Setup OpenClaw: 60 Seconds on Clawctl vs 40+ Hours on AWS
In January 2026, security researcher Maor Dayan scanned the internet for exposed OpenClaw instances.
He found 42,665 of them.
93.4% were vulnerable to exploitation.
VPCs didn't save them. Security groups didn't save them. AWS didn't save them.
They deployed infrastructure. They didn't deploy security.
The AWS Reality
AWS gives you infrastructure. It does not give you AI agent security.
What AWS deployment requires:
- VPC with public/private subnets (2+ AZs)
- Application Load Balancer
- ECS Fargate cluster
- RDS PostgreSQL (Multi-AZ)
- ElastiCache Redis
- Secrets Manager
- CloudWatch log groups
- 4+ IAM roles
- 5+ security groups
Time: 40+ hours if you know what you're doing
Cost: $230-500/month minimum
What AWS deployment does NOT include:
- Gateway authentication for your agent
- Human-in-the-loop approvals
- Prompt injection defense
- One-click kill switch
- Agent-specific audit logging
You can deploy on AWS and still end up in Maor Dayan's next scan.
What the Research Shows
Cisco analyzed 31,000 agent skills. 26% contained at least one security vulnerability.
Simon Willison coined the "lethal trifecta" — agents that (1) access private data, (2) are exposed to untrusted content, and (3) can communicate externally. Every unmanaged OpenClaw instance has all three.
Walmart's CISO called agentic AI breaches the #1 CISO challenge for 2026.
This isn't theoretical. The scans already happened. The vulnerabilities are documented.
The Clawctl Approach
Sign up at clawctl.com/checkout, pick a plan, and your agent is provisioned automatically.
Time: 60 seconds
Cost: $49/month
What's included:
- Gateway authentication (256-bit, formally verified)
- Container sandbox isolation
- Egress filtering (Squid proxy, domain allowlist)
- Audit logging (searchable, exportable, up to 365-day retention)
- Human-in-the-loop approvals (70+ high-risk actions blocked by default)
- Prompt injection defense
- One-click kill switch
No Terraform. No CloudFormation. No hoping you configured the security group correctly.
Security Comparison
| Security Layer | AWS (You Build It) | Clawctl (Built-In) |
|---|---|---|
| Gateway auth | API Gateway + Lambda + custom code | 256-bit token (formally verified) |
| Sandbox isolation | ECS task isolation (partial) | Container + process isolation |
| Egress filtering | Security groups + NAT (complex) | Squid proxy (automatic) |
| Audit logging | CloudWatch (you configure it) | Automatic, searchable |
| Human-in-the-loop | Build from scratch | 70+ actions blocked by default |
| Kill switch | Scale to 0 (hope it works) | One click, instant |
| Prompt injection | You're on your own | Enabled by default |
AWS gives you Legos. Clawctl gives you the house.
The Real Math
AWS Year 1:
- Infrastructure: $230/month × 12 = $2,760
- Engineering time: 40 hours × $150/hr = $6,000
- Ongoing maintenance: 5 hrs/month × $150 × 12 = $9,000
- Total: $17,760
Clawctl Year 1:
- Subscription: $49/month × 12 = $588
- Engineering time: 0
- Maintenance: 0
- Total: $588
AWS costs 30x more in year one. And you still have ongoing maintenance, security patches, and no guarantee you're not in the next Shodan report.
Setup OpenClaw Now
42,665 instances were found exposed. Don't be #42,666.
Sign up at clawctl.com/checkout, pick a plan, and your agent is provisioned automatically in under 60 seconds.
Your dashboard will show all security layers active: Gateway Auth, Sandbox, Egress Filter, Audit Logs, Kill Switch, and Prompt Defense.
Secured. Managed. Done.