Understanding the Differences: S3 Pre-signed URLs vs CloudFront Signed URLs vs OAI vs OAC

In the world of cloud computing, controlling access to content stored in the cloud is a critical aspect of maintaining security and ensuring proper resource management. Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers several mechanisms to securely deliver content, especially when using Amazon S3 for storage and Amazon CloudFront as a content delivery network (CDN). Understanding how these mechanisms work, their differences, and when to use each is essential for architects and developers designing cloud-based solutions.

This article focuses on two main ways to grant temporary or controlled access to S3 content: S3 Pre-signed URLs and CloudFront Signed URLs. It introduces these concepts, explains their use cases, and compares their features, strengths, and limitations.

What Are S3 Pre-signed URLs?

S3 Pre-signed URLs are URLs that grant temporary access to a specific object stored in an Amazon S3 bucket. Normally, objects in an S3 bucket are private by default, meaning only authorized AWS users or services can access them. A pre-signed URL provides a way to share a private object with anyone who has the URL, but only for a limited period defined by the URL’s expiration.

When you create a pre-signed URL, AWS uses your security credentials to sign the URL with a cryptographic signature. This signature proves that the URL was generated by someone with the necessary permissions. The URL includes information about the expiration time, the requested HTTP method (usually GET), and the resource itself. Anyone possessing the URL can access the resource until the URL expires.

Pre-signed URLs are useful when you want to securely share private content without making the bucket or object publicly accessible. For example, you may want to provide users with temporary access to download a file or view an image.

How S3 Pre-signed URLs Work

The process to generate a pre-signed URL typically involves an AWS SDK or AWS CLI. The credentials of the user or service generating the URL must have permission to access the S3 object. The SDK creates a URL containing an embedded signature and expiry time.

When a client uses this URL, Amazon S3 verifies the signature and checks that the URL has not expired. If valid, the request is processed, and the object is returned to the client. After the expiration, the URL no longer grants access, and clients must obtain a new pre-signed URL.

One key aspect of pre-signed URLs is that they work directly with S3. The client accesses the S3 service endpoint to retrieve the content.

Common Use Cases for S3 Pre-signed URLs

Pre-signed URLs are often used in scenarios where temporary and secure access to private content is needed without exposing the bucket. Examples include:

• Allowing users to download private documents, videos, or software packages for a limited time.

• Enabling users to upload files securely to a specific location in an S3 bucket.

• Sharing private images or reports that require access control.

• Granting temporary access to files from web or mobile applications without exposing credentials.

Since pre-signed URLs work directly with S3, they are simple to implement and useful when content is accessed mainly from trusted locations or limited audiences.

What Are CloudFront Signed URLs?

CloudFront Signed URLs provide a method to restrict access to content delivered through Amazon CloudFront, the AWS global CDN. Unlike pre-signed URLs that grant direct access to S3 objects, CloudFront Signed URLs control access to CloudFront distributions, which may cache content at edge locations to improve performance and reduce latency.

CloudFront Signed URLs are signed using a private key associated with a CloudFront key pair or a trusted signer. The URL contains information about the resource, the expiration time, and optional restrictions such as allowed IP addresses or protocols.

Using CloudFront Signed URLs ensures that only authorized users can access content distributed globally via the CDN, enhancing security and performance.

How CloudFront Signed URLs Work

To use CloudFront Signed URLs, you first create a CloudFront key pair through the AWS Management Console or AWS CLI. The private key is used to sign URLs or cookies that grant access to the content. The corresponding public key is associated with CloudFront as a trusted signer.

When a client requests a resource using a signed URL, CloudFront validates the signature and checks if the URL is still valid. If valid, the request is forwarded to the origin server (which can be an S3 bucket or a custom origin) if the content is not cached at the edge. The content is then served to the client, often from the closest edge location.

CloudFront Signed URLs support advanced restrictions such as limiting access by IP address range, enforcing HTTPS, or restricting by date and time.

Common Use Cases for CloudFront Signed URLs

CloudFront Signed URLs are suitable for use cases that require:

• Secure content delivery with global low latency.

• Restricting access to video streams, software downloads, or private APIs.

• Delivering content to a large and geographically distributed audience with access controls.

• Implementing pay-per-view or subscription-based content access models.

• Enforce fine-grained access controls beyond simple expiration, including IP address filtering.

Because CloudFront caches content at edge locations, it reduces load on the origin and improves user experience for global audiences while still maintaining security.

