Cloud Security

AWS Cloud WAN aims to manage multiple corporate networks over a single cloud-based console

Attendees walk through an expo hall during AWS re:Invent 2021, a conference hosted by Amazon Web Services, at The Venetian Las Vegas on Nov. 30, 2021, in Las Vegas. (Photo by Noah Berger/Getty Images for Amazon Web Services)
Attendees walk through an expo hall during AWS re:Invent 2021, a conference hosted by Amazon Web Services, at The Venetian Las Vegas on Nov. 30, 2021, in Las Vegas. (Photo by Noah Berger/Getty Images for Amazon Web Services)

Amazon Web Services (AWS) recently announced the general availability of its AWS Cloud WAN, which promises to let organizations set up and manage a complete WAN environment from a single cloud-based console.

The goal: combine connectivity, security and monitoring so the organization can bring together its entire network of on-premises data centers, branch offices, and cloud infrastructure in one global network.

Customers looking to simplify and increase operational efficiency and manageability across on-premises and cloud environments will find the release of AWS Cloud WAN welcome news, said Rajiv Pimplaskar, chief executive officer of Dispersive Holdings, Inc. Pimplaskar said while AWS will undoubtedly do a great job with cloud security while on their infrastructure, edge-to-cloud access as well as multi-cloud or poly-cloud environments have become challenging for enterprises.

“To this end, customers may want to augment Amazon VPC and AWS Cloud WAN services with a third-party party edge-to-cloud next-gen VPN that can provide any-any connectivity as well as extend security across multi-cloud,” said Pimplaskar. “Next-gen VPNs can also offer cloud obfuscation, which provides another layer of security by hiding source destination relationships as well as the traffic flows of interest, which minimizes the attack surface for even sophisticated threat actors.”

John Bambenek, principal threat hunter at Netenrich, was even less sure about the AWS Cloud WAN. Bambenek didn't think he would use such a tool given that it potentially represented a single-point-of-failure. And he also had questions about how AWS would manage privacy.

“We are still struggling with the shared security model and finding gaps that lead to compromises," Bambenek said. "Honestly, I’m not sure I’m ready to trust my global network to this. “

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