Elevating Security and Control: AWS IoT Core Introduces Customer-Managed Keys
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is pleased to announce a significant enhancement to its Internet of Things (IoT) platform with the introduction of Customer-Managed Keys for AWS IoT Core. This new feature, detailed in their recent announcement on August 21, 2025, empowers customers with greater control and flexibility over the encryption keys used to protect their sensitive IoT data.
In today’s increasingly connected world, securing data generated by millions of IoT devices is paramount. AWS IoT Core has long provided robust security features, including data encryption at rest and in transit. With the advent of Customer-Managed Keys, AWS is taking this commitment a step further, allowing customers to leverage their own encryption keys managed within AWS Key Management Service (KMS).
This innovation marks a pivotal moment for organizations that require stringent compliance requirements, enhanced data sovereignty, or simply wish to integrate their existing key management practices with AWS IoT Core.
What are Customer-Managed Keys and Why are They Important?
Traditionally, AWS IoT Core managed the encryption keys used to protect customer data automatically. While this provided a seamless experience, it offered less granular control to users who needed to adhere to specific regulatory frameworks or internal security policies.
Customer-Managed Keys, on the other hand, allow customers to:
- Create and Manage Their Own Encryption Keys: Customers can now generate, import, and manage their own symmetric encryption keys directly within AWS KMS. This provides complete ownership and oversight of the cryptographic material.
- Control Key Lifecycle: Full control over the lifecycle of these keys is granted. This includes the ability to enable, disable, rotate, and schedule deletion of the keys, offering a robust key management strategy aligned with organizational security best practices.
- Enhance Compliance and Governance: For industries with strict data protection regulations, such as finance, healthcare, or government, the ability to use customer-managed keys can be crucial for meeting compliance mandates and demonstrating strong data governance.
- Integrate with Existing Key Management Strategies: Organizations already utilizing AWS KMS for other services can now seamlessly integrate their IoT data encryption into their established key management framework, simplifying operations and reducing complexity.
- Granular Access Control: By leveraging AWS KMS, customers can define fine-grained access policies to their encryption keys, ensuring that only authorized AWS IoT Core operations and personnel can access and utilize them.
How it Works:
When you enable Customer-Managed Keys for your AWS IoT Core resources, you will associate an AWS KMS key with specific IoT Core functionalities. This typically involves configuring your IoT Core settings to reference your desired KMS key for encrypting data such as:
- Device data stored in AWS IoT Core: This includes message payloads, device shadow documents, and other data ingested by your IoT devices.
- Configuration data: Encryption for specific configurations and metadata associated with your IoT devices and services.
Benefits for Your IoT Solutions:
The introduction of Customer-Managed Keys offers a wealth of benefits for a wide range of IoT applications:
- Increased Data Security: By having direct control over your encryption keys, you further fortify the security posture of your sensitive IoT data.
- Simplified Auditing and Compliance: The integration with AWS KMS streamlines auditing processes and helps demonstrate adherence to compliance requirements related to data encryption.
- Greater Operational Flexibility: Manage your encryption keys alongside other critical AWS resources, promoting a unified security management approach.
- Peace of Mind: Knowing that you are in complete control of the cryptographic keys protecting your valuable IoT data provides invaluable peace of mind.
AWS is continuously committed to providing its customers with the tools and services necessary to build secure and compliant cloud solutions. The addition of Customer-Managed Keys for AWS IoT Core is a testament to this ongoing dedication, empowering businesses to unlock the full potential of IoT while maintaining the highest standards of data security and control.
We encourage all AWS IoT Core users to explore this new feature and leverage it to further enhance the security and manageability of their IoT deployments.
AWS IoT Core now supports customer-managed keys
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Amazon published ‘AWS IoT Core now supports customer-managed keys’ at 2025-08-21 08:23. Please write a detailed article about this news in a polite tone with relevant information. Please reply in English with the article only.