AWS WorkSpaces 2FA / MFA

Amazon WorkSpaces is a managed, secure Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) solution. You can use AWS WorkSpaces to provision either Windows or Linux desktops in a few minutes and quickly scale to provide thousands of desktops to workers across the globe. Amazon WorkSpaces helps you eliminate the complexity in managing hardware inventory, OS versions and patches, and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), which helps simplify your desktop delivery strategy. With Amazon WorkSpaces, your users get a fast, responsive desktop of their choice that they can access anywhere, anytime, from any supported device.
When you enable 2FA / MFA for AWS Workspaces , your users enter their username and password (first factor) as usual, and they have to enter an authentication code (the second factor) which will be shared on your virtual or hardware 2FA / MFA solution to get access to AWS Workspace Client. At the same time, miniOrange MFA solution allows enterprises to quickly increase security of information and resources without worrying about time for initial set up or future upgrades.

Types of 2FA Authentication with RADIUS

The 2-factor authentication can be of two types depending on the VPN clients.

VPN Clients that support RADIUS Challenge.
VPN Clients that do not support RADIUS Challenge.

miniOrange 2FA authentication for AWS Workspace VPN Login

miniOrange accomplishes this by acting as a RADIUS server that accepts the username/password of the user entered as a RADIUS request and validates the user against the user store as Active Directory (AD). After the first level of authentication, miniOrange prompts the user with 2-factor authentication and either grants/revokes access based on the input by the user.

MFA 2FA Two-Factor Authentication for AWS Workspace VPN

1. Primary authentication initiates with the user submitting his Username and Password for AWS Workspace.

2. User request acts as an authentication request to RADIUS Server(miniOrange).

3. miniOrange RADIUS server passes user credentials to validate against the credentials stored in AD (Active Directory) / Database.

4. Once the user's first level of authentication gets validated AD sends the confirmation to RADIUS Server.

5. Now miniOrange RADIUS Server asks for a 2-factor authentication challenge to the user.

6. Here user submits the response/code which he receives on his hardware/phone.

7. User response is checked at miniOrange’s RADIUS Server side.

8. On successful 2nd factor authentication the user is granted access to the AWS Workspace.

miniOrange provides 15+ 2FA authentication methods for your AWS Workspace: OTP over SMS-Email, Push Notification, Software Token, Google / Microsoft Authenticator etc. You can opt for any of the 2FA methods to secure your AWS Workspace VPN. To enable 2FA, you can enable RADIUS authentication in AWS workspace and configure policies in miniOrange to enable or disable 2FA for users.

Prerequisite for enabling MFA for AWS Workspaces :

Your Active Directory must be one of the following

AWS Managed Active Directory
AD Connector

You have already Configured and Enabled AWS Workspaces

IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT YOU CONTACT US FOR SETTING UP MFA FOR VPN.

Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)/ (MFA) for your AWS Workspace Client to extend security level.

Step 1: Add the Radius Client in miniOrange

Login into miniOrange Admin Console.
Go to Apps >> Manage Apps. Click on Add Application button.

Add AWS Workspace application for MFA/Two-Factor Authentication(2FA)

Choose RADIUS as Application type and click on Create App button.

2FA Two-Factor authentication for aws workspaces: Create Radius Application

Click on AWS Workspace application tab. If you don't find your application click on Radius Client application tab.

2FA Two-Factor authentication for aws workspaces

Configure the below details to add AWS Workspace VPN Client.

Client Name:	Any name for your reference.
Client IP:	IP address of VPN server which will send Radius authentication request.
Shared Secret:	Security key. For Eg. "sharedsecret" (Keep this with you, you will need to configure same on VPN Server).
Send Groups in Response	Enable this to send user groups as Vendor-Specific Group Attributes.

Configure the following Policy details for the AWS Workspace VPN Client.

Group Name:	Group for which the policy will apply.
Policy Name:	Any Identifier that specifies policy name.
Login Method-Mobile Only Policy	Users login using a Mobile authentication method e.g. SMS, Push Notification, Soft token (Passwordless authentication).

After configuring the given above details, Click on Save button.

Configure AWS Workspace App for 2FA Two-Factor Authentication

NOTE:

On-Premise

Only For On-Premise Version

Step 1: Open Firewall Ports.

In order to receive the RADIUS request, it is necessary to open UDP traffic on ports 1812 and 1813 for the machine where On-Premise IdP is deployed.
If the hosting machine is a Windows Machine then you can follow this document.
If the hosting machine is a Linux Machine then you can follow this document.