Comparing S3 Pre-signed URLs and CloudFront Signed URLs

There are several key differences between S3 Pre-signed URLs and CloudFront signed URLs that can influence which option is best for a given scenario.

One of the main differences lies in performance and scalability. Pre-signed URLs access S3 directly, which may introduce latency for users far from the AWS region hosting the bucket. CloudFront Signed URLs leverage edge caching, improving performance for users worldwide.

In terms of security, both methods provide temporary access via signed URLs, but CloudFront Signed URLs offer more flexibility with additional restrictions like IP filtering and protocol enforcement.

Cost is another factor. Using CloudFront involves charges for data transfer and requests at edge locations, whereas S3 access is charged based on bucket operations and data transfer out. For high traffic or global audiences, CloudFront may be more cost-effective due to caching.

Implementation complexity varies as well. Generating S3 Pre-signed URLs is straightforward and supported natively by AWS SDKs. CloudFront Signed URLs require managing key pairs and additional configuration, but offer more control.

When to Use S3 Pre-signed URLs vs CloudFront Signed URLs

Choosing between these two depends on use case requirements:

• If your audience is limited and mostly regional, or you want a simple solution to grant temporary access to objects, S3 Pre-signed URLs are a good fit.

• If your content needs to be delivered at scale to a global audience with performance optimization and advanced access controls, CloudFront Signed URLs are preferable.

• For applications requiring streaming media, pay-per-use, or IP-based restrictions, CloudFront Signed URLs provide superior capabilities.

• When you need quick, short-lived access to private objects without setting up a CDN, pre-signed URLs are ideal.

Understanding how S3 Pre-signed URLs and CloudFront Signed URLs work and when to use them is foundational for designing secure and efficient AWS content delivery architectures. S3 Pre-signed URLs offer a simple and direct method for temporary access, ideal for smaller or regional audiences. CloudFront Signed URLs extend access control to a global scale with enhanced security features and better performance through edge caching.

In the next part of this series, we will explore Origin Access Identity (OAI), an AWS feature that helps further secure S3 buckets when used in conjunction with CloudFront distributions. This mechanism is important for controlling direct access to S3 and ensuring content is served only through CloudFront.

What Is Origin Access Identity (OAI)?

Origin Access Identity, or OAI, is a security feature provided by AWS CloudFront designed to restrict direct access to Amazon S3 buckets. Normally, when an S3 bucket is used as an origin for a CloudFront distribution, the bucket can be accessed both through CloudFront and directly via its S3 URL. This direct access bypasses CloudFront, which may result in unauthorized users reaching content that should be protected or bypassing caching mechanisms.

OAI solves this problem by creating a special CloudFront user identity that has permission to access the bucket. Once OAI is configured, the S3 bucket policy can be set to allow access only from this identity. This effectively blocks any direct public or anonymous access to the bucket, forcing all requests to go through CloudFront, where you can enforce additional controls.

Why Was OAI Introduced?

Before the introduction of OAI, securing private content stored in S3 behind CloudFront required complex bucket policies or public exposure of content. Users often had to make their buckets public and rely on signed URLs or cookies to protect the content. This exposed buckets to potential misuse and increased the risk of unauthorized access.

OAI was introduced as a way to securely restrict S3 bucket access to CloudFront distributions only. This lets AWS users enforce that all traffic to the bucket must go through CloudFront, enabling benefits like edge caching, SSL termination, geographic restrictions, and logging while protecting the origin.

How Does OAI Work?

When you create an OAI, AWS generates a special CloudFront user identity with a unique canonical user ID. This identity can be granted permissions in the S3 bucket policy, specifically allowing access to the bucket’s objects. The steps involved include:

1. Create OAI: You create an Origin Access Identity in the CloudFront console or via API.

2. Associate OAI with CloudFront Distribution: The OAI is linked to your CloudFront distribution as the identity used to access the S3 bucket origin.

3. Update S3 Bucket Policy: Modify the bucket policy to grant read permissions to the OAI’s canonical user ID, ensuring only CloudFront (via OAI) can access the bucket.

4. Restrict Public Access: Remove or restrict any existing public permissions on the bucket or objects to prevent direct S3 access.

Once configured, all requests to S3 come from the OAI identity. Requests made directly to the S3 bucket URL without going through CloudFront are denied unless the requester has explicit permissions.

Setting Up OAI for CloudFront Distributions

To implement OAI, you typically follow these steps:

• In the CloudFront console, create a new Origin Access Identity.

