Atlassian Access + Beacon Beta = Atlassian Guard

Atlassian has revised its security products and bundled them under the new name Atlassian Guard . The previous solutions Atlassian Access and Atlassian Beacon Beta have been renamed Atlassian Guard Standard and Atlassian Guard Premium. These two products aim to improve security for Atlassian Cloud customers. They protect access to sensitive data and detect threats at an early stage. However, these features are not available for Data Center customers. Atlassian Guard Standard and Premium are only available in the cloud. Data center users must fall back on alternative security solutions.

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Define and minimize Risk Profile with Atlassian Guard

Recognize risks at an early stage
Increase data security by defining security guidelines
Detect threats at an early stage
Suggestions for measures

What will change for Cloud Customers?

For many cloud customers who previously used Atlassian Access, the renaming to Atlassian Guard Standard does not mean any major changes. The central functions remain the same, such as

Central user administration
Single sign-on (SSO) via SAML
Two-factor authentication (2FA)
API token controls
Monitoring of suspicious activities

New features include enforced SSO for external users and enhanced mobile security policies.

Atlassian Guard Premium extends these features with advanced threat detection and defense. Among other things, it offers automated scans, classification of sensitive data, guidelines for data export and immediate alerts in the event of suspicious activity.

Changes for Data Center Customers

Atlassian Guard has no direct impact on data center customers as it is only available in the cloud. Customers must continue to use their own security management solutions. Jira, Confluence or Atlassian Crowd already offer SSO functions and the integration of external directories such as Active Directory or LDAP. Alternatively, you can use add-ons from the Atlassian Marketplace to implement extended security functionalities.

Atlassian Guard and Cloud Migration

For companies that want to move from the data center to the cloud, Atlassian Guard Premium offers crucial security features to facilitate the transition. These include

Detection and classification of sensitive data
Access to comprehensive audit logs to monitor user activity
Control over API tokens and service accounts

These features address common security concerns that prevent companies from migrating to the cloud. They also provide an effective solution for secure migration.

Authentication Policies and Cost Efficiency

A key feature of Atlassian Guard is the creation of flexible authentication policies that allow administrators to set security defaults for different user groups. These policies cover areas such as SSO, 2FA, API token management, password policies and session duration. It is also possible to create a free policy for user groups, but with limited security features (e.g. no enforced SSO or 2FA). This allows companies to save costs while flexibly adapting security.

Feature Overview: Standard and Premium Plan

Functionality	Atlassian Guard Standard	Atlassian Guard Premium
Authentication incl. SAML/SSO and SCIM
Securing the activities of external users
Org audit logs: Administrator activities
Org Audit Logs: Activities of users, API tokens and webhooks
Data classification
Enforce data classifications based on data security policies
Detection of unusual activities
Scanning content for security risks
Alarm dashboard
Recommendation for remediation