By implementing the PBHVA control overlay over a CCCS Medium baseline, you can better protect your organization’s most critical assets from potential threats and vulnerabilities, providing continuity of essential government operations and safeguarding sensitive information.
Understanding CCCS PBHVA overlay requirements
The CCCS PBHVA overlay consists of 137 controls designed to protect high-value assets, including 69 new controls and 68 controls from CCCS Medium. These controls provide enhanced data protection, particularly for integrity and availability, and are based on NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5.
Key findings from the Coalfire assessment
Coalfire’s assessment found that the LZA on AWS solution significantly supports CCCS PBHVA overlay compliance requirements:
71 percent of in-scope controls (97 of 137) are supported by the AWS contribution to compliance in the shared responsibility model
The solution uses over 35 AWS services to provide comprehensive security capabilities
Strong network segmentation is achieved through network account and network-boundary VPC design
Infrastructure-as-code (IaC) enables reliable build and deployment results
The 29 percent of controls not addressed by the LZA are on the customer side of the shared responsibility model. They are addressed in the customer’s application stack or as non-technical controls such as policies and procedures.
Key security capabilities
The LZA solution implements several critical security features:
While the LZA solution provides significant compliance support, organizations should note:
The solution alone does not guarantee compliance
Organizations must implement their own policies, standards, and procedures
A thorough understanding of the shared responsibility model is essential
The AWS Landing Zone Accelerator Verified Reference Architecture documentation is available for customer download in AWS Artifact. This resource can help organizations reduce the time and effort required to deploy an environment that aligns with CCCS PBHVA overlay requirements.
Conclusion
The Coalfire assessment confirms that the LZA on AWS solution provides effective support for CCCS PBHVA overlay compliance objectives. However, organizations should remember that compliance is an ongoing process that requires active management and cannot be achieved through technology alone.
For more information about implementing the Landing Zone Accelerator for CCCS PBHVA overlay requirements, contact your AWS account team or the AWS Public Sector team directly.
If you have feedback about this post, submit comments in the Comments section below. If you have questions about this post, contact AWS Support.
We continue to expand the scope of our assurance programs at Amazon Web Services (AWS) and are pleased to announce the successful completion of our first ever Protected B High Value Assets (PBHVA) assessment with 149 assessed services and features. Completion of this assessment effective October 4, 2024, makes AWS the first cloud service provider (CSP) in Canada to meet this high security bar and provide assurance to our valued customers. This assessment also re-affirms our commitment to helping public and commercial customers achieve and maintain the highest-grade security standard for workloads with increased sensitivity.
What is the PBHVA assessment and why is it important?
The Protected B High Value Asset (PBHVA) overlay seeks to enhance the integrity and availability of customer organizational workloads that are considered to have an increased level of sensitivity. These are systems that the Government of Canada (GC) and its service providers use to support delivery of services at a national scale or that are determined to be significant for handling sensitive information. The overlay is a set of 117 controls from the ITSG-33 security control catalogue (baselined against NIST 800-53), which augments the security safeguards to enhance integrity and availability.
As of October 4, 2024, there are a total of 149 AWS services and features that were assessed by the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS) under PBHVA assessment criteria. The assessment covers services and features that are available in both the Canada (Central) and Canada West (Calgary) AWS Regions.
How can you access the assessment?
The summary assessment is available through AWS Artifact. You can also learn more about the PBHVA assessment on our AWS PBHVA webpage.
AWS strives to continuously bring services into scope of its compliance programs to help you meet your architectural and regulatory needs. Please reach out to your AWS account team if you have questions or feedback about the PBHVA assessment.
To learn more about our compliance and security programs, see AWS Compliance Programs. As always, we value your feedback and questions; reach out to the AWS Compliance team through the Contact Us page.
If you have feedback about this post, submit comments in the Comments section below.
At Amazon Web Services (AWS), we are committed to providing continued assurance to our customers through assessments, certifications, and attestations that support the adoption of current and new AWS services and features. We are pleased to announce the availability of the 2023 Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS) assessment summary report for AWS. With this assessment, a total of 150 AWS services and features are assessed in the Canada (Central) Region, including 20 additional AWS services and features. The assessment report is available for review and download on demand through AWS Artifact.
The full list of services in scope for the CCCS assessment is available on the Services in Scope page. The 20 new services and features are the following:
The CCCS is Canada’s authoritative source of cyber security expert guidance for the Canadian government, industry, and the general public. Public and commercial sector organizations across Canada rely on CCCS’s rigorous Cloud Service Provider (CSP) IT Security (ITS) assessment in their decision to use CSP services. In addition, CCCS’s ITS assessment process is a mandatory requirement for AWS to provide cloud services to Canadian federal government departments and agencies.