• Assign this OAI to the S3 origin in your CloudFront distribution settings.

• Download or copy the canonical user ID associated with the OAI.

• Navigate to your S3 bucket policy and add a statement allowing this canonical user ID to perform s3:GetObject on your bucket objects.

• Ensure the bucket does not allow any other public or unauthenticated access.

This setup guarantees that S3 content is only accessible through the CloudFront distribution, thereby enforcing caching and access controls.

Benefits of Using OAI

Using Origin Access Identity offers several benefits:

• Enhanced Security: It prevents users from bypassing CloudFront and accessing the S3 bucket directly.

• Improved Content Control: All traffic passes through CloudFront, allowing you to use CloudFront features like signed URLs, geo-restrictions, and WAF integration.

• Cost Efficiency: By forcing requests through CloudFront, content is cached closer to users, reducing data transfer and request costs from the S3 origin.

• Simplified Access Management: Instead of managing complex bucket policies for multiple users, you grant access to a single OAI, reducing risk.

Limitations and Considerations of OAI

While OAI is an effective way to secure S3 content behind CloudFront, it has some limitations:

• Limited Granularity: OAI grants bucket-level access to CloudFront but does not support fine-grained access control such as user-level restrictions or temporary access tokens.

• No Support for Non-S3 Origins: OAI is specifically designed for S3 origins and cannot be used with custom origins or other AWS services.

• Policy Complexity: Incorrectly configuring the bucket policy can result in broken access or unintended exposure.

• No Support for HTTP Methods Other Than GET and HEAD: OAI primarily supports read access, limiting use cases where write or other operations are needed.

Despite these limitations, OAI remains a widely used method for securing static content hosted in S3 when distributed via CloudFront.

When to Use OAI Compared to Pre-signed URLs and CloudFront Signed URLs

OAI is particularly useful when you want to serve private static content, such as images, videos, or files, to a large audience via CloudFront while ensuring the S3 bucket remains private. It is best suited for use cases where:

• Content needs to be cached at edge locations to improve performance.

• You want to prevent direct S3 bucket access.

• You don’t require temporary or user-specific access controls.

• You use CloudFront’s other security features, such as geo-restrictions or WAF rules.

If your use case demands temporary or user-specific access with limited validity, pre-signed URLs or CloudFront Signed URLs might be more appropriate. For example, pre-signed URLs allow temporary access directly to S3, while CloudFront Signed URLs enable temporary, fine-grained access control at the CDN layer.

Practical Examples of OAI Usage

A common example is a website delivering private images or downloads that must not be publicly accessible. By setting up CloudFront with OAI, the website ensures all requests come through CloudFront URLs. Users cannot access the S3 URLs directly, protecting content from unauthorized downloads or hotlinking.

Another example is a video streaming platform that serves content via CloudFront with OAI configured. This setup ensures origin security and improves streaming performance by leveraging CloudFront edge caching.

Security Best Practices When Using OAI

To maximize security when using OAI, consider the following practices:

• Always disable public access to the S3 bucket using bucket policies and block public access settings.

• Regularly review and audit bucket policies to ensure only the OAI has access.

• Use CloudFront features such as signed URLs or signed cookies on top of OAI to control who can access content.

• Monitor access logs for CloudFront and S3 to detect unusual access patterns.

• Implement AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) roles and policies to restrict who can modify CloudFront and S3 configurations.

Origin Access Identity provides a strong method to secure Amazon S3 content by restricting bucket access solely to CloudFront. This approach enhances security by preventing direct bucket access and ensures all traffic benefits from CloudFront’s caching and security capabilities.

Compared to S3 Pre-signed URLs and CloudFront signed URLs, OAI is more focused on securing the origin rather than providing temporary or user-specific access. It fits well in architectures where static private content is served at scale and needs protection from unauthorized direct access.

The next article in this series will introduce Origin Access Control (OAC), a newer AWS feature that builds on and improves the capabilities of OAI, offering more flexibility and security for controlling access to your origins in CloudFront distributions.

Introduction to Origin Access Control (OAC)

Origin Access Control, or OAC, is a more recent advancement from AWS designed to provide enhanced security and flexibility when controlling access between CloudFront distributions and their origins, especially Amazon S3 buckets. While Origin Access Identity (OAI) served as the traditional method to restrict direct access to S3 buckets and ensure requests came through CloudFront, OAC introduces improvements that address some of OAI’s limitations and better integrate with modern AWS security practices.

