What is key management?

Key management in archival systems involves the processes and practices for creating, organizing, protecting, storing, backing up, and distributing encryption keys to secure data at rest and in transit. It is the foundation of all data security. Effective key management is crucial for maintaining archived data’s confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

In key management, encryption keys are used to encrypt and decrypt data; hence, the loss or compromise of any encryption key can invalidate critical data security safeguards. Keys also play a vital role in ensuring the secure transfer of information via an Internet connection.

In this blog, we’ll explore the importance of key management and best practices, particularly as they relate to the administration of archival systems.

Critical impacts of key management when securing archival systems

• Securely stored data for the long-term: Archived data is often stored for long periods, making it essential to have strong key management to protect data over time against evolving security threats.
• Ensure compliance: Many industries are subject to regulatory requirements such as GDPR, CCPA, PDPA, or HIPPA that mandate secure data encryption and key management practices to ensure data privacy and security.
• Prevent unauthorized access: Effective key management helps prevent unauthorized access to archived data by ensuring that only authorized users can decrypt the data.
• Mitigate risks: Proper key management minimizes risks associated with key compromises, such as data breaches, data leaks, and loss.

Why do you need key management?

Key management is a process that ensures keys are produced, saved, utilized, and cycled safely. It involves managing and maintaining the keys and resources currently in use.

To protect various data types across numerous scenarios, it’s essential to implement an efficient key management approach. A centralized key lifecycle management plan should take into account the following to address today’s expectations for consolidation, protection, and flexibility:

Key Generation

• Secure Generation: Create strong and random encryption keys using secure methods such as Advanced Encryption Standard (AES-256) which has additional layers to prevent predictable patterns.
• Algorithm Selection: Choose an appropriate cryptographic algorithm and key lengths to ensure robust data security. One of the best practices is the AES-256 encryption algorithm that gives expandable keys that stretch in each round. It provides 14 rounds for a 256-bit key size.

Key Storage

• Secure Storage: Store keys in secure locations such as hardware security modules (HSMs), to protect them from unauthorized access.
• Separation from Data: Ensure encryption keys are stored separately from the data they protect to reduce the risk of compromise.

Key Distribution

• Secure Transmission: Use secure channels to distribute encryption keys to authorized personnel, preventing interception during transit. For example, using the SSE-S3 service, which uses strong block ciphers, can ensure secure key distribution.
• Access Control: Implement strict access controls and look for the ability to set access at a granular level to ensure that only authorized individuals can access and use the keys.

Key certifications

Key authorization is an essential point to obtain certification for the keys. Authorization uses digital signatures to associate important data effectively with reliable sources. Users are enrolled as authorized members to the security domain, which may also include digital signatures.

Key Rotation

• Regular Rotation: Generally, the key rotation cycle is set up for one year. This can be an automated process set to rotate in a pattern best suited for the organization. In Archon Data Store, the master key is rotated every 3 months and data keys are rotated yearly as it takes a year to re-encrypt all the data stored.
• Key Retirement: Likewise, it’s important to remember that securely retiring and archiving old keys can prevent unauthorized reuse.

Access Control

Granular Controls Implement detailed access controls to restrict key usage based on roles and responsibilities. Ensure that only authorized users and systems can access and use encryption keys.

Key Revocation

Revocation Mechanism Provides the ability to revoke keys in case of a data breach or personnel changes. It is also important to ensure key revocation processes can be swiftly executed to terminate or prevent unauthorized access.

Backup and Recovery in key management 

• Secure Backups: Create secure backups of encryption keys to ensure data recovery in case of loss and remember to keep at least one backup off-site, as a recommended best practice (just in case).
• Recovery Plan: Develop and maintain a robust key as a recovery plan to restore access to business-critical data if your primary keys are lost or damaged.

Using keys with hardware and software encryption

Software encryption

Software encryption is a method of keeping data protected from unauthorized usage of a software application. In this case, software that encrypts and decrypts data is installed within the host computer. It is cost-effective for businesses.

Software encryption is not safe. As software encryption frequently depends on a password; if you enter the correct password, your documents will be decrypted; otherwise, they will remain locked. With encryption enabled, it is passed through a unique set of rules that scrambles your information as it is written to disk. A similar software application then unscrambles data as it reads from the disk for an authorized user.

Hardware encryption

Hardware encryption is a method of keeping data secure through a dedicated and distinct processor. It is particularly cost-effective for huge organizations because it no longer requires additional software package installation.

In this case, a password in addition to biometrics provides authorization. This approach also results in significantly increased throughput and speed in a large-scale context; besides this, you get faster rule processing, tamper-evident or anti-tamper key storage, and data security against unauthorized code.

What are some best practices for key management?

Key management entails safeguarding encryption keys against loss, corruption, and unauthorized access throughout their lifecycle. The following methods ensure that keys are secure throughout their lifespan, supporting robust cybersecurity measures:

• Policy Implementation: Create a comprehensive key management strategy that addresses all elements of key handling, such as generation, storage, rotation, and access controls.
• Strong Encryption Standards: To ensure efficient data protection, use industry-recognized encryption standards and methods such as AES, TDES, RSA, or ECC.
• Regular audits: Conduct frequent audits of critical management processes to detect and relieve any demerits.
• Personnel Training: Educate employees about the necessity of key management and their duties in ensuring data security.
• Automation Solutions: Use automated key management systems and HSMs to improve security and minimize human error.

What are my other options?

Securing archival systems requires strong key management to ensure the long-term protection of valuable data. By implementing best practices, organizations can safeguard their archived data from unauthorized access and maintain compliance with regulatory requirements.

Key Management Service allows users to create and handle cryptographic keys that protect data in our Archon Data Store cloud service, where each key is protected and verified with HSMs, enabling organizations to track and audit their keys for non-supervisory and compliance needs.

With Platform 3 Solutions, you can ease your data migration process with minimal risk to your data and enhanced compliance and governance.

To learn more about key management in data archival and data storage, get in touch with our experts.