Use case
Securing S3 with Cross-Account KMS Encryption
- Zinkal Desai
About the Customer
Operlynx is a leading provider of digital workforce management solutions that empower field operations in asset-intensive industries. Their platform supports mission-critical work execution by enhancing operational efficiency, workforce productivity, and safety compliance through digital workflows and real-time data insights.
Customer Challenge
Operlynx faced a critical challenge in securing sensitive data stored on Amazon S3 while adhering to strict compliance standards regarding data encryption and cross-account access. Their existing configuration did not employ AWS Key Management Service (KMS) encryption, leaving a gap in meeting stringent security requirements. Furthermore, their compliance model mandated the use of encryption keys managed by a separate entity, Forvion(client’s customer), operating within a different AWS account.
Without resolving these issues, Operlynx risked non-compliance with data security policies, potential exposure of sensitive data, and a lack of clarity in operational practices for managing encrypted assets across accounts.
Solution
IAMOPS implemented a secure, compliant solution that leveraged AWS-native tools to address Operlynx’s encryption needs. The strategy focused on enabling cross-account encryption by integrating Amazon S3 in Operlynx’s AWS account with a KMS key managed by Forvion(client’s customer) in a separate AWS account.
Key solution steps included:
- Creating a symmetric KMS key in Forvion(client’s customer)’s AWS account.
- Configuring KMS key policies to grant Operlynx’s AWS account the required permissions for encryption and decryption.
- Provisioning an S3 bucket in Operlynx’s account and setting it to use the KMS key from Forvion(client’s customer).
- Updating the S3 bucket policy to support secure cross-account access.
- Validation through testing of encrypted object uploads and retrievals, ensuring end-to-end compliance and functionality.
This configuration not only adhered to the best practices of encryption at rest using AWS KMS but also established a repeatable pattern for similar scenarios in the future.
Results & Benefits
The successful deployment yielded significant benefits:
- Enhanced Security: All data at rest in Amazon S3 is now securely encrypted with AWS KMS using keys managed by a trusted external account.
- Regulatory Compliance: The solution satisfied cross-account encryption mandates, enabling Operlynx to meet industry-specific security requirements.
- Operational Excellence: The project delivered a clear, documented workflow for future reuse, minimizing setup time for similar projects.
- Validated Implementation: Encryption integrity was verified through controlled upload/download tests.
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Analysis
- Storage Costs: Incurred standard Amazon S3 charges.
- Setup and Validation Overhead: Low personnel cost due to a streamlined and well-documented process.
- Monitoring Expenses: Minor incremental costs for integrating logging and compliance monitoring.
The overall operational cost was minimal, especially when weighed against the substantial improvement in security and compliance.
Learning from the Project
- IAM and Key Policy Precision: The project reinforced the importance of meticulous IAM role and key policy definitions to prevent access gaps or over-permission.
- Documentation: Detailed procedural guides were critical in enabling a seamless, repeatable process.
Best Practices Implemented
- Least Privilege Access: Only essential operations were permitted access to encryption keys.
- Separation of Duties: Responsibilities for managing the KMS key and S3 bucket were deliberately split across teams.
- Encryption at Rest: Adopted AWS-recommended standards for secure data storage.
- Regular Compliance Testing: Ensured all controls remained effective post-deployment.
About IAMOPS
IAMOPS is a full DevOps suite company that supports technology companies to achieve intense production readiness.
Our mission is to ensure that our clients’ infrastructure and CI/CD pipelines are scalable, mitigate failure points, optimize performance, ensure uptime, and minimize costs.
Our DevOps suite includes DevOps Core, NOC 24/7, FinOps, QA Automation, and DevSecOps to accelerate overall exponential growth.
As an AWS Advanced Tier Partner and Reseller, we focus on two key pillars: Professionalism by adhering to best practices and utilizing advanced technologies, Customer Experience with responsiveness, availability, clear project management, and transparency to provide an exceptional experience for our clients.