The CCCS cloud service provider information technology security assessment process determines if the Government of Canada (GC) ITS requirements for the CCCS Medium cloud security profile (previously referred to as GC’s PROTECTED B/Medium Integrity/Medium Availability [PBMM] profile) are met as described in ITSG-33 (IT security risk management: A lifecycle approach, Annex 3 – Security control catalogue). As of November 2023, 150 AWS services in the Canada (Central) Region have been assessed by CCCS and meet the requirements for the Medium cloud security profile. Meeting the Medium cloud security profile is required to host workloads that are classified up to and including Medium categorization. On a periodic basis, CCCS assesses new or previously unassessed services and re-assesses the AWS services that were previously assessed to verify that they continue to meet the GC’s requirements. CCCS prioritizes the assessment of new AWS services based on their availability in Canada, and customer demand for the AWS services. The full list of AWS services that have been assessed by CCCS is available on our Services in Scope for CCCS Assessment page.
To learn more about the CCCS assessment or our other compliance and security programs, visit AWS Compliance Programs. As always, we value your feedback and questions; reach out to the AWS Compliance team through the Contact Us page.
If you have feedback about this post, submit comments in the Comments section below. If you have questions about this post, contact AWS Support.
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The CCCS is Canada’s authoritative source of cyber security expert guidance for the Canadian government, industry, and the general public. Public and commercial sector organizations across Canada rely on CCCS’s rigorous Cloud Service Provider (CSP) IT Security (ITS) assessment in their decisions to use cloud services. In addition, CCCS’s ITS assessment process is a mandatory requirement for AWS to provide cloud services to Canadian federal government departments and agencies.
The CCCS Cloud Service Provider Information Technology Security Assessment Process determines if the Government of Canada (GC) ITS requirements for the CCCS Medium cloud security profile (previously referred to as GC’s Protected B/Medium Integrity/Medium Availability [PBMM] profile) are met as described in ITSG-33 (IT security risk management: A lifecycle approach). As of November 2022, 132 AWS services in the Canada (Central) Region have been assessed by the CCCS and meet the requirements for the CCCS Medium cloud security profile. Meeting the CCCS Medium cloud security profile is required to host workloads that are classified up to and including the medium categorization. On a periodic basis, CCCS assesses new or previously unassessed services and reassesses the AWS services that were previously assessed to verify that they continue to meet the GC’s requirements. CCCS prioritizes the assessment of new AWS services based on their availability in Canada, and on customer demand for the AWS services. The full list of AWS services that have been assessed by CCCS is available on our Services in Scope for CCCS Assessment page.
To learn more about the CCCS assessment or our other compliance and security programs, visit AWS Compliance Programs. As always, we value your feedback and questions; you can reach out to the AWS Compliance team through the Contact Us page.
If you have feedback about this post, submit comments in the Comments section below. Want more AWS Security news? Follow us on Twitter.
At Amazon Web Services (AWS), we are committed to providing continued assurance to our customers through assessments, certifications, and attestations that support the adoption of AWS services. We are pleased to announce the availability of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS) assessment summary report for AWS, which you can view and download on demand through AWS Artifact.
The CCCS is Canada’s authoritative source of cyber security expert guidance for the Canadian government, industry, and the general public. Public and commercial sector organizations across Canada rely on CCCS’s rigorous Cloud Service Provider (CSP) IT Security (ITS) assessment in their decision to use CSP services. In addition, CCCS’s ITS assessment process is a mandatory requirement for AWS to provide cloud services to Canadian federal government departments and agencies.
The CCCS Cloud Service Provider Information Technology Security Assessment Process determines if the Government of Canada (GC) ITS requirements for the CCCS Medium Cloud Security Profile (previously referred to as GC’s PROTECTED B/Medium Integrity/Medium Availability [PBMM] profile) are met as described in ITSG-33 (IT Security Risk Management: A Lifecycle Approach, Annex 3 – Security Control Catalogue). As of September, 2021, 120 AWS services in the Canada (Central) Region have been assessed by the CCCS, and meet the requirements for medium cloud security profile. Meeting the medium cloud security profile is required to host workloads that are classified up to and including medium categorization. On a periodic basis, CCCS assesses new or previously unassessed services and re-assesses the AWS services that were previously assessed to verify that they continue to meet the GC’s requirements. CCCS prioritizes the assessment of new AWS services based on their availability in Canada, and customer demand for the AWS services. The full list of AWS services that have been assessed by CCCS is available on our Services in Scope by Compliance Program page.
To learn more about the CCCS assessment or our other compliance and security programs, visit AWS Compliance Programs. If you have questions about this blog post, please start a new thread on the AWS Artifact forum or contact AWS Support.
If you have feedback about this post, submit comments in the Comments section below. Want more AWS Security news? Follow us on Twitter.