OAC is part of AWS’s ongoing effort to provide more secure and fine-tuned origin access mechanisms that are easier to configure, maintain, and audit. It leverages AWS Signature Version 4 (SigV4) for authentication between CloudFront and the origin, replacing the legacy canonical user ID model used by OAI.

How Does Origin Access Control Work?

OAC works by allowing CloudFront to sign requests cryptographically to the origin using AWS Signature Version 4. This means every request that CloudFront forwards to the origin (like an S3 bucket) is signed with credentials granted to CloudFront, which the origin validates. Only requests properly signed by CloudFront with an OAC can access the origin resources.

This mechanism strengthens security because:

• It uses modern SigV4 signing, a robust, standard AWS authentication protocol.

• It allows more granular control over which HTTP methods are allowed.

• It integrates seamlessly with AWS IAM roles and policies, improving auditability.

• It supports encryption in transit and verification of requests at the origin.

In comparison, OAI relied on a canonical user ID linked to a special CloudFront user. While effective, this method is less flexible and harder to manage compared to using SigV4.

Setting Up Origin Access Control

Setting up OAC involves several key steps:

1. Create an Origin Access Control: Within the CloudFront distribution configuration, you create an OAC resource that defines which type of signing to use and which origins it applies to.

2. Associate OAC with CloudFront Origin: The OAC is linked to the relevant origin (usually an S3 bucket) in the distribution settings.

3. Configure Origin Permissions: You update the S3 bucket policy to trust the CloudFront service principal or IAM role associated with the OAC. This enables CloudFront to access the bucket using SigV4 signed requests.

4. Deploy and Test: After setting up, test the distribution to ensure that requests are properly signed and that the origin denies unauthorized access.

AWS provides CLI, SDK, and console tools to simplify OAC creation and association.

Differences Between OAC and OAI

While OAI and OAC aim to restrict origin access to CloudFront only, OAC brings several improvements over OAI:

• Authentication Method: OAI uses a canonical user ID for access, while OAC uses SigV4 signing, providing stronger, industry-standard authentication.

• Granular Access Control: OAC allows better control over HTTP methods and supports more precise permission settings in bucket policies or IAM roles.

• Security Integration: OAC integrates well with AWS IAM, allowing the use of IAM policies and roles for access management and better audit trails.

• Support for Multiple Origins: OAC is designed to be more flexible in handling complex distributions with multiple origins or different origin types.

• Deprecation Path: AWS is encouraging new deployments to use OAC over OAI due to these enhancements.

Benefits of Using OAC

Origin Access Control provides several significant benefits:

• Stronger Security: By using SigV4 signing, OAC ensures requests are cryptographically verified, reducing risks from spoofed or unauthorized requests.

• Improved Access Management: IAM integration allows administrators to leverage existing AWS security frameworks to manage origin access securely.

• Enhanced Compatibility: OAC supports multiple origin types beyond S3, including custom HTTP origins, enabling consistent origin access control across different backends.

• Ease of Auditing: With IAM policies and CloudTrail integration, all access through OAC can be monitored and logged for compliance.

• Future Proofing: As AWS continues to evolve its security features, OAC is positioned as the recommended method for origin access control moving forward.

When to Choose OAC Over OAI

If you are setting up a new CloudFront distribution or updating an existing one, it is generally advisable to use Origin Access Control rather than Origin Access Identity. Specifically, OAC is better when you:

• Require stronger, modern authentication using SigV4.

• Need granular permissions with IAM policies.

• Have complex architectures involving multiple origins or origin types.

• Want better monitoring and logging capabilities.

• Seek to align with the latest AWS security best practices.

OAI remains supported for legacy systems but is considered less flexible and less secure compared to OAC.

Configuring S3 Bucket Policies for OAC

When using OAC, the bucket policy is typically updated to grant read access to the AWS service principal for CloudFront. This is often done by specifying a condition that allows requests only if they are signed with the OAC credentials.

An example S3 bucket policy might grant s3:GetObject permissions to the cloudfront.amazonaws.com service principal with additional conditions verifying the request signature. This differs from the OAI approach, which grants access to a canonical user ID.

This change simplifies permissions management since policies can leverage IAM constructs and do not rely on static user IDs.

Impact on Caching and Performance

Like OAI, OAC requires that all content requests to S3 go through CloudFront, enabling efficient edge caching and delivery. Because requests are signed and authenticated at the origin, unauthorized access is blocked, and content is securely cached closer to users.