NOTE:

Step 2: Add miniOrange as RADIUS Server in AWS Management Console

Login to AWS Management Console.
Go to Directory Services and Choose the directory ID link for which you want to enable MFA.

On the Directory details page, select the Networking & security tab. Scroll down to the Multi-factor authentication section, choose Actions, and then choose Enable.

On the Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) page, provide the following details:

Attribute	Value
Display Label	A display value for MFA configuration
RADIUS server DNS name or IP addresses	We will provide you our RADIUS Server IP Address on request.
Port	1812
Shared secret code	Enter the Shared Secret Code that we configured in Step 1
Confirmed shared secret code	Enter the Shared Secret Code that we configured in Step 1
Protocol	Select Protocol as : PAP
Server timeout (in seconds)	30
Max RADIUS request retries	Keep this value as it is

Click on Enable to save this Configuration and enable RADIUS.

Step 3: Enable Inbound Rule for your Directory

Go to Directory Services and copy Directory ID and Security Group of Your Directory.

AWS WorkSpaces Enable inbound rule for Directory

Now go to VPC (Virtual Private Cloud) Dashboard and select Security Groups from the side menu.
Use the search box to search for your AWS Managed Microsoft AD directory ID. In the search results, select the item with the description AWS created security group for directory controllers.

AWS WorkSpaces AWS Managed Microsoft AD Directory ID

Go to the Inbound Rules tab for that same security group. Choose Edit, and then Add another rule. For the new rule, enter the following values:

Attribute	Value
Type	Custom UDP Rule
Protocol	UDP
Port Ranges	1812
Source	Enter the Security Group we copied earlier

Click on Add Rule to Add this Rule and then Save Rules.

Log in to miniOrange Admin Console.
From the left side menu, click on User Stores >> Add User Store.

Select User Store type as AD/LDAP.

STORE LDAP CONFIGURATION IN MINIORANGE: Choose this option if you want to keep your configuration in miniOrange. If active directory is behind a firewall, you will need to open the firewall to allow incoming requests to your AD.
STORE LDAP CONFIGURATION ON PREMISE: Choose this option if you want to keep your configuration in your premise and only allow access to AD inside premises. You will have to download and install miniOrange gateway in your premise.

Two-Factor Authentication : Select ad/ldap user store type

Enter LDAP Display Name and LDAP Identifier name.
Select Directory Type as Active Directory.
Enter the LDAP Server URL or IP Address against LDAP Server URL field.
Click on Test Connection button to verify if you have made a successful connection with your LDAP server.

MFA/2FA: Configure LDAP server URL Connection

In Active Directory, go to the properties of user containers/OU's and search for Distinguished Name attribute.

MFA: Configure user bind account domain name

Enter the valid Bind account Password.
Click on Test Bind Account Credentials button to verify your LDAP Bind credentials for LDAP connection.

Search Base is the location in the directory where the search for a user begins. You will get this from the same place you got your Distinguished name.

Select a suitable Search filter from the drop down menu. To use custom Search Filter select "Custom Search Filter" option and customize it accordingly.

You can also configure following options while setting up AD. Enable Activate LDAP in order to authenticate users from AD/LDAP. Click on the Save button to add user store.

Here's the list of the attributes and what it does when we enable it. You can enable/disable accordingly.

Attribute	Description
Activate LDAP	All user authentications will be done with LDAP credentials if you Activate it
Sync users in miniOrange	Users will be created in miniOrange after authentication with LDAP
Backup Authentication	If LDAP credentials fail then user will be authenticated through miniOrange
Allow users to change password	This allows your users to change their password. It updates the new credentials in your LDAP server
Enable administrator login	On enabling this, your miniOrange Administrator login authenticates using your LDAP server
Show IdP to users	If you enable this option, this IdP will be visible to users
Send Configured Attributes	If you enable this option, then only the attributes configured below will be sent in attributes at the time of login

Click on Save. After this, it will show you the list of User stores. Click on Test Configuration to check whether you have enter valid details. For that, it will ask for username and password.

On Successful connection with LDAP Server, a success message is shown.
Click on Test Attribute Mapping.

Enter a valid Username. Then, click on Test. Mapped Attributes corresponding to the user are fetched.

Refer our guide to setup LDAPS on windows server.

Log in to miniOrange Admin Console.
Go to Userstore >> Add Userstore.

Select Userstore type as miniOrange and click on Add miniOrange Identity Source.

