About Key Rotation

Updated on 2024-03-27 GMT+08:00

View PDF

Purpose of Key Rotation

Keys that are widely or repeatedly used are insecure. To enhance the security of encryption keys, you are advised to periodically rotate keys and change their key materials.

The purposes of key rotation are:

To reduce the amount of data encrypted by each key.
A key will be insecure if it is used to encrypt a huge number of data. The amount of data encrypted a key refers to the total number of bytes or messages encrypted using the key.
To enhance the capability of responding to security events.
In your initial system security design, you shall design the key rotation function and use it for routine O&M, so that it will be at hand when an emergency occurs.
To enhance the data isolation capability.
The ciphertext data generated before and after key rotation will be isolated. You can identify the impact scope of a security event based on the key involved and take actions accordingly.

Key Rotation Methods

You can use either of the following key rotation methods:

Manual key rotation
Method 1: Create a key B to replace the currently used key A.

Method 2: Modify the key A and use it.

Take OBS as an example. To manually rotate a key, create a new custom key on the KMS console. Replace the old custom key with the new one on the OBS console.

Figure 1 Manual key rotation
Automatic key rotation
KMS automatically rotates keys based on the configured rotation period (365 days by default). The system automatically generates a new key to replace the key in use. Automatic key rotation only changes the key material of a CMK. The logical attributes of the key will not change, including its key ID, alias, description, and permissions.

Automatic key rotation has the following characteristics:
1. Enable rotation for an existing custom key. KMS will automatically generate new key materials for the custom key.
2. Data is not re-encrypted in an automatic key rotation. The DEK generated using the CMK is not automatically rotated, and data that has been encrypted using the CMK will not be encrypted again. If a DEK has been leaked, automatic rotation cannot contain the impact of the leakage.
Figure 2 Key rotation

NOTE:

KMS retains all versions of a custom key, so that you can decrypt any ciphertext encrypted using the custom key.

KMS uses the latest version of the custom key to encrypt data.
When decrypting data, KMS uses the custom key version that was used to encrypt the data.

Rotation Modes

**Table 1** Key rotation modes
Key Type	Rotation Mode
Default key	Cannot be rotated.
Custom key	Keys can be rotated automatically or manually, depending on the key algorithm type. Symmetric key: Can be automatically or manually rotated. Asymmetric key: Can only be manually rotated.
Disabled CMK	Disabled CMKs are not rotated. KMS keeps their rotation status unchanged. After a custom key is enabled, if it has been used for longer than the rotation period, KMS will immediately rotate keys. If the custom key has been used for shorter than the rotation period, KMS will implement the original rotation plan. For more information, see Disabling One or More CMKs.
CMKs in pending deletion state	KMS does not rotate CMKs in pending deletion status. After you cancel the deletion of a CMK, the previous key rotation status will be restored. If the custom key has been used for longer than the rotation period, KMS will immediately rotate keys. If the CMK has been used for shorter than the rotation period, KMS will implement the original rotation plan. For more information, see Scheduling the Deletion of One or More Keys.