Using OAC does not impact CloudFront’s caching behavior negatively; in fact, it complements it by ensuring only validated requests reach the origin. The use of SigV4 signing adds minimal overhead, as it is a lightweight cryptographic operation.

Use Cases for Origin Access Control

OAC is ideal for scenarios where security and flexibility are critical, such as:

• Serving private media content where access must be tightly controlled and logged.

• Websites or applications requiring compliance with stringent security standards.

• Multi-origin architectures combining S3 buckets and custom HTTP origins.

• Organizations are leveraging AWS IAM for centralized security and access governance.

By adopting OAC, these use cases gain improved security, better operational control, and more seamless integration with AWS’s overall security ecosystem.

Comparing OAC with Pre-signed URLs and CloudFront Signed URLs

While OAC controls origin access at the backend between CloudFront and the origin, pre-signed URLs and CloudFront signed URLs primarily control user access at the edge:

• Pre-signed URLs allow direct but temporary access to specific objects in S3 without going through CloudFront. They embed credentials in the URL and are useful for user-specific temporary access.

• CloudFront Signed URLs secure content at the CDN edge, enabling temporary, user-specific access control to the distribution itself.

• OAC ensures that CloudFront is the only entity that can access the origin, preventing unauthorized origin requests and securing the backend.

In many architectures, OAC is used together with CloudFront signed URLs or cookies to create a multi-layered access control strategy, protecting both origin and delivery layers.

Best Practices for Using OAC

To maximize security and reliability when using Origin Access Control, consider the following best practices:

• Always keep your CloudFront distributions and OAC configurations up to date with the latest AWS recommendations.

• Use least privilege principles when assigning permissions in IAM and bucket policies.

• Enable logging on CloudFront and S3 to monitor access and detect anomalies.

• Combine OAC with CloudFront signed URLs or signed cookies to enforce user-level access restrictions.

• Test configurations thoroughly in development environments before deploying to production.

• Regularly audit and review IAM policies and access logs to ensure compliance.

Origin Access Control represents the evolution of secure origin access management for AWS CloudFront distributions. By leveraging AWS Signature Version 4 signing and IAM integration, it provides stronger security, more flexible access control, and better auditability than the older Origin Access Identity method.

OAC is well-suited for modern cloud architectures that require secure and scalable content delivery while maintaining tight control over origin access. It complements user access controls like CloudFront signed URLs and pre-signed URLs, enabling layered protection for content delivery pipelines.

In the final part of this series, we will explore the practical use cases and detailed comparisons between S3 pre-signed URLs, CloudFront signed URLs, OAI, and OAC to help you decide which mechanism best fits your needs based on security, performance, and complexity considerations.

Practical Use Cases and Choosing the Right Access Control Method

Choosing the appropriate method to secure access to your S3 content through CloudFront depends heavily on your specific needs, infrastructure, and security goals. Each mechanism offers distinct advantages and serves different scenarios, so understanding when to use each is essential for building a robust and efficient content delivery system.

When to Use S3 Pre-signed URLs

S3 pre-signed URLs are best suited for cases where you want to grant direct, time-limited access to specific objects in your S3 bucket. This method is particularly useful when you want users to access or upload files without exposing the bucket publicly and without routing through CloudFront. It works well for simple applications or workflows where CDN caching is not a priority and you want to maintain fine control over individual objects. However, pre-signed URLs bypass CloudFront, so you lose the benefits of caching and edge distribution, and the URLs can be shared, allowing anyone with the link to access the content until expiration.

When CloudFront Signed URLs Make Sense

CloudFront signed URLs are designed for scenarios where you want to restrict access to content distributed through CloudFront’s global CDN. This approach is ideal when delivering premium or restricted content like streaming media, software downloads, or private documents. CloudFront signed URLs allow you to define granular access policies such as expiration times, IP address restrictions, or even custom restrictions, while benefiting from the performance improvements and reduced latency that come with edge caching. They help prevent unauthorized access at the CDN level, improving security over direct S3 access with pre-signed URLs.

Use Cases for Origin Access Identity (OAI)

Origin Access Identity is an older mechanism that restricts access to your S3 bucket so that only your CloudFront distribution can fetch the content. This is useful when you want to ensure that your S3 bucket is not publicly accessible and only CloudFront can serve the content. OAI works by creating a special CloudFront user that you grant permission to read from your S3 bucket. While OAI is straightforward to set up and effective for simple use cases, it lacks support for the more advanced security features of newer mechanisms. It is limited to S3 origins and does not support the latest AWS authentication standards.

