EVS Encryption¶
What Is EVS Encryption?¶
In case your services require encryption for the data stored on EVS disks, EVS provides you with the encryption function. You can encrypt newly created EVS disks.
EVS uses the industry-standard XTS-AES-256 encryption algorithm and keys to encrypt EVS disks. Keys used by encrypted EVS disks are provided by the Key Management Service (KMS), which is secure and convenient. So you do not need to establish and maintain the key management infrastructure. KMS uses the Hardware Security Module (HSM) that complies with FIPS 140-2 level 3 requirements to protect keys. All user keys are protected by the root key in HSM to prevent key exposure.
Important
The encryption attribute of a disk cannot be changed after the disk is created.
For details about how to create an encrypted disk, see Create an EVS Disk.
Keys Used for EVS Encryption¶
The keys provided by KMS include a Default Master Key and Customer Master Keys (CMKs).
Default Master Key: A key that is automatically created by EVS through KMS and named evs/default.
The Default Master Key cannot be disabled and does not support scheduled deletion.
CMKs: Keys created by users. You may use existing CMKs or create new CMKs to encrypt disks. For details, see Management > Creating a CMK in the Key Management Service User Guide.
When an encrypted disk is attached, EVS accesses KMS, and KMS sends the data key (DK) to the host memory for use. The disk uses the DK plaintext to encrypt and decrypt disk I/Os. The DK plaintext is only stored in the memory of the host housing the ECS and is not stored persistently on the media. If the CMK is disabled or deleted in KMS, the disk encrypted using this CMK can still use the DK plaintext stored in the host memory. If this disk is later detached, the DK plaintext will be deleted from the memory, and data cannot be read from or written to the disk. Before you re-attach this encrypted disk, ensure that the CMK is enabled.
If you use a CMK to encrypt disks and this CMK is then disabled or scheduled for deletion, data cannot be read from or written to these disks or may never be restored. See Table 1 for more information.
CMK Status | Impact | How to Restore |
|---|---|---|
Disabled |
| Enable the CMK. For details, see Managing CMKs > Enabling One or More CMKs in the Key Management Service User Guide. |
Scheduled deletion | Cancel the scheduled deletion for the CMK. For details, see Managing CMKs > Canceling the Scheduled Deletion of One or More CMKs in the Key Management Service User Guide. | |
Deleted | Data on the disks can never be restored. |
Relationships Between Encrypted Disks, Snapshots, Backups, and Images¶
The encryption function can be used to encrypt system disks, data disks, snapshots, backups, and images. Find the details below:
System disk encryption relies on the image that is used to create the server.
If an encrypted image is used to create the server, the system disk will be encrypted by default, and the system disk and image share the same encryption method. For details, see Managing Private Images > Encrypting Images in the Image Management Service User Guide.
If a non-encrypted image is used to create the server, you can determine whether to encrypt the system disk during the server creation. For details, see Getting Started > Creating an ECS > Step 1: Configure Basic Settings in the Elastic Cloud Server User Guide.
If an empty disk is created, you can determine whether to encrypt the disk or not. The encryption attribute of the disk cannot be changed after the disk has been created.
If a disk is created from a snapshot, the encryption attribute of the disk will be the same as that of the snapshot's source disk.
If a disk is created from a backup, the encryption attribute of the disk does not need to be the same as that of the backup.
If a disk is created from an image, the encryption attribute of the disk will be the same as that of the image's source disk.
If a backup is created for a disk, the encryption attribute of the backup will be the same as that of the disk.
If a snapshot is created for a disk, the encryption attribute of the snapshot is the same as that of the disk.
Who Can Use the Encryption Function?¶
The security administrator (having Security Administrator permissions) can grant the KMS access rights to EVS for using the encryption function.
When a user who does not have the Security Administrator permissions needs to use the encryption function, the condition varies depending on whether the user is the first one ever in the current region to use this function.
If the user is the first one ever in the current region to use this function, the user must contact a user having the Security Administrator permissions to grant the KMS access rights to EVS. Then, the user can use encryption.
If the user is not the first one ever in the current region to use this function, the user can use encryption directly.
From the perspective of a tenant, as long as the KMS access rights have been granted to EVS in a region, all the users in the same region can directly use the encryption function.
If there are multiple projects in the current region, the KMS access rights need to be granted to each project in this region.
Application Scenarios of EVS Encryption¶
The following example uses region B to describe the two scenarios of using the encryption function.
Figure 1 User relationships¶
If the security administrator uses the encryption function for the first time ever, the operation process is as follows:
Grant the KMS access rights to EVS.
After the KMS access rights have been granted, the system automatically creates a Default Master Key and names it evs/default. You can use the Default Master Key to encrypt EVS disks.
Note
EVS encryption relies on KMS. When the encryption function is used for the first time ever, the KMS access rights need to be granted to EVS. After the KMS access rights have been granted, all users in this region can use the encryption function, without requiring the KMS access rights to be granted again.
Select a key.
You can select one of the following keys:
Default Master Key: evs/default
CMKs: Existing or newly created CMKs. For details, see Creating a CMK in the Key Management Service User Guide.
After the security administrator has used the encryption function, all users in Region B can directly use encryption.
If User E (common user) uses the encryption function for the first time ever, the operation process is as follows:
When user E uses encryption, and the system prompts a message indicating that the KMS access rights have not been granted to EVS.
Contact the security administrator to grant the KMS access rights to EVS.
After the KMS access rights have been granted to EVS, User E as well as all users in Region B can directly use the encryption function and do not need to contact the security administrator to grant the KMS access rights to EVS again.