Once done with adding Identity Source, make it default by clicking on Select against the recently added miniOrange Identity Source.
There are 3 ways to add users in miniOrange:

1. Create User in miniOrange

2. Bulk Upload Users

3. Self User Registration

1. Create User in miniOrange

Click on Users >> Add User.

Here, fill the user details without the password and then click on the Create User button.

After successful user creation a notification message "An end user is added successfully" will be displayed at the top of the dashboard.

Two-Factor Authentication: Add user details

Click on On Boarding Status tab. Check the email, with the registered e-mail id and select action Send Activation Mail with Password Reset Link from Select Action dropdown list and then click on Apply button.

Now, Open your email id. Open the mail you get from miniOrange and then click on the link to set your account password.
On the next screen, enter the password and confirm password and then click on the Single Sign-On (SSO) reset password button.

Multi-Factor Authentication: Reset user password

Now, you can log in into miniOrange account by entering your credentials.

2. Bulk Upload Users in miniOrange via Uploading CSV File.

Navigate to Users >> User List. Click on Add User button.

In Bulk User Registration Download sample csv format from our console and edit this csv file according to the instructions.

Two-Factor authentication: Download sample csv file

To bulk upload users, choose the file make sure it is in comma separated .csv file format then click on Upload.

After uploading the csv file successfully, you will see a success message with a link.
Click on that link you will see list of users to send activation mail. Select users to send activation mail and click on Send Activation Mail. An activation mail will be sent to the selected users.

3. Self User Registration

miniOrange self user registration allows end users to register themselves using customized registration form. miniOrange admin users can customize the registration form by adding more custom fields according to their choice. Follow the miniOrange guide to customize user self registration page.

Step 5: User Import and Provisioning

Go to Settings in the Customer Admin Account.

MFA/Two-Factor Authentication(2FA) for AWS Workspace miniOrange dashboard

Enable the "Enable User Auto Registration" option and click Save.

MFA/Two-Factor Authentication(2FA) for AWS Workspace Enable User Auto Registration

(Optional) To send a welcome email to all the end users that will be imported, enable the "Enable sending Welcome Emails after user registration" option and click Save.

MFA/Two-Factor Authentication(2FA) for AWS Workspace Enable sending Welcome Emails after user registration

From the Left-Side menu of the dashboard select Provisioning.

MFA/Two-Factor Authentication(2FA) for AWS Workspace User Sync/Provisioning

In Setup Provisioning tab select Active Directory in the Select Application Drop Down.
Toggle the Import Users tab, click on Save button.

MFA/Two-Factor Authentication(2FA) for AWS Workspace User Sync Active Directory Configuration

On the same section, switch to Import Users section.
Select Active Directory from the dropdown and click on the Import Users tab, to import all the users from Active Directory to miniOrange.

MFA/Two-Factor Authentication(2FA) for AWS Workspace User Sync Import Operation

You can view all the Users you have imports by selecting Users >> User List from Left Panel.

MFA/Two-Factor Authentication(2FA) for AWS Workspace User List

All the imported users will be auto registered.
These groups will be helpful in adding multiple 2FA policies on the applications.

Step 6: Creating User Groups (Recommended)

AD user group
miniOrage user group

This step involves Importing the user group from the Active Directory and Provisioning them.
Go to Provisioning. Switch to Setup Provisioning tab and select Active Directory from Dropdown menu.

MFA/Two-Factor Authentication(2FA) for AWS Workspace : Select Active Directory (AD)

Select Group Provisioning/Deprovisioning tab, and toggle on Import Group option.
If you want to dynamically allocate users to the groups present in the miniorange, then enable "Assign Users to groups"
Enter the Base DN for group sync and click Save.

MFA/Two-Factor Authentication(2FA) for AWS Workspace : Switch on import Group

Now switch to Import Groups option and select Active Directory from which you want to import your users.
Finally, click on Import button. Your group will be imported.

MFA/Two-Factor Authentication(2FA) for AWS Workspace : User group imported successfully

(The Active Directory Group Provisioning (Sync) setup is done. Now, whenever a user is created or modified in LDAP server and if the Assign Users to groups is enabled, then user group attribute from the LDAP server will be automatically synced and the user group will be assigned or changed accordingly in miniOrange.)

Select Groups >> Manage Groups from left panel.
Click on the Create Group button on the top.

MFA/Two-Factor Authentication(2FA) for AWS Workspace Manage Groups

Enter an appropriate Group Name and click on Create Group.

MFA/Two-Factor Authentication(2FA) for AWS Workspace Create Groups

In this guide we have created a Group by name VPN_Group.
Assign various members to the group using the Assign User option associated with the group in the groups list.

