AWS completes the first GDV joint audit with participant insurers in Germany

We’re excited to announce that Amazon Web Services (AWS) has completed its first German Insurance Association (GDV) joint audit with GDV participant members, which provides assurance to customers in the German insurance industry for the security of their workloads on AWS. This is an important addition to the joint audits performed at AWS by our regulated customers within the financial services industry. Joint audits are an efficient method to provide additional assurance to a group of customers on the “security of the cloud” (as described in the AWS Shared Responsibility Model), in addition to Compliance Programs (for example, C5) and resources that are provided to customers on AWS Artifact.

At AWS, security is our top priority. As customers embrace the scalability and flexibility of AWS, we’re helping them evolve security and compliance into key business enablers. We’re obsessed with earning and maintaining customer trust, and we provide our financial services customers, their end users, and regulatory bodies with the assurance that AWS has the necessary controls in place to help protect their most sensitive material and regulated workloads.

With the increasing digitalization of the financial services industry, and the importance of cloud computing as a key enabling technology for digitalization, security and governance is becoming an ever-more-significant priority for financial services companies. Our engagement with GDV members is an example of how AWS supports customers’ risk management and regulatory compliance. For the first time, this joint audit meticulously assessed the AWS controls that enable us to help protect customers’ workloads, while adhering to strict regulatory obligations. For insurers, moving their workloads to AWS helps protect customer data, support continuity of business-critical operations, and meet new standards in regulatory reporting.

GDV is the association of private insurers in Germany, representing around 470 members in the industry, and is a key player within the German and European financial services industries. GDV’s members participating in this joint audit have reached out to AWS to exercise their audit rights. For this cycle, the 35 participating members from the German insurance industry decided to appoint the Deutsche Cyber-Sicherheitsorganisation GmbH (DCSO) as the single external audit service provider, to perform the audit on behalf of each of the participating members. Because many participating members are affiliates of larger insurance groups and the audit report can be used throughout the group, a coverage of over 70% of the German market in terms of revenue is achieved.

Audit preparations

The scope of the audit was defined with reference to the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) C5 Framework. It included key domains such as identity and access management, as well as AWS services such as Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), and Regions relevant to participant members such as the Europe (Frankfurt) Region (eu-central-1).

Audit fieldwork

This audit fieldwork phase started after a kick-off in Berlin, Germany. It used a remote approach, with work occurring through the use of videoconferencing and through a secure audit portal for the inspection of evidence. Auditors assessed AWS policies, procedures, and controls, following a risk-based approach, and using sampled evidence, deep-dive sessions and follow-up questions to clarify provided evidence. In the DCSO’s own words regarding their experience during the audit, “We experienced a transparent and comprehensive audit process and appreciate the professional approach as well as the commitment shown by AWS in addressing all our inquiries.”

Audit results

The audit was carried out and completed according to the assessment criteria that were mutually agreed upon by AWS and auditors on behalf of participating members. After a joint review by the auditors and AWS, the auditors finalized the audit report. The results of the GDV joint audit are only available to the participating members and their regulators. The results provide participating members with assurance regarding the AWS controls environment, helping members remove compliance blockers, accelerate their adoption of AWS services, obtain confidence, and gain trust in AWS security controls.

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