3.4.2.7. Encrypting Data in Transit & At Rest (KMS, CloudHSM, ACM)
First Principle: Safeguarding sensitive information from unauthorized access necessitates encryption throughout the data lifecycle.
Data protection adheres to this, both when it's stored (at rest) and when it's moving across networks (in transit). This ensures data confidentiality, integrity, and regulatory compliance.
- Encryption at Rest: Protects data on persistent storage.
- AWS Key Management Service (KMS): Provides managed keys for S3, EBS, RDS.
- AWS CloudHSM: Offers customer-controlled keys for FIPS 140-2 Level 3 compliance.
- Encryption in Transit: Secures data moving between systems.
- AWS Certificate Manager (ACM): Provisions SSL/TLS certificates, enabling encrypted communication for ELB, CloudFront, API Gateway.
Key Encryption Services & Use Cases:
- At Rest: KMS (managed keys), CloudHSM (customer-controlled, FIPS compliance).
- In Transit: ACM (SSL/TLS certificates), enabling HTTPS on various AWS services.
Scenario: A DevOps team manages a financial application that handles sensitive customer data. They need to ensure that all data stored in Amazon S3 and Amazon RDS is encrypted at rest, and all web traffic to the application is encrypted in transit using SSL/TLS.
Reflection Question: How would you implement a comprehensive encryption strategy using AWS KMS (for at-rest encryption of S3 and RDS) and AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) (for in-transit encryption with ELB) to safeguard sensitive information throughout its data lifecycle?
Together, these services provide a comprehensive approach to data confidentiality, crucial for robust security posture.
š” Tip: Consider the trade-offs between AWS-managed keys (simplicity, integration) and customer-managed keys (greater control, compliance needs) when designing your encryption strategy.