Managing External Key Store Resources
Deployment Prerequisites
The CipherTrust Manager must be reachable through a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN).
In VPC deployments, you provide this value to set the
Private DNS Name
in the VPC endpoint service. If you are operating an unlinked key store and manually creating an external key store on AWS KMS, you also provide this value as theProxy URI endpoint
.You provide this as the
Proxy URI endpoint
for public routable deployments without a load balancer.
The web interface must have a TLS certificate signed by an external Certificate Authority (CA) trusted by AWS. AWS trusts certificates issued by well-known public CAs such as Verisign.
The Common Name (CN) in the web interface certificate must be set to a specific value.
A good default value for the CN is the CipherTrust Manager FQDN.
For VPC deployments with more than one AWS KMS external key store, the CN should include the wildcard
*
asterisk character.If you are using a load balancer with a publicly routable deployment, and the load balancer is set to do SSL passthrough, include the wildcard
*
asterisk character in the CN.
We recommend setting up all networking elements before creating the external custom key store on CCKM. This is especially important when you create an external custom key store in the linked state. Successful validation of the connection between AWS KMS and the new external custom key store must take place before a linked key store can be created. For example, for CipherTrust Manager hosted on premise with VPC connection, configure VPC endpoints as described in AWS documentation, before creating the external custom key store on CCKM.
The Health Check Key must be created before creating a key store.
Depending on the location of the key store, the health check is initiated.
If the key store is on Luna HSM, the Health Check Key must have the following attributes:
CKA_EXTRACTABLE = FALSE
CKA_SENSITIVE = TRUE
CKA_ENCRYPT = TRUE
CKA_DECRYPT = TRUE
CKA_WRAP = TRUE
CKA_UNWRAP = TRUE
If the key store is on CipherTrust Manager, the Health Check Key must have the following attributes:
Key Not Exportable
Key Not Deletable
Usage Masks - Encrypt, Decrypt, Wrap, Unwrap
Permissions to Manage External Custom Key Stores
By default, users in the CCKM Admins group can manage external custom key stores. This group includes the root admin
account on CipherTrust Manager.
CCKM administrators can grant users assigned to the CCKM users group permission to manage external custom key stores. CCKM manage these permissions through the Access Control List associated with the AWS KMS account.
Linked and Unlinked States
External custom key stores are created in either a Linked or Unlinked state.
When you create a linked key store on CCKM, a corresponding external key store is automatically created on AWS KMS.
After you create an unlinked key store on CCKM, you must either link it to automatically create a corresponding key store on AWS KMS, or you must manually create the key store on AWS KMS.
If you manually create an external key store on AWS KMS, you can later detect and link it to a CCKM local external custom key store by refreshing external custom key stores, or refreshing AWS keys.
While an external custom key store is unlinked, some operations to later update an unlinked external custom key store require manual configuration on AWS. These update operations include:
Prepare an External Custom Key Store
Before you create an external custom key store, decide whether it will be linked or unlinked.
To prepare an external custom key store and provide access to AWS KMS, you follow the following stages in order:
If using CipherTrust Manager as a key source, establish an AWS Connection. If using Luna HSM as a key source, establish both AWS and Luna HSM Connections.
Set up the corresponding AWS KMS external key store to communicate with the new CCKM external custom key store. Steps depend on whether the external custom key store is linked or unlinked.
Linked key stores: Connect the new external key store.
Unlinked key stores: Create the Corresponding Key Store on AWS KMS.
The configuration and new objects you create on CCKM, connections to AWS and Luna HSM or CipherTrust Manager, AWS account information, the external custom key store, and AWS keys are replicated across a cluster. For multiple CipherTrust Managers in cluster, you need to only perform this configuration on one node.
Establishing an AWS Connection
If you are using CipherTrust Manager as a key source, be sure to establish a connection between AWS and CipherTrust Manager for HYOK integrations.
Note
If your CipherTrust Manager is deployed inside a VPC, and the AWS account is in a region other than
us-east-1
, there is an AWS STS Regional Endpoints setting required.Test the connection by finding the new AWS connection in the Connections Table, clicking the ellipsis button in the row, and selecting Test Connection.
A
Ready
status indicates that the connection is working correctly.Add an AWS account, as described in Managing AWS Accounts.
Caution
When you select regions, make sure they are compatible for external key stores. Compatible regions are described in AWS Key Management Service Deployment Guide.
Tip
CCKM Admins can allow CCKM users to manage external custom key stores through the Access Control List associated with the AWS account.
Establishing AWS and Luna HSM Connections
If you are using Luna HSM as a key source, be sure to establish AWS and Luna HSM connections for HYOK integrations.
The Connection Manager page gives more details about managing the AWS and Luna HSM connections.
Note
If your CipherTrust Manager is deployed inside a VPC, and the AWS account is in a region other than
us-east-1
, there is an AWS STS Regional Endpoints setting required.Test the connection by finding the new AWS connection in the Connections Table, clicking the ellipsis button in the row, and selecting Test Connection.
