Does my RDS proxy require an additional DNS to be more secure?

Hello Rosna,

using Route 53 to point to your RDS Proxy is not necessary from a security perspective, but it can be beneficial for operational reasons. Let me explain both aspects:

Security Perspective

Your database will not be more exposed if you use the RDS Proxy endpoint directly. Here's why:

1. RDS Proxy already provides security isolation - The proxy endpoint shields your actual RDS database instance. External clients never see or connect to your database directly.
2. Authentication is still required - Whether accessing via Route 53 or directly, connections must still authenticate/authorize through:

• Database credentials (username/password)
• IAM authentication (if configured)
• Security groups and network ACLs

3. The proxy endpoint is already an accessible DNS name - Adding Route 53 doesn't hide it further; it just creates an alias.

Operational Benefits of Using Route 53

While not necessary for security, Route 53 provides operational advantages:

1. Abstraction & Flexibility

• Easy endpoint switching without code changes
• Can update the Route 53 record to point to a different proxy/endpoint during migrations
• Useful for blue-green deployments or disaster recovery

2. Cleaner Configuration

• Custom domain name (e.g., db.mycompany.internal) is more readable/"user-friendly" than AWS-generated endpoints
• Easier to manage across multiple environments
• Better for documentation and team communication

3. Multi-Region Capabilities

• Can implement geo-routing or failover strategies
• Health checks and automatic failover (though RDS Proxy already provides HA)

Recommendations

If you would like to have additional layer of control and security, you could implement access over PrivateLink Endpoint to your RDS proxy. How this works, you can read here: https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/database/use-amazon-rds-proxy-and-aws-privatelink-to-access-amazon-rds-databases-across-aws-organizations-at-american-family-insurance-group/

If you need an access from the internet, you can use this as well. For the reference you can read following blog post on how to do that: https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/database/connect-external-applications-to-an-amazon-rds-instance-using-amazon-rds-proxy/

To additionally secure the access to RDS Proxy, you can take into consideration using AWS Network Firewall and its advanced deep packet inspection functionalities to inspect network traffic.

Best regards, Neven