# SEC 8 How do you protect your data at rest?
Protect your data at rest by implementing multiple controls, to reduce the risk of unauthorized access or mishandling.
**Topics**
+ [SEC08-BP01 Implement secure key management](sec_protect_data_rest_key_mgmt.md)
+ [SEC08-BP02 Enforce encryption at rest](sec_protect_data_rest_encrypt.md)
+ [SEC08-BP03 Automate data at rest protection](sec_protect_data_rest_automate_protection.md)
+ [SEC08-BP04 Enforce access control](sec_protect_data_rest_access_control.md)
+ [SEC08-BP05 Use mechanisms to keep people away from data](sec_protect_data_rest_use_people_away.md)
# SEC08-BP01 Implement secure key management
By defining an encryption approach that includes the storage, rotation, and access control of keys, you can help provide protection for your content against unauthorized users and against unnecessary exposure to authorized users. AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS) helps you manage encryption keys and [integrates with many AWS services](https://aws.amazon.com/kms/details/#integration). This service provides durable, secure, and redundant storage for your AWS KMS keys. You can define your key aliases as well as key-level policies. The policies help you define key administrators as well as key users. Additionally, AWS CloudHSM is a cloud-based hardware security module (HSM) that enables you to easily generate and use your own encryption keys in the AWS Cloud. It helps you meet corporate, contractual, and regulatory compliance requirements for data security by using FIPS 140-2 Level 3 validated HSMs.
**Level of risk exposed if this best practice is not established:** High
## Implementation guidance
+ Implement AWS KMS: AWS KMS makes it easy for you to create and manage keys and control the use of encryption across a wide range of AWS services and in your applications. AWS KMS is a secure and resilient service that uses FIPS 140-2 validated hardware security modules to protect your keys.
+ [Getting started: AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/kms/latest/developerguide/getting-started.html)
+ Consider AWS Encryption SDK: Use the AWS Encryption SDK with AWS KMS integration when your application needs to encrypt data client-side.
+ [AWS Encryption SDK](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/encryption-sdk/latest/developer-guide/introduction.html)
## Resources
**Related documents:**
+ [AWS Key Management Service](https://aws.amazon.com/kms)
+ [AWS cryptographic services and tools](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/crypto/latest/userguide/awscryp-overview.html)
+ [Getting started: AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/kms/latest/developerguide/getting-started.html)
+ [Protecting Amazon S3 Data Using Encryption](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/dev/UsingEncryption.html)
**Related videos:**
+ [How Encryption Works in AWS](https://youtu.be/plv7PQZICCM)
+ [Securing Your Block Storage on AWS](https://youtu.be/Y1hE1Nkcxs8)
# SEC08-BP02 Enforce encryption at rest
You should ensure that the only way to store data is by using encryption. AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS) integrates seamlessly with many AWS services to make it easier for you to encrypt all your data at rest. For example, in Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), you can set [default encryption](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/dev/bucket-encryption.html) on a bucket so that all new objects are automatically encrypted. Additionally, [Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) ](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/EBSEncryption.html#encryption-by-default)and [Amazon S3](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/default-bucket-encryption.html) support the enforcement of encryption by setting default encryption. You can use [AWS Config Rules](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/config/latest/developerguide/managed-rules-by-aws-config.html) to check automatically that you are using encryption, for example, for [Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) volumes](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/config/latest/developerguide/encrypted-volumes.html), [Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) instances](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/config/latest/developerguide/rds-storage-encrypted.html), and [Amazon S3 buckets](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/config/latest/developerguide/s3-default-encryption-kms.html).
**Level of risk exposed if this best practice is not established:** High
## Implementation guidance
+ Enforce encryption at rest for Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3): Implement Amazon S3 bucket default encryption.
+ [How do I enable default encryption for an S3 bucket?](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/user-guide/default-bucket-encryption.html)
+ Use AWS Secrets Manager: Secrets Manager is an AWS service that makes it easy for you to manage secrets. Secrets can be database credentials, passwords, third-party API keys, and even arbitrary text.
+ [AWS Secrets Manager](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/secretsmanager/latest/userguide/intro.html)
+ Configure default encryption for new EBS volumes: Specify that you want all newly created EBS volumes to be created in encrypted form, with the option of using the default key provided by AWS, or a key that you create.
+ [Default encryption for EBS volumes](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/new-opt-in-to-default-encryption-for-new-ebs-volumes/)
+ Configure encrypted Amazon Machine Images (AMIs): Copying an existing AMI with encryption enabled will automatically encrypt root volumes and snapshots.
