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    PCI Compliant / Hardened Ubuntu 24.04 (ARM)

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    Deployed on AWS
    This product has charges associated with it for Citadel security hardening, ongoing image maintenance, release evidence, and US-based support. Deploy a PCI-focused Ubuntu 24.04 AMI with Citadel security hardening, maintained releases, post-hardening verification, release evidence, and US-based support.

    Overview

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    This is a repackaged open source software product wherein additional charges apply for Citadel security hardening, ongoing image maintenance, release evidence, and US-based support.

    PCI Compliant / Hardened Ubuntu 24.04 (ARM) gives teams a production-ready ARM64 operating system baseline for PCI DSS-scoped workloads on AWS.

    Move from a general-purpose Ubuntu image to a documented, security-focused starting point without spending weeks designing controls, building hardening automation, troubleshooting configuration dependencies, and assembling release evidence. Citadel handles the operating system baseline so your team can focus on your applications and the controls specific to your environment.

    What You Get

    • Citadel-applied Ubuntu 24.04 security hardening designed to support PCI DSS 4.0.1 infrastructure requirements
    • Security-focused configuration across authentication, account policy, privilege boundaries, audit logging, networking, services, kernel settings, file permissions, and other operating system safeguards
    • Current Ubuntu package and security updates applied during the controlled image build
    • Pre-hardening and post-hardening assessment results, remediation history, and a release-specific evidence report for the exact image release
    • A clean, application-neutral AMI with no bundled business applications, security agents, or platform lock-in
    • Ongoing Citadel image maintenance and direct access to a US-based support team

    Built for Payment and Regulated Workloads

    Use this image as a repeatable baseline for:

    • Payment platforms and fintech services
    • SaaS products supporting cardholder data environments
    • Merchant infrastructure
    • Regulated development and test environments
    • Audit remediation projects
    • Golden image programs
    • Organizations that need a faster path to a defensible Linux baseline

    The AMI helps reduce manual hardening effort and configuration drift across AWS accounts and environments. Infrastructure teams can deploy the same reviewed baseline behind their own network controls, identity model, deployment pipeline, observability stack, backup policy, and workload configuration.

    Security and compliance teams also gain release records that are easier to trace directly to the image being deployed.

    This image is built for ARM64 EC2 instances and supports AWS Graviton instance families and ARM64-native application stacks.

    Deploy and Operate with Confidence

    The image is ready for use when launched. Citadel recommends AWS Systems Manager Session Manager (SSM) for administrative access whenever possible so SSH does not need to be exposed to the public Internet.

    If SSH is required, use the ubuntu account, your selected EC2 key pair, and tightly scoped network access.

    Detailed usage instructions in this listing cover connection methods, accessing hardening evidence, and getting support.

    For routine updates, apply Ubuntu security patches through your approved change process. When Citadel publishes a new image version, validate it outside production before using a controlled replacement or migration process.

    Hardening Evidence

    Each Citadel release includes supporting documentation and release-specific hardening evidence. Use the Citadel documentation and Trust Center resources referenced in this listing to review:

    • Applied security controls
    • Pre-hardening and post-hardening assessment results
    • Remediation history
    • Release-specific validation evidence
    • Documented exceptions, where applicable

    US-Based Support Included

    Email support@citadelpci.com  for help with:

    • Choosing the right image
    • Understanding hardening behavior
    • Patching or upgrade planning
    • Locating release evidence
    • Troubleshooting image behavior
    • PCI DSS review questions related to the operating system baseline

    Support requests are handled by Citadel's US-based team.

    Scope and Customer Responsibility

    This AMI is designed to support PCI DSS infrastructure objectives, but launching a hardened image does not by itself make an application, AWS account, cardholder data environment, or organization PCI DSS compliant.

    Customers remain responsible for the security and compliance of their complete environment, including application security, IAM, network segmentation, encryption, key and secret management, logging, monitoring, vulnerability management, backups, incident response, operational procedures, and compliance validation.

    Review the provided evidence against your organization's requirements and involve your assessor where appropriate.

    Highlights

    • Launch a PCI-focused Ubuntu 24.04 baseline in minutes instead of spending weeks building, hardening, testing, and documenting an operating system image from scratch.
    • Use a clean, application-neutral AMI with security controls, current Ubuntu updates, post-hardening verification, and release-specific evidence for PCI DSS review workflows.
    • Operate with maintained Citadel releases and direct help from a US-based team for deployment, hardening behavior, patching, upgrades, and evidence questions.

