Secure S3 Bucket Access

using pre-signed URLs is the safest way for an application running outside of AWS to consume an object stored in an S3 bucket via GET. Here's a breakdown of pre-signed URLs and how they work:

Pre-Signed URLs: A pre-signed URL is a temporary URL generated by AWS that grants access to a specific S3 object for a defined period and with specific permissions. It includes the S3 object key (name), security credentials, and expiration time.

When your application outside of AWS uses this URL to access the object, it doesn't need to store any long-term AWS credentials itself.

Some key benefits of Pre-Signed URLs:

Security: By using pre-signed URLs, you avoid storing long-term access keys or secrets in your application code. This reduces the risk of compromising your S3 bucket if your application is compromised.

Granular Control: You can define specific permissions for the pre-signed URL, such as allowing only GET requests and setting an expiration time. This restricts what actions can be performed on the object using the URL.

Flexibility: You can generate pre-signed URLs dynamically based on user needs or object access requirements.

Generate Pre-Signed URL: 1/ Your application code running outside of AWS uses the AWS SDK (available in various languages) to generate a pre-signed URL for the S3 object. This involves specifying the object key, desired permissions (e.g., GET), and expiration time. 2/ Send Pre-Signed URL: The generated pre-signed URL is sent to your application outside of AWS. 3/ Access Object: The application outside of AWS uses the pre-signed URL in an HTTP GET request to access the S3 object. AWS S3 validates the URL's authenticity and permissions before granting access.

AWS Documentation has quite good details for the same . Pasting link : https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/using-presigned-url.html