besides strong data security and effective risk management, adherence to these standards provides multiple additional benefits:

● Many industries impose specific data security and privacy requirements. Ensuring your AWS workflows comply with ISO 27001 and SOC can give you the peace of mind you meet these requirements and remain in line with your industry’s regulations.
● AWS customers complying with ISO 27001 and SOC standards can provide security reassurances to their partners and stakeholders. Adopting these internationally recognised standards demonstrates your dedication to data security.
● ISO 27001 and SOC compliance can give AWS customers a competitive edge. It showcases your commitment to protecting data, which can help privacy-minded customers choose your offerings or entrust their data to you.

Boost Organisational Data Security with WOLK
Security is at the forefront of all successful organisations. As an AWS Well-Architected Program Partner, WOLK has the resources to help you comply with data security standards and frameworks for your AWS environment. Contact WOLK today for a free review.