New secure-by-design cloud images help organizations deploy AI infrastructure without sacrificing security
The Center for Internet Security, Inc. (CIS®) today announced the launch of CIS Hardened Images® for AI, expanding its secure by design cloud offerings to support the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and high performance computing (HPC) across the cloud.
We’re helping teams start from a secure foundation so they can innovate confidently, without introducing unnecessary risk.”
— Curtis Dukes, Executive Vice President at the Center for Internet Security
Now available in AWS Marketplace, CIS Hardened Images for AI deliver pre-configured, CIS Benchmark-aligned operating system baselines optimized for graphics processing unit (GPU)-driven AI workloads and distributed computing. These images help organizations build AI infrastructure with security built in from the start, reducing risk, improving consistency, and speeding up deployment.
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“Organizations are moving quickly to adopt AI, but security often lags behind that pace,” said Curtis Dukes, Executive Vice President of Security Best Practices and Automation Group at CIS. “With CIS Hardened Images for AI, we’re helping teams start from a secure foundation so they can innovate confidently, without introducing unnecessary risk.”
The launch introduces two hardened images based on Amazon Linux 2023 and Ubuntu 24.04 aligned to CIS Benchmarks®, globally recognized security best practices. One image supports GPU based AI workloads such as machine learning, model training, and inference. The other supports HPC and distributed computing, including large-scale simulations and parallel processing.
“These images take the complexity out of securing AI infrastructure,” said Erin Haggerty, Cloud Team Director at CIS. “Instead of configuring security controls manually, teams can deploy trusted, CIS Benchmark-aligned systems from day one.”
CIS designed these images to support both commercial and public sector needs. Enterprises can deploy AI systems more quickly and securely at scale, while government and defense organizations can align AI environments with established security standards and compliance frameworks, including National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidance.
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