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Rapport sommaire de l’évaluation du Centre canadien pour la cybersécurité disponible sur AWS Artifact
Par Robert Samuel, Naranjan Goklani et Brian Mycroft Amazon Web Services (AWS) s’engage à fournir à ses clients une assurance continue à travers des évaluations, des certifications et des attestations qui appuient l’adoption des services proposés par AWS. Nous avons le plaisir d’annoncer la mise à disposition du rapport sommaire de l’évaluation du Centre canadien pour la cybersécurité (CCCS) pour AWS, que vous pouvez dès à présent consulter et télécharger à la demande sur AWS Artifact.
Le CCC est l’autorité canadienne qui met son expertise en matière de cybersécurité au service du gouvernement canadien, du secteur privé et du grand public. Les organisations des secteurs public et privé établies au Canada dépendent de la rigoureuse évaluation de la sécurité des technologies de l’information s’appliquant aux fournisseurs de services infonuagiques conduite par le CCC pour leur décision relative à l’utilisation de ces services infonuagiques. De plus, le processus d’évaluation de la sécurité des technologies de l’information est une étape obligatoire pour permettre à AWS de fournir des services infonuagiques aux agences et aux ministères du gouvernement fédéral canadien.
Le Processus d’évaluation de la sécurité des technologies de l’information s’appliquant aux fournisseurs de services infonuagiques détermine si les exigences en matière de technologie de l’information du Gouvernement du Canada (GC) pour le profil de contrôle de la sécurité infonuagique moyen (précédemment connu sous le nom de Protégé B/Intégrité moyenne/Disponibilité moyenne) sont satisfaites conformément à l’ITSG-33 (Gestion des risques liés à la sécurité des TI : Une méthode axée sur le cycle de vie, Annexe 3 – Catalogue des contrôles de sécurité). En date de septembre 2021, 120 services AWS de la région (centrale) du Canada ont été évalués par le CCC et satisfont aux exigences du profil de sécurité moyen du nuage. Satisfaire les exigences du niveau moyen du nuage est nécessaire pour héberger des applications classées jusqu’à la catégorie moyenne incluse. Le CCC évalue périodiquement les nouveaux services, ou les services qui n’ont pas encore été évalués, et réévalue les services AWS précédemment évalués pour s’assurer qu’ils continuent de satisfaire aux exigences du Gouvernement du Canada. Le CCC priorise l’évaluation des nouveaux services AWS selon leur disponibilité au Canada et en fonction de la demande des clients pour les services AWS. La liste complète des services AWS évalués par le CCC est consultable sur notre page Services AWS concernés par le programme de conformité.
Pour en savoir plus sur l’évaluation du CCC ainsi que sur nos autres programmes de conformité et de sécurité, visitez la page Programmes de conformité AWS. Comme toujours, nous accordons beaucoup de valeur à vos commentaires et à vos questions; vous pouvez communiquer avec l’équipe Conformité AWS via la page Communiquer avec nous.
Si vous avez des commentaires sur cette publication, n’hésitez pas à les partager dans la section Commentaires ci-dessous. Vous souhaitez en savoir plus sur AWS Security? Retrouvez-nous sur Twitter.
Biographies des auteurs :
Rob Samuel : Rob Samuel est responsable technique principal d’AWS Security Assurance. Il collabore avec les équipes AWS pour traduire les principes de protection des données en recommandations techniques, aligne la direction technique et les priorités, met en œuvre les nouvelles solutions techniques, aide à intégrer les solutions de sécurité et de confidentialité aux services et fonctionnalités proposés par AWS et répond aux exigences et aux attentes en matière de confidentialité et de sécurité transversale. Rob a plus de 20 ans d’expérience dans le secteur de la technologie et a déjà occupé des fonctions dirigeantes, comme directeur de l’assurance sécurité pour AWS Canada, responsable de la cybersécurité et des systèmes d’information (RSSI) pour la province de la Nouvelle-Écosse, divers postes à responsabilités en tant que fonctionnaire et a servi dans les Forces armées canadiennes en tant qu’officier du génie électronique et des communications.
Naranjan Goklani : Naranjan Goklani est responsable des audits de sécurité pour AWS, il est basé à Toronto (Canada). Il est responsable des audits, des attestations, des certifications et des évaluations pour l’Amérique du Nord et l’Europe. Naranjan a plus de 12 ans d’expérience dans la gestion des risques, l’assurance de la sécurité et la réalisation d’audits de technologie. Naranjan a exercé dans l’une des quatre plus grandes sociétés de comptabilité et accompagné des clients des industries de la distribution, du commerce en ligne et des services publics.
Brian Mycroft : Brian Mycroft est technologue en chef pour AWS, il est basé à Ottawa (Canada) et se spécialise dans la sécurité nationale, le renseignement et le gouvernement fédéral du Canada. Brian est l’architecte principal de l’AWS Secure Environment Accelerator (ASEA) et s’intéresse principalement à la suppression des barrières à l’adoption du nuage pour le secteur public.
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