MFA/Two-Factor Authentication(2FA) for AWS Workspace User Assign

Select the Users that are required to be assigned to this group. Then Select Assign to Group in Select Action Dropdown and click on Apply button.

MFA/Two-Factor Authentication(2FA) for AWS Workspace Assignment to Group

These groups will be helpful in adding multiple 2FA policies on the applications.

Step 7: Configuring 2FA Two-Factor Authentication for End-Users

To enable 2FA, go to 2-Factor Authentication >> 2FA for end users.
Select default Two-Factor authentication method for end users. You can select particular 2FA methods, which you want to show on the end users dashboard.
Once Done with the settings, click on Save to configure your 2FA settings.

MFA/Two-Factor Authentication(2FA) for AWS Workspace Configure 2FA Panel

Login into your End-User Dashboard using end user login URL.
For Cloud Version: The Login URL for end users will be available after setting up Organisation name.

(You can follow these steps and use the login URL present in the Branding section.)

MFA/Two-Factor Authentication(2FA) for AWS Workspace Cloud and On-Premise end-users Login URL

For On-Premise version: The Login URL will be the same as of Admin Login URL.
Select Configure 2FA from left panel.
Browse through the Second factor options and choose an appropriate method to be used by the particular End-User during login.
For now, we have selected the "OTP OVER SMS"as our 2FA method. You can explore the guide to setup other 2FA methods here.
Click on Configure/Reconfigure "OTP OVER SMS".

Enter you Phone Number along with the necessary country code and click on the SAVE below.

MFA/Two-Factor Authentication(2FA) for AWS Workspace Configure Second Factor-SMS(Enter Mobile Number)

After the Phone details are saved successfully, click on the Save button on the top bar to set this as your 2FA method.
Currently used method is represented by green color.

To use a particular method of 2FA, we configure that method first and then select the method and click on SAVE.
Admin can change the second factor of the End user from the User List.

MFA/Two-Factor Authentication(2FA) for AWS Workspace: User list in miniOrange

Under Action Click on Select and then select Reset Second Factor.

MFA/2FA Two-Factor authentication for AWS Workspace: User list(Reset second factor)

Step 8: Add Another Policy (Optional)

Here, we will configure a policy for the User Group that we created in the Step 6 and associate it with the AWS Workspace VPN Application.
Click on Policies tab >> App Login Policy.

MFA/Two-Factor Authentication(2FA) for AWS Workspace App Authentication Policy

Click on Add Policy tab.
In Application section, select the RADIUS App that we configured earlier in Step 1.
Select the required User Group in Group Name and enter the Policy name.
In this guide, we will configure a Password Only policy for "VPN_Group", so that only the VPN_Group members can access VPN Services without a Second Factor.
Once done with the policy settings, click on Save to Add Policy.

MFA/Two-Factor Authentication(2FA) for AWS Workspace App Add Policy

Step 9: miniOrange 2FA for AWS Workspace Login

Go to the appropriate AWS WorkSpaces Client E.g :- (Windows, Linux, Web)
Here You will see 3 input field instead of 2 for Username ,Password and MFA Code.
Enter your AWS Workspace Username and Password into respective fields and enter your MFA Code in the MFA Code field for the authentication method configured in miniOrange

Login into AWS Workspaces Client with MFA

On successful MFA authentication your AWS Workspaces session will start.

For Further Details:

What is Two-Factor authentication(2FA)?
What is Adaptive MFA?
Why one should secure their VPN?

Contents

Two-Factor Authentication for AWS Workspaces

miniOrange provides a ready to use solution for AWS Workspaces. This 2FA solution integrates with Amazon WorkSpaces to add two-factor authentication to WorkSpaces client logins & ensures that you are ready to roll out secure access to Amazon Workspaces to your employees within minutes.

AWS WorkSpaces 2FA / MFA

Types of 2FA Authentication with RADIUS

miniOrange 2FA authentication for AWS Workspace VPN Login

Prerequisite for enabling MFA for AWS Workspaces :

We can connect with any Directory

Step 1: Add the Radius Client in miniOrange

Step 2: Add miniOrange as RADIUS Server in AWS Management Console

Step 3: Enable Inbound Rule for your Directory

Step 4: Choose Your User Directory

Step 5: User Import and Provisioning

Step 6: Creating User Groups (Recommended)

Step 7: Configuring 2FA Two-Factor Authentication for End-Users

Step 8: Add Another Policy (Optional)

Step 9: miniOrange 2FA for AWS Workspace Login

Contents

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