March 27, 2023
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At AWS, safety is the highest precedence. Beginning at present, Amazon Easy Storage Service (Amazon S3) encrypts all new objects by default. Now, S3 robotically applies server-side encryption (SSE-S3) for every new object, except you specify a special encryption possibility. SSE-S3 was first launched in 2011. As Jeff wrote on the time: “Amazon S3 server-side encryption handles all encryption, decryption, and key administration in a completely clear vogue. If you PUT an object, we generate a novel key, encrypt your knowledge with the important thing, after which encrypt the important thing with a [root] key.”

This variation places one other safety finest observe into impact robotically—with no influence on efficiency and no motion required in your facet. S3 buckets that don’t use default encryption will now robotically apply SSE-S3 because the default setting. Present buckets at present utilizing S3 default encryption won’t change.

As at all times, you possibly can select to encrypt your objects utilizing one of many three encryption choices we offer: S3 default encryption (SSE-S3, the brand new default), customer-provided encryption keys (SSE-C), or AWS Key Administration Service keys (SSE-KMS). To have a further layer of encryption, you may also encrypt objects on the shopper facet, utilizing shopper libraries such because the Amazon S3 encryption shopper.

Whereas it was easy to allow, the opt-in nature of SSE-S3 meant that you simply had to make certain that it was at all times configured on new buckets and confirm that it remained configured correctly over time. For organizations that require all their objects to stay encrypted at relaxation with SSE-S3, this replace helps meet their encryption compliance necessities with none extra instruments or shopper configuration modifications.

With at present’s announcement, we have now now made it “zero click on” so that you can apply this base stage of encryption on each S3 bucket.

Confirm Your Objects Are Encrypted
The change is seen at present in AWS CloudTrail knowledge occasion logs. You will notice the modifications within the S3 part of the AWS Administration Console, Amazon S3 Stock, Amazon S3 Storage Lens, and as a further header within the AWS CLI and within the AWS SDKs over the subsequent few weeks. We’ll replace this weblog publish and documentation when the encryption standing is out there in these instruments in all AWS Areas.

To confirm the change is efficient in your buckets at present, you possibly can configure CloudTrail to log knowledge occasions. By default, trails don’t log knowledge occasions, and there may be an additional value to allow it. Knowledge occasions present the useful resource operations carried out on or inside a useful resource, comparable to when a consumer uploads a file to an S3 bucket. You’ll be able to log knowledge occasions for Amazon S3 buckets, AWS Lambda capabilities, Amazon DynamoDB tables, or a mixture of these.

As soon as enabled, seek for PutObject API for file uploads or InitiateMultipartUpload for multipart uploads. When Amazon S3 robotically encrypts an object utilizing the default encryption settings, the log contains the next area because the name-value pair: "SSEApplied":"Default_SSE_S3". Right here is an instance of a CloudTrail log (with knowledge occasion logging enabled) after I uploaded a file to considered one of my buckets utilizing the AWS CLI command aws s3 cp backup.sh s3://private-sst.

Cloudtrail log for S3 with default encryption enabled

Amazon S3 Encryption Choices
As I wrote earlier, SSE-S3 is now the brand new base stage of encryption when no different encryption-type is specified. SSE-S3 makes use of Superior Encryption Commonplace (AES) encryption with 256-bit keys managed by AWS.

You’ll be able to select to encrypt your objects utilizing SSE-C or SSE-KMS quite than with SSE-S3, both as “one click on” default encryption settings on the bucket, or for particular person objects in PUT requests.

SSE-C lets Amazon S3 carry out the encryption and decryption of your objects when you retain management of the keys used to encrypt objects. With SSE-C, you don’t have to implement or use a client-side library to carry out the encryption and decryption of objects you retailer in Amazon S3, however you do have to handle the keys that you simply ship to Amazon S3 to encrypt and decrypt objects.

With SSE-KMS, AWS Key Administration Service (AWS KMS) manages your encryption keys. Utilizing AWS KMS to handle your keys offers a number of extra advantages. With AWS KMS, there are separate permissions for using the KMS key, offering a further layer of management in addition to safety in opposition to unauthorized entry to your objects saved in Amazon S3. AWS KMS offers an audit path so you possibly can see who used your key to entry which object and when, in addition to view failed makes an attempt to entry knowledge from customers with out permission to decrypt the information.

When utilizing an encryption shopper library, such because the Amazon S3 encryption shopper, you keep management of the keys and full the encryption and decryption of objects client-side utilizing an encryption library of your selection. You encrypt the objects earlier than they’re despatched to Amazon S3 for storage. The Java, .Internet, Ruby, PHP, Go, and C++ AWS SDKs help client-side encryption.

You’ll be able to observe the directions on this weblog publish if you wish to retroactively encrypt present objects in your buckets.

Obtainable Now
This variation is efficient now, in all AWS Areas, together with on AWS GovCloud (US) and AWS China Areas. There is no such thing as a extra value for default object-level encryption.

— seb