Deep Dive into Managing and Securing Apple Environments with AWS and Jamf | JNUC 2023

This JNUC session, led by AWS’s Dave Siederer and Mayak Gupta, delved into the usage of EC2 Mac instances on AWS, coupled with a practical demonstration of AWS Verified Access. The session begins with Siederer illustrating the process of creating an EC2 Mac instance, a powerful tool for running macOS workloads in the cloud. This involves selecting the appropriate instance family and type, configuring network settings, and launching the instance, which can then be accessed via SSH.

The focal point of the session is AWS Verified Access, explained by Gupta. This feature offers dynamic, fine-grained authorization with per-app policies, enhancing security and incident response capabilities. It integrates seamlessly with existing security services, including identity and device trust providers like IAM Identity Center, OpenID Connect providers, Jamf, and Crowdstrike.

The setup process for AWS Verified Access involves integrating trust providers, creating Verified Access instances and endpoints for each application, and defining group-level policies. This setup streamlines access management across applications, improving the security posture by mitigating lateral movement risks and enhancing the end-user experience. The session concludes with a comprehensive demonstration of configuring AWS Verified Access, highlighting its practical implementation for role-based access control. Attendees gain valuable insights into leveraging AWS services for efficient and secure cloud-based macOS management.