Scotti Woolery-Price | Partner Marketing Manager, Thales
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Scotti Woolery-Price | Partner Marketing Manager, Thales
More About This Author >
How Automated Key Management Empowers Customers and Elevates Data Protection
In today’s cloud-driven world, organizations are continually searching for powerful solutions to secure their most sensitive data. With cyber threats growing exponentially in complexity and regulatory requirements becoming ever more stringent, the need for robust encryption and seamless key management has never been greater.
Cyberattacks are now occurring at an unprecedented pace, with adversaries moving faster and more strategically than ever before. This rapid acceleration in threat velocity means organizations must respond with equally agile and automated security measures to stay protected.
By leveraging AWS Key Management Service (KMS) and Thales CipherTrust Cloud Key Management (CCKM) customers can create and control cryptographic keys, automate key rotation, and integrate with other AWS services to enhance their security posture.
Together, with our partners, Thales is focused on building a more secure, resilient, and innovative cloud future. That’s why we’re excited to announce the new AWS key rotation feature, now supported in CipherTrust Cloud Key Management (CCKM) version 2.21.
Whether you’re a security leader, architect, or cloud enthusiast, read on to discover how this feature can transform your approach to key management and data sovereignty.
Why Key Rotation Matters in the Cloud Era
The foundation of cloud security is encryption. At its heart lies the management of cryptographic keys, those digital safeguards that keep data confidential, authentic, and integral. Key rotation is the practice of periodically updating encryption keys to minimize risks. It’s a critical process that:
- Reduces Exposure: Rotating keys limits the window during which a compromised key can be misused.
- Meets Compliance: Regulatory frameworks, such as GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS, often mandate key rotation for sensitive information.
- Strengthens Trust: Customers gain confidence that their data is protected according to industry best practices.
Yet, implementing key rotation in complex, multi-cloud environments is often easier said than done. Manual processes can be error-prone and resource-intensive, while automation solutions have historically fallen short of integrating seamlessly with existing workflows.
Introducing AWS Key Rotation in CipherTrust Cloud Key Management
Our latest release of CipherTrust Cloud Key Management (CCKM), version 2.21, marks a major leap forward. The AWS key rotation feature allows organizations to automate the periodic updating of AWS KMS (Key Management Service) keys directly from the CCKM console. The integration is designed to be intuitive, scalable, and secure, offering:
- Automated Scheduling: Define rotation policies that suit your organization’s needs, from monthly to yearly cycles.
- Comprehensive Coverage: Supports AWS KMS keys across multiple accounts and regions, giving you centralized control.
- Seamless Auditing: Detailed logs and reporting ensure every rotation is recorded for compliance and peace of mind.
Early adopters of the AWS key rotation feature have shared enthusiastic feedback, highlighting how it simplifies compliance, reduces manual effort, and integrates easily with existing cloud workflows.
Without this new feature, managing AWS KMS keys meant a lot of manual work and cross-team coordination. Now, you set up rotation policies and let the platform handle the rest. Auditors love transparency, and your engineers will love the automation.
Unlocking Visibility: Discover, Monitor, and Manage Your AWS Keys
Organizations often struggle to locate and keep track of all their cloud-based encryption keys across various services and departments. With a vast number of keys and frequent changes, manually identifying and integrating them into a centralized management solution is challenging. Effective key management requires automated tools to discover, monitor, and incorporate new keys seamlessly as they appear in the cloud environment.
CCKM now also includes the AWS Key Discovery Tool, a valuable resource for customers to inventory existing keys, monitor their usage, and identify candidates for rotation. This holistic approach to key management enables security teams to stay ahead of threats and maintain full visibility into their cryptographic assets.
The AWS Key Discovery Tool within CCKM will help you identify hundreds of orphaned keys and rotate those that haven’t been updated in years. The process is very straightforward.
To illustrate just how powerful and user-friendly this new feature is, we’ve prepared a demo showcasing AWS key rotation and versioning within CCKM.
The step-by-step walkthrough reveals:
- How to set up a rotation schedule for your AWS KMS keys
- How to use the AWS Key Discovery Tool to locate and manage keys
- What happens during a typical rotation
- How old keys are retired, and new versions are created
- Where to find compliance-friendly audit logs and reports
| Feature | Description | User Benefit |
| Automated Key Rotation | Configure periodic rotation for AWS KMS keys | Reduced risk, simplified compliance |
| Key Discovery Tool | Inventory, monitor, and manage AWS keys | Full visibility, proactive management |
| Audit Logging | Detailed records of each rotation event | Proof for compliance and investigations |
| Multi-Account Support | Manage keys across cloud accounts | Centralized control, scalability |
Learn More
By leveraging AWS Key Management Service (KMS), customers can create and control cryptographic keys, automate key rotation, and integrate with other AWS services to enhance their security posture.
In partnership with Thales, AWS offers a range of key management options including managing native keys, Bring Your Own Keys, Hold Your Own Keys, and Bring Your Own Encryption.
A standout feature within AWS's encryption portfolio is the AWS External Key Store (XKS). In conjunction with CCKM, this service allows customers to use their own encryption keys stored outside of AWS's infrastructure, providing an additional layer of control and compliance. With XKS, organizations can meet stringent regulatory requirements and maintain data sovereignty by managing their encryption keys in a location of their choice. This flexibility is particularly valuable for industries with strict data protection mandates, such as finance and healthcare. By combining the power of AWS's encryption services with the control offered by XKS, organizations can achieve a higher level of security and compliance in their cloud environments.
Ready to take your key management to the next level? Explore our comprehensive CipherTrust Data Security Platform and discover how automated AWS key discovery and key rotation can transform your security and compliance journey. To learn more, visit our CipherTrust Cloud Key Management page.
Try our always free CipherTrust Manager Community Edition from the AWS marketplace.