    Details

    Delivery method

    Delivery option
    64-bit (Arm) Amazon Machine Image (AMI)

    Latest version

    Operating system
    Ubuntu 24

    Deployed on AWS
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    Pricing

    PCI Compliant / Hardened Ubuntu 24.04 (ARM)

     Info
    Pricing is based on actual usage, with charges varying according to how much you consume. Subscriptions have no end date and may be canceled any time. Alternatively, you can pay upfront for a contract, which typically covers your anticipated usage for the contract duration. Any usage beyond contract will incur additional usage-based costs.
    Additional AWS infrastructure costs may apply. Use the AWS Pricing Calculator  to estimate your infrastructure costs.

    Usage costs (299)

     Info
    • ...
    Dimension
    Cost/hour
    t4g.small
    Recommended
    $0.14
    m8g.12xlarge
    $0.64
    r8gn.4xlarge
    $0.64
    c8gn.12xlarge
    $0.64
    m7g.metal
    $1.20
    c7gn.xlarge
    $0.64
    r8gn.medium
    $0.32
    c6gd.2xlarge
    $0.64
    m8g.24xlarge
    $1.20
    c7gn.12xlarge
    $0.64

    AI Insights

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    Dimensions summary

    You pay by the hour for this hardened Ubuntu 24.04 image, billed per running instance. Pricing is not tiered; instead, each dimension maps to a specific ARM-based (Graviton) EC2 instance type. Your hourly rate depends on the instance you launch. General-purpose (m-series), compute-optimized (c-series), memory-optimized (r- and x-series), and storage-optimized (i-series) families are covered, in sizes from medium up to metal-48xl. Larger instances carry higher hourly rates. This software fee is separate from the AWS infrastructure charges for the instance itself. You are billed only while instances run.

    Top-of-mind questions for buyers

    The software fee meters running instance-hours only. Fully stopped or powered-off instances do not accrue the hourly software charge. Note that AWS may still bill underlying infrastructure costs, such as storage, while an instance is stopped. The software license itself counts only time the instance runs.
    Each dimension maps to one specific ARM-based (Graviton) EC2 instance type. One billed hour equals one hour a single instance of that type runs. Launching two instances of the same type bills two instance-hours. The rate is tied to the instance size you choose, not to users or data.
    The fee covers a hardened Ubuntu 24.04 operating-system baseline, patched monthly, with US-based support. Your team still owns application security, cloud architecture, identity, network controls, logging, and evidence retention. The image sets a hardened starting point; it does not manage your broader environment or compliance program.
    citadelpci.com
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    Vendor refund policy

    At Citadel, we're committed to your success. While refunds aren't available, you can terminate your instance anytime to avoid further charges. Our experts are ready to assist you in managing your service and making the most of our hardened images. By choosing Citadel, you're investing in your cloud environment's security and compliance. The value you receive will outweigh the cost. Don't hesitate to reach out with any questions - we're here to support you.

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    Legal

    Vendor terms and conditions

    Upon subscribing to this product, you must acknowledge and agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the vendor's End User License Agreement (EULA) .

    Content disclaimer

    Vendors are responsible for their product descriptions and other product content. AWS does not warrant that vendors' product descriptions or other product content are accurate, complete, reliable, current, or error-free.

    Usage information

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    Delivery details

    64-bit (Arm) Amazon Machine Image (AMI)

    Amazon Machine Image (AMI)

    An AMI is a virtual image that provides the information required to launch an instance. Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) instances are virtual servers on which you can run your applications and workloads, offering varying combinations of CPU, memory, storage, and networking resources. You can launch as many instances from as many different AMIs as you need.

    Version release notes

    Security patches and package updates (August 2026)

    Additional details

    Usage instructions

    Connect over SSH using the key pair selected at launch. The default user is shown above. See the listing's usage instructions for full details.

    Support

    Vendor support

    Support is part of what you get with a Citadel image, and it comes from a US-based team that works on these builds every day. Email support@citadelpci.com  with anything - choosing the right image, how the hardening behaves, patching and releases, evidence for a PCI DSS review, or a question you are not sure who else to ask. We read every message, and we would much rather you ask than guess.

    AWS infrastructure support

    AWS Support is a one-on-one, fast-response support channel that is staffed 24x7x365 with experienced and technical support engineers. The service helps customers of all sizes and technical abilities to successfully utilize the products and features provided by Amazon Web Services.

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