A
Ready
status indicates that the connection is working correctly.Add a HSM Server connection and a Luna Network HSM Connection to establish access to a Luna Network HSM partition.
Add another HSM server connection and Luna Network HSM connection to add a partition from a second Luna Network HSM.
Test the HSM connections in the Connections Table, clicking the ellipsis button in the row, and selecting Test Connection.
A
Ready
status indicates that the connection is working correctly.Add an AWS account, as described in Managing AWS Accounts.
Caution
When you select regions, make sure they are compatible for external key stores. Compatible regions are described in AWS Key Management Service Deployment Guide.
Tip
CCKM Admins can allow CCKM users to manage external custom key stores through the Access Control List associated with the AWS account.
Creating an External Custom Key Store on CCKM
Open the Cloud Key Manager application.
In the left pane, click Containers > AWS KMS Accounts. The AWS KMS Accounts page is displayed.
Click the name of the account that will own the key store. The account details page is displayed.
Under External Custom Key Stores, click the + Add External Key Store button. You might have to expand the External Custom Key Stores section to view the button.
Under Config and Add Key Store, provide the following settings:
Key Store Name. A friendly name for the Key Store.
Region. Compatible regions are listed in AWS Key Management Service Deployment Guide.
Source. Either CipherTrust Manager or Luna HSM.
Caution
The source you select at this time permanently affects the Hold Your Own Key (HYOK) and health check keys you can add to the external custom key store later. If you select Luna HSM, only Luna HSM keys can be used for health check, and as source keys to HYOK keys. If you select CipherTrust Manager, only CipherTrust Manager keys can be used for health check, and as source keys to HYOK keys. You cannot mix Luna HSM and CipherTrust Manager source keys or health check keys within the same external custom key store.
Key Store Container. If using Luna HSM, select the desired partition that will store the source key(s) for the key store.
Link State. Select Unlinked to create a key in the AWS External Key Store that is in an unlinked state. This means that the corresponding key store is not automatically created in AWS KMS, and you must create it. Select Linked to create an AWS External Key Store that is linked to the CCKM external custom key store. See Linked and Unlinked States for more information on the effects of these choices.
XKS Location. Select Amazon VPC, if you will use an Amazon VPC to connect to the key store. Then enter the VPC Endpoint Service Name and the XKS Proxy URI Endpoint. Select Public, if you will use the Internet to connect to the key store. Enter the XKS Proxy URI Endpoint thereafter.
Note
VPC Endpoint Service Name can be obtained from AWS configuration.
XKS Proxy URI Endpoint refers to the hostname of the server entity which AWS KMS first connects to for cryptographic requests.
For Amazon VPC deployments, this is the Private DNS Name set for the VPC endpoint service.
For Public deployments, this is usually the load balancer host name.
If AWS is connecting to CipherTrust Manager directly, this is the CipherTrust Manager fully qualified domain name.
Health Check Key. From the drop-down list, select the Key ID of the symmetric AES-256 key to use for performing the health checks on the given key store. AWS initiates this health check on a given key store to checks whether the store is up and running and can perform cryptographic operations. When CCKM receives this health check request from AWS, it performs the health check using the Key ID.
Note
The Health Check Key must be created before creating a key store.
Depending on the location of the key store, the health check is initiated.
If the key store is on Luna HSM, the Health Check Key must have the following attributes:
CKA_EXTRACTABLE = FALSE
CKA_SENSITIVE = TRUE
CKA_ENCRYPT = TRUE
CKA_DECRYPT = TRUE
CKA_WRAP = TRUE
CKA_UNWRAP = TRUE
If the key store is on CipherTrust Manager, the Health Check Key must have the following attributes:
Key Not Exportable
Key Not Deletable
Usage Masks - Encrypt, Decrypt, Wrap, Unwrap
Max Credentials. Enter the maximum number of valid credentials allowed at any given time. These credentials are used to authenticate KMS accessing the external custom key store. The valid values are from 2 to 20 (inclusive). For more information about the use of the AWS credentials to access external key stores, refer to AWS Key Management Service Deployment Guide.
Click Add Key Store to continue.
For linked key stores, CCKM tests that the AWS KMS account can reach CCKM with the provided connection and network parameters. If this connection test fails, you cannot create the new key store.
A summary of the settings is displayed on the Retrieve Credentials page. If desired, you can copy the XKS Proxy URI Endpoint value at this time, which is required for manual AWS KMS configuration for unlinked key stores. You can also retrieve the XKS Proxy URI Endpoint value later.
Click Download to download the credentials file required by AWS KMS.
Caution
This credentials file includes a secret access key string which AWS KMS requires, and you cannot access again. You must download the file, or copy the secret access key string before closing the Add External Key Store wizard, or you will need to rotate credentials to generate new credentials for AWS.
Click Close
The new external custom key store is displayed under External Custom Key Stores.
