Securing workspaces in a cloud computing environment

Abstract

A computing system that provides virtual computing services may generate and manage remote computing sessions between client computing devices and virtual desktop instances hosted on the service provider's network. Each virtual desktop instance may include a network interface for communication between the virtual desktop instance and client computing devices, and a second interface that connects the virtual desktop instance to entities on other networks (e.g., Internet destinations, or shared resources on an internal network). An administrative component or client application may detect a condition indicating that the second interface should be disconnected or its operation modified in order to prevent or curtail malicious use of the virtual desktop instance, such as inactivity, server type activity or other suspicious activity, suspension or closing of a remote computing session, or a timeout condition, or may proactively disconnect the interface or modify its operation based on observed or expected usage patterns.