Madarson IT Hardened RHEL 9 AMI - Level 2 Advanced Security

This is a repackaged software product wherein additional charges apply for Level 2 advanced security hardening.

A pre-configured, security-hardened AMI designed for organizations that need compliance-ready infrastructure without the time and expertise required for manual hardening. Built on RHEL 9 (Linux kernel 5.14), this image applies Level 2 Advanced hardening controls to deliver a stronger security posture from first boot than a foundational baseline provides.

This AMI is built for DevOps engineers, security teams, and compliance officers at organizations operating in regulated industries - including healthcare (HIPAA), financial services (PCI DSS), and any environment subject to NIST or ISO 27000 requirements. Teams without dedicated security engineers who need a hardened baseline without weeks of manual configuration will benefit most.

• Level 2 Advanced Hardening: Enforces stringent access controls, disabled unnecessary services, restricted network configurations, and hardened kernel parameters beyond a foundational baseline
• Compliance Framework Mapping: Hardening controls map to NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF), ISO 27000 series, PCI DSS, and HIPAA technical safeguards
• Reduced Attack Surface: Unnecessary services disabled, restrictive file permissions enforced, USB storage blocked, and network-facing daemons minimized
• Robust Access Controls: SSH hardening, password complexity enforcement, account lockout policies, and audit logging configured out of the box
• Regular Updates: Images rebuilt with current patches to address known CVEs and maintain security currency

Level 2 applies additional controls that may reduce system functionality in exchange for stronger security. These include more restrictive network parameters, additional audit rules, stricter file integrity settings, and controls that assume the system is not a multi-purpose workstation. Organizations with higher risk profiles or stricter compliance mandates should select Level 2.

A healthcare organization deploying workloads that process protected health information (PHI) on AWS can launch this AMI to immediately address HIPAA technical safeguard requirements for access controls, audit controls, and transmission security - without spending weeks manually configuring and validating each control.

1. Subscribe to the product through AWS Marketplace
2. Launch the AMI in your preferred AWS region
3. Configure your security group and key pair for SSH access
4. Verify hardening controls are active by reviewing system configuration
5. Customize any controls as needed for your specific workload requirements

• This is a repackaged software product with additional charges for Level 2 advanced security hardening.
• Organizations may need to customize certain controls based on their specific application requirements - some hardening rules may restrict software that depends on disabled services.
• The hardening profile should be considered a strong baseline; organizations with unique risk profiles should review and adjust as needed.
• Buyers should verify compatibility with their target EC2 instance types before deploying at scale.
• Madarson IT does not provide commercial licenses for Red Hat products. Buyers should ensure appropriate Red Hat subscription coverage for their deployment.

Madarson IT certified images are always up to date, secure, follow industry standards, and are built to work right out of the box. Every image undergoes hardening validation to ensure controls are properly applied before publication to AWS Marketplace.

Madarson IT also offers hardened and custom images across AWS, GCP, and Azure Marketplace, covering multiple operating systems and compliance frameworks.

Red Hat, Inc. holds the trademarks for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and associated branding. Madarson IT does not provide commercial licenses for Red Hat products.