AWS GovCloud (US)

Overview

AWS GovCloud (US) is an isolated U.S. sovereign cloud environment operated by U.S. citizens, designed specifically for government agencies and organizations with elevated compliance requirements. The service provides access to AWS cloud infrastructure within dedicated regions that maintain strict data residency controls, ensuring sensitive and controlled unclassified information (CUI) remains within U.S. borders.

Key Features

Data Residency & Sovereignty

• Isolated U.S. sovereign regions with data residency controls
• All operations conducted by U.S. citizens
• Designed to host sensitive and controlled unclassified information

Compliance Certifications

• FedRAMP High authorization
• ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) compliance
• GDPR support for applicable workloads
• Encryption capabilities for data protection
• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) for granular permission management

Infrastructure & Services

• Access to AWS services including compute (EC2), storage (S3), databases (RDS, Aurora), and other cloud services
• Same AWS pricing structure as standard AWS regions, applied within GovCloud regions
• Pay-as-you-go usage-based pricing model

Use Cases

AWS GovCloud (US) serves government agencies and contractors requiring:

• Mission-Critical Operations: Hosting applications supporting government missions with elevated security and compliance needs
• Defense & Intelligence: Supporting organizations handling controlled unclassified information and ITAR-regulated content
• Federal Compliance: Meeting FedRAMP High authorization requirements for federal agencies
• Data Protection: Maintaining strict data residency within U.S. borders for sensitive government data