Amazon S3 will now encrypt all new data with AES-256 by default

guest · Jan 6, 2023

By Bill Toulas @billtoulas - January 6, 2023

Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) will now automatically encrypt all new objects added on buckets on the server side, using AES-256 by default.
Click to expand...

While the server-side encryption system has been available on AWS for over a decade, the tech giant has enabled it by default to bolster security.

Administrators will not have to take any actions for the new encryption system to affect their buckets, and Amazon promises it won't have any negative performance impact.

"This change puts another security best practice into effect automatically—with no impact on performance and no action required on your side," reads Amazon's announcement.
"S3 buckets that do not use default encryption will now automatically apply SSE-S3 as the default setting. Existing buckets currently using S3 default encryption will not change."
Click to expand...

To confirm that the changes have been applied to your buckets, admins can enable data events logging at no extra cost. Then perform a test object upload, and look in the event logs for the "SSEApplied": "Default_SSE_S3." field in the log for the uploaded file.
Click to expand...

Solving a big security problem
Database leaks have been a bane for security for many years now, with poor practices and configuration mistakes often exposing the sensitive details of millions of people.

If that data had been encrypted, the leaks wouldn't have had nearly as dire consequences for the exposed individuals, but unfortunately, due to overhead costs, operational complexity, and performance sacrifices, database encryption is commonly avoided.
Click to expand...

Amazon's move to make server-side encryption a "zero-click" process is a fundamental step towards better security and is bound to lessen the impact of upcoming data incidents that will inevitably happen.
Click to expand...

Amazon: New – Amazon S3 Server Side Encryption for Data at Rest

Amazon S3 Server Side Encryption handles all encryption, decryption, and key management in a totally transparent fashion. When you PUT an object and request encryption (in an HTTP header supplied as part of the PUT), we generate a unique key, encrypt your data with the key, and then encrypt the key with a master key. For added protection, keys are stored in hosts that are separate and distinct from those used to store your data. Here’s a diagram of the PUT process for a request that specifies SSE:

We encrypt your data using 256-bit AES encryption, also known as AES-256, one of the strongest block ciphers available. You can apply encryption to data stored using Amazon S3’s Standard or Reduced Redundancy Storage options. The entire encryption, key management, and decryption process is inspected and verified internally on a regular basis as part of our existing audit process.
Click to expand...

Log in or Sign up

Amazon S3 will now encrypt all new data with AES-256 by default

guest Guest

Log in or Sign up

Amazon S3 will now encrypt all new data with AES-256 by default

guest Guest

Useful Searches