+ [AMIs with encrypted Snapshots](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/AMIEncryption.html)
+ Configure Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) encryption: Configure encryption for your Amazon RDS database clusters and snapshots at rest by enabling the encryption option.
+ [Encrypting Amazon RDS resources](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/AuroraUserGuide/Overview.Encryption.html)
+ Configure encryption in additional AWS services: For the AWS services you use, determine the encryption capabilities.
+ [AWS Documentation](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/)
## Resources
**Related documents:**
+ [AMIs with encrypted Snapshots](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/AMIEncryption.html)
+ [AWS Crypto Tools](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/aws-crypto-tools)
+ [AWS Documentation](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/)
+ [AWS Encryption SDK](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/encryption-sdk/latest/developer-guide/introduction.html)
+ [AWS KMS Cryptographic Details Whitepaper](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/kms/latest/cryptographic-details/intro.html)
+ [AWS Key Management Service](https://aws.amazon.com/kms)
+ [AWS Secrets Manager](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/secretsmanager/latest/userguide/intro.html)
+ [AWS cryptographic services and tools](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/crypto/latest/userguide/awscryp-overview.html)
+ [Amazon EBS Encryption](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/EBSEncryption.html)
+ [Default encryption for EBS volumes](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/new-opt-in-to-default-encryption-for-new-ebs-volumes/)
+ [Encrypting Amazon RDS Resources](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/Overview.Encryption.html)
+ [How do I enable default encryption for an S3 bucket?](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/user-guide/default-bucket-encryption.html)
+ [Protecting Amazon S3 Data Using Encryption](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/dev/UsingEncryption.html)
**Related videos:**
+ [How Encryption Works in AWS](https://youtu.be/plv7PQZICCM)
+ [Securing Your Block Storage on AWS](https://youtu.be/Y1hE1Nkcxs8)
# SEC08-BP03 Automate data at rest protection
Use automated tools to validate and enforce data at rest controls continuously, for example, verify that there are only encrypted storage resources. You can [automate validation that all EBS volumes are encrypted](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/config/latest/developerguide/encrypted-volumes.html) using [AWS Config Rules](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/config/latest/developerguide/evaluate-config.html). [AWS Security Hub CSPM](http://aws.amazon.com/security-hub/) can also verify several different controls through automated checks against security standards. Additionally, your AWS Config Rules can automatically [remediate noncompliant resources](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/config/latest/developerguide/remediation.html#setup-autoremediation).
**Level of risk exposed if this best practice is not established:** Medium
## Implementation guidance
*Data at rest* represents any data that you persist in non-volatile storage for any duration in your workload. This includes block storage, object storage, databases, archives, IoT devices, and any other storage medium on which data is persisted. Protecting your data at rest reduces the risk of unauthorized access, when encryption and appropriate access controls are implemented.
Enforce encryption at rest: You should ensure that the only way to store data is by using encryption. AWS KMS integrates seamlessly with many AWS services to make it easier for you to encrypt all your data at rest. For example, in Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) you can set [default encryption](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/dev/bucket-encryption.html) on a bucket so that all new objects are automatically encrypted. Additionally, [Amazon EC2](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/EBSEncryption.html#encryption-by-default) and [Amazon S3](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/default-bucket-encryption.html) support the enforcement of encryption by setting default encryption. You can use [AWS Managed Config Rules](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/config/latest/developerguide/managed-rules-by-aws-config.html) to check automatically that you are using encryption, for example, for [EBS volumes](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/config/latest/developerguide/encrypted-volumes.html), [Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) instances](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/config/latest/developerguide/rds-storage-encrypted.html), and [Amazon S3 buckets](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/config/latest/developerguide/s3-default-encryption-kms.html).
## Resources
**Related documents:**
+ [AWS Crypto Tools](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/aws-crypto-tools)
+ [AWS Encryption SDK](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/encryption-sdk/latest/developer-guide/introduction.html)
**Related videos:**
+ [How Encryption Works in AWS](https://youtu.be/plv7PQZICCM)
+ [Securing Your Block Storage on AWS](https://youtu.be/Y1hE1Nkcxs8)
# SEC08-BP04 Enforce access control
Enforce access control with least privileges and mechanisms, including backups, isolation, and versioning, to help protect your data at rest. Prevent operators from granting public access to your data.
