Getting Started with AWS Key Management Service (KMS)

We are living in a digital world, and the need to protect sensitive information is constantly on the rise. One effective way to protect your data is to encrypt it. Encrypting our data ensures that it is of no use to the interceptor if the message is intercepted. Data is encrypted using encryption keys, but encryption alone is not enough. It needs to be complemented by a robust Key Management System (KMS) to ensure the secure handling of these keys.

In this Cloud Lab, you’ll learn how to use the AWS KMS to create and use encryption keys. You’ll start by creating a customer managed key, which will be used to create other keys and encrypt AWS services. This Cloud Lab is divided into two parts. In the first part, you’ll create data keys using the customer managed key. You’ll then use the data keys to encrypt a data file. After that, you’ll learn how to decrypt that data. In the second part, you’ll create a DynamoDB table. You’ll encrypt the table data using the customer managed key. You’ll then log in with an IAM user who has permission to read data from that table and see how KMS encryption stops unauthorized entities from accessing the DynamoDB data. Finally, you’ll allow the user to use the customer managed key that you used to encrypt the data and see if the user is now able to read the data or not.

After completing this Cloud Lab, you’ll be well-equipped with the knowledge and skills to utilize the KMS for creating and managing encryption keys effectively. This hands-on Cloud Lab will empower you to enhance the security of your data by implementing encryption measures.