Why Origin Access Control (OAC) is Recommended for Modern Deployments

Origin Access Control is the modern replacement for OAI, providing enhanced security and flexibility. It uses AWS Signature Version 4 signing to authenticate requests from CloudFront to your origin, enabling fine-grained permission management through IAM policies. OAC supports multi-origin setups and works not only with S3 but also with custom origins. It provides better security posture, improved auditing, and is designed to work seamlessly with the current AWS ecosystem. For any new CloudFront distributions or updates to existing ones, AWS recommends using OAC rather than OAI for controlling origin access.

Combining Access Control Mechanisms

Many organizations use a combination of these methods to implement layered security. For example, OAI or OAC can be used to restrict S3 bucket access so that only CloudFront can fetch content, while CloudFront signed URLs or signed cookies control user access at the CDN edge. Meanwhile, pre-signed URLs might be used for specific cases where temporary direct access to an S3 object is necessary without involving CloudFront. Combining these techniques helps protect content from unauthorized access at multiple levels and improves both security and user experience.

Performance and Security Trade-offs

Using CloudFront signed URLs along with OAC allows you to leverage the full performance benefits of edge caching while maintaining strong access control. This reduces load on the origin and decreases latency for end-users. On the other hand, pre-signed URLs route traffic directly to S3, which may increase origin load and result in slower responses due to a lack of caching.

From a security perspective, OAC offers the strongest protection by enforcing signature-based authentication and enabling centralized IAM-based control. CloudFront signed URLs protect content delivery at the edge, preventing unauthorized CDN access. Pre-signed URLs are easier to use but provide less control and can be less secure if URLs are leaked.

Managing Access and Auditing

OAC integrates deeply with AWS Identity and Access Management, allowing detailed permission control and easier auditing through AWS CloudTrail logs. This helps organizations monitor who accessed content and when, providing stronger governance capabilities. CloudFront signed URLs also support logging and monitoring at the edge, enabling insight into user access patterns.

Pre-signed URLs require careful management because they embed credentials in the URL itself and lack a centralized way to revoke access before expiration. This makes them less ideal for scenarios requiring tight access control and auditing.

Cost Considerations

Deploying CloudFront with OAC or OAI can increase costs due to CDN usage, but it often reduces overall costs by decreasing S3 request traffic and improving user experience. Conversely, relying heavily on pre-signed URLs can increase load and costs on S3 because all requests bypass caching and go directly to the origin.

Balancing cost, performance, and security will guide the decision on which method to implement.

To summarize, S3 pre-signed URLs offer simple, temporary direct access to S3 objects but do not benefit from CDN caching or strong access control at the edge. CloudFront signed URLs provide secure access control at the CDN level, improving both security and performance. Origin Access Identity is a basic method to restrict S3 bucket access to CloudFront, but is being replaced by Origin Access Control, which offers stronger security, IAM integration, and supports multi-origin environments.

For new architectures, Origin Access Control combined with CloudFront signed URLs provides the most secure, flexible, and performant solution. Pre-signed URLs remain useful for specialized cases requiring direct object access.

Final Thoughts

Securing access to your S3 content when using CloudFront involves understanding the strengths and limitations of various access control methods. S3 pre-signed URLs offer a straightforward way to grant temporary direct access to objects but lack the benefits of caching and fine-grained edge control. CloudFront signed URLs add a robust layer of security at the CDN edge, allowing for detailed access policies and a better user experience through caching.

Origin Access Identity, while still in use, represents an older approach to restricting S3 bucket access to CloudFront and lacks the advanced security features now standard in AWS. Origin Access Control is the modern and recommended solution, leveraging IAM and Signature Version 4 authentication to provide stronger, more flexible control over origin access and integration with other AWS services.

When designing your system, consider your security needs, performance goals, and operational complexity. For new deployments, combining CloudFront signed URLs with Origin Access Control offers the best balance of security, performance, and manageability. Pre-signed URLs still serve valuable roles for direct, temporary access scenarios outside of CDN use.

By carefully choosing and combining these tools, you can protect your content effectively while providing a seamless experience for your users. Staying informed about AWS best practices and updates will ensure your architecture remains secure and efficient as your needs evolve.

 

• Category: other
• Tags: CloudFront, S3 Pre-signed