Different controls including access (using least privilege), backups (see [Reliability whitepaper](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/wellarchitected/latest/reliability-pillar/welcome.html)), isolation, and versioning can all help protect your data at rest. Access to your data should be audited using detective mechanisms covered earlier in this paper including CloudTrail, and service level log, such as Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) access logs. You should inventory what data is publicly accessible, and plan for how you can reduce the amount of data available over time. Amazon Glacier Vault Lock and Amazon S3 Object Lock are capabilities providing mandatory access control—once a vault policy is locked with the compliance option, not even the root user can change it until the lock expires. The mechanism meets the Books and Records Management requirements of the SEC, CFTC, and FINRA. For more details, see [this whitepaper](https://d1.awsstatic.com/whitepapers/Amazon-GlacierVaultLock_CohassetAssessmentReport.pdf).
**Level of risk exposed if this best practice is not established:** Low
## Implementation guidance
+ Enforce access control: Enforce access control with least privileges, including access to encryption keys.
+ [Introduction to Managing Access Permissions to Your Amazon S3 Resources](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/dev/intro-managing-access-s3-resources.html)
+ Separate data based on different classification levels: Use different AWS accounts for data classification levels managed by AWS Organizations.
+ [AWS Organizations](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/organizations/latest/userguide/orgs_introduction.html)
+ Review AWS KMS policies: Review the level of access granted in AWS KMS policies.
+ [Overview of managing access to your AWS KMS resources](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/kms/latest/developerguide/control-access-overview.html)
+ Review Amazon S3 bucket and object permissions: Regularly review the level of access granted in Amazon S3 bucket policies. Best practice is to not have publicly readable or writeable buckets. Consider using AWS Config to detect buckets that are publicly available, and Amazon CloudFront to serve content from Amazon S3.
+ [AWS Config Rules](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/config/latest/developerguide/managed-rules-by-aws-config.html)
+ [Amazon S3 \$1 Amazon CloudFront: A Match Made in the Cloud](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/networking-and-content-delivery/amazon-s3-amazon-cloudfront-a-match-made-in-the-cloud/)
+ Enable Amazon S3 versioning and object lock.
+ [Using versioning](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/dev/Versioning.html)
+ [Locking Objects Using Amazon S3 Object Lock](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/dev/object-lock.html)
+ Use Amazon S3 Inventory: Amazon S3 inventory is one of the tools you can use to audit and report on the replication and encryption status of your objects.
+ [Amazon S3 Inventory](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/dev/storage-inventory.html)
+ Review Amazon EBS and AMI sharing permissions: Sharing permissions can allow images and volumes to be shared to AWS accounts external to your workload.
+ [Sharing an Amazon EBS Snapshot](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/ebs-modifying-snapshot-permissions.html)
+ [Shared AMIs](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/sharing-amis.html)
## Resources
**Related documents:**
+ [AWS KMS Cryptographic Details Whitepaper](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/kms/latest/cryptographic-details/intro.html)
**Related videos:**
+ [Securing Your Block Storage on AWS](https://youtu.be/Y1hE1Nkcxs8)
# SEC08-BP05 Use mechanisms to keep people away from data
Keep all users away from directly accessing sensitive data and systems under normal operational circumstances. For example, use a change management workflow to manage Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances using tools instead of allowing direct access or a bastion host. This can be achieved using [AWS Systems Manager Automation](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/latest/userguide/systems-manager-automation.html), which uses [automation documents](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/latest/userguide/automation-documents.html) that contain steps you use to perform tasks. These documents can be stored in source control, be peer reviewed before running, and tested thoroughly to minimize risk compared to shell access. Business users could have a dashboard instead of direct access to a data store to run queries. Where CI/CD pipelines are not used, determine which controls and processes are required to adequately provide a normally disabled break-glass access mechanism.
**Level of risk exposed if this best practice is not established:** Low
## Implementation guidance
+ Implement mechanisms to keep people away from data: Mechanisms include using dashboards, such as Quick, to display data to users instead of directly querying.
+ [Quick](https://aws.amazon.com/quicksight/)
+ Automate configuration management: Perform actions at a distance, enforce and validate secure configurations automatically by using a configuration management service or tool. Avoid use of bastion hosts or directly accessing EC2 instances.
+ [AWS Systems Manager](https://aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/)
+ [AWS CloudFormation](https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/)
+ [CI/CD Pipeline for AWS CloudFormation templates on AWS](https://aws.amazon.com/quickstart/architecture/cicd-taskcat/)
## Resources
**Related documents:**
+ [AWS KMS Cryptographic Details Whitepaper](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/kms/latest/cryptographic-details/intro.html)
**Related videos:**
+ [How Encryption Works in AWS](https://youtu.be/plv7PQZICCM)
+ [Securing Your Block Storage on AWS](https://youtu.be/Y1hE1Nkcxs8)