Tag It, Access It: Tag-Driven Access Control for AWS

Imagine granting access to your EC2 instances with the same simplicity as adding someone to an Okta group. No more SSH key management, no open ports: just tag it and access it!

Sound like magic? That's Border0's tag-based access control. We turn EC2 tags into a powerful access method, automatically connecting your team to the resources they need. Your users can now access these resources using their existing SSO credentials, eliminating the need for separate passwords or keys. Just tag and go. 

The Challenges of Dynamic AWS Environments

Many AWS environments are anything but static: it’s a living, breathing thing. Auto-scaling, IaC, and on-demand provisioning directly from the AWS console mean it's constantly evolving.The result is that EC2 instances constantly come and go. Unfortunately, traditional access management methods often lag behind this dynamic pace, leading to security gaps or access delays. Balancing granular control and user-friendly access is tough, especially when your environment changes by the hour. We get it. We've lived it.

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The Border0 Solution: Tag-Based Auto-Discovery

What if you could simply tag an EC2 instance, and the right team instantly had access? That’s what Border0's refreshingly simple approach delivers. Your connector automatically discovers and provisions access to any EC2 instance that matches your tag criteria. For example, tagging an instance with env=production triggers Border0 to create a Socket tied to that instance. The moment you apply the tag, the instance is made available and accessible to the appropriate users—no extra configuration needed, it's all automated!

And it gets even better. You can define access policies based on those tags. For instance, you can configure it so that when your AWS instance is tagged with team=sre, it automatically inherits the SRE team’s access rules. This mirrors the convenience of adding a user to an Okta group, once they’re in, they have access to everything the group is permitted to use. Conversely, removing a user from the group instantly revokes their access and terminates their sessions. 

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This is security that keeps pace with your dynamic environment. No more SSH keys to manage, no more firewall rules, just easy access and the peace of mind that everyone who needs access has it, and nothing more.

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AWS-Specific Protocols: No More Secrets Management

To make things even easier, Border0 integrates deeply with AWS services and leverages AWS-specific protocols, allowing you to maintain keyless and frictionless access. Users seamlessly authenticate using their SSO credentials, ensuring a consistent and secure login experience. Instead of wrangling SSH keys or managing passwords, Border0 understands the AWS APIs, enabling it to discover and access resources using AWS IAM roles. This empowers the connector to utilize features like: 

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• AWS Systems Manager (SSM): A straightforward way for the Border0 connector to facilitate shell access to your systems without opening any ports on the target machines.
• EC2 Instance Connect: Another easy method for the connector to connect to your EC2 instances, all based on IAM roles, including support for VPC endpoints.
• RDS IAM Authentication: Connect to your databases without static credentials. Border0 leverages IAM roles for authentication, eliminating the need for passwords entirely.

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By supporting AWS-native protocols, Border0 not only simplifies user access and provisioning, but also aligns with AWS security best practices by removing the need to manage long-lived secrets. Access is always just-in-time, and logging ties every action to an authenticated user in your SSO, allowing you to adopt best practices without rewriting your deployment or rotating secrets

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Integrations with DevOps Tools

We know modern DevOps workflows often rely on Infrastructure as Code (IaC). Border0 meets you where you are by offering:

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• Terraform Provider: Seamlessly deploy Border0 connectors, policies, resources, and more using the Border0 Terraform Provider! This integrates neatly into your existing Terraform setups.

• CloudFormation Templates: Quickly integrate Border0 into existing AWS-native deployment processes. For example, we provide a Border0 CloudFormation template to spin up a Border0 connector in your AWS VPC, ensuring all the necessary security groups and IAM roles are automatically applied.

These integrations seamlessly incorporate security and access control into your existing DevOps pipeline, minimizing friction and making security a natural part of your workflow, not an afterthought.

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Beyond Access: Security, Control, and Compliance

Border0 combines the best of VPN-style connectivity and Privileged Access Management (PAM) into one easy-to-use solution your engineers will love. You can connect to resources in private subnets behind NAT gateways, without exposing them publicly. Access policies let you define who gets in, when, and from where, while session logs track every action, and allow for session recordings. This thorough auditing and logging helps you confidently meet compliance needs and maintain visibility over critical operations.

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Why Border0?

• Simple Tagging Model: Tag your EC2 instance, and it’s instantly discoverable to the right users.

• AWS-Native Protocols: No more static keys or open ports—borderless, keyless, frictionless.

• DevOps-Friendly: Works well with Terraform, CloudFormation, and the workflows you already use.

• Robust Security: Fine-grained access control, end-to-end encryption, session logging, and more.

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Ready to Streamline Your AWS Access?

Click here to create your free account and get started with Border0 today. Or, if you’d prefer a hands-on walkthrough, schedule a demo, we’ll geek out together and show you how tag-based access can transform how your users access your AWS environment.

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