Set up the corresponding AWS KMS external key store to communicate with the new CCKM external custom key store. Steps depend on whether the external custom key store is linked or unlinked.
Linked key stores: connect the new external key store.
Unlinked key storescreate the Corresponding Key Store on AWS KMS.
Creating the Corresponding External Key Store on AWS KMS for Unlinked Key Stores
If your new external customer key store is unlinked, this means that you must either link the external custom key store to create the corresponding external key store on AWS, or manually create the key store on AWS KMS through its console, API, or CLI.
Link an Unlinked External Custom Key Store
If you created an unlinked external custom key store, you can link it after creation. Linking an external custom key store automatically creates a corresponding external key store in AWS KMS.
Note
You cannot use this operation to link to an existing external custom key store on AWS KMS. To link an existing external custom key store, refresh all external key stores for an AWS account.
If you want to set up CipherTrust Manager hosted on premise with VPC connection, configure VPC endpoints as described in AWS Key Management Service Deployment Guide if you have not already. VPC endpoints are associated with an external custom key store.
To link an unlinked external custom key store:
Open the Cloud Key Manager application.
In the left pane, click Containers > AWS KMS Accounts. The AWS KMS Accounts page is displayed.
Click the name of the account that owns the key store. The account details page is displayed.
Under External Custom Key Stores, find the desired external custom key store name.
From the External Key Stores display, click the ellipsis icon associated with the desired external custom key store.
Select Link.
The Link Key Store dialog displays.
Review the auto-populated networking details.
These include the XKS Location selected during key store creation.
Edit networking details if needed.
For Public XKS Location, you can edit the XKS URI Proxy Endpoint.
For Amazon VPC XKS Location, you can edit VPC Endpoint Service Name and the XKS Proxy URI Endpoint
Click Link to confirm.
An external key store is created on AWS KMS.
Proceed to connect the newly linked key store.
Manually Create Key Store on AWS KMS
If you want to set up CipherTrust Manager hosted on premise with VPC connection, configure VPC endpoints as described in AWS Key Management Service Deployment Guide if you have not already. VPC endpoints are associated with an external custom key store.
The following CipherTrust Manager and CCKM values are required for creating the external key store on AWS KMS:
The CipherTrust Manager FQDN, in most deployments.
For VPC deployments, the CipherTrust Manager FQDN is provided for the
Proxy URI Endpoint
when you create the External Key Store on AWS KMS.If you have a non-VPC deployment, and are not operating behind a load balancer, this is the value needed for
Proxy URI Endpoint
in AWS console.The load balancer hostname, if applicable for non-VPC deployments. This is used as the
Proxy URI Endpoint
.The credentials file downloaded during External Custom Key Store Creation on CCKM or when rotating credentials. This file contains Proxy URI path prefix, Access key ID, and Secret access key values, which you can directly upload to AWS console.
Note
There is an additional field in the AWS console to create the external key store,
VPC endpoint service name
, for VPC deployments. This is the VPC endpoint service which you have associated with the CipherTrust Manager and custom external key store.
If you do not wish to provide the credentials configuration file, you can manually input the following values into AWS Console:
The Secret access key.
This value is only available on first creating the external custom key store creation on CCKM, or when you rotate credentials for an external custom key store. There are options during those operations to copy the secret access key string.
The XKS Proxy URI Path. This value is available through the External Custom Key Stores details:
Open the Cloud Key Manager application.
In the left pane, click Containers > AWS KMS Accounts. The AWS KMS Accounts page is displayed.
Click the name of the account that owns the external custom key stores.
Under External Custom Key Stores, find the desired external custom key store name.
For the XKS Proxy URI Path for the external custom key store, click the copy button to copy the path.
The full path is copied. The AWS console already includes the
/kms/xks/v1
suffix, so you must delete that part of the path when pasting.
The Access key ID
From the External Key Stores display, click the ellipsis icon associated with the desired external custom key store.
Select View/Edit Details.
Click the copy button next to the desired Access Key ID to copy this value.
After creating the external key store on KMS, you must connect it on KMS to begin sending cryptographic requests to CCKM.
Note
If you later refresh all external custom key stores for an AWS account on CCKM, this external key store on KMS will be detected, and linked to the corresponding external custom key store on CCKM.
Connect or Disconnect an External Custom Key Store
You can connect or disconnect AWS KMS external key stores. Linked external key stores are created in the Disconnected
state, and must be connected either through CCKM or AWS console to begin sending requests to the CCKM external custom key store.
As a convenience, you can connect or disconnect linked external custom key stores on CCKM:
Open the Cloud Key Manager application.
In the left pane, click Containers > AWS KMS Accounts. The AWS KMS Accounts page is displayed.
Click the name of the account that owns the key store. The account details page is displayed.
Under External Custom Key Stores, find the desired external custom key store name.
From the External Key Stores display, click the ellipsis icon associated with the desired external custom key store.
Select Connect to connect or Disconnect to disconnect.
Connecting or disconnecting an external custom key store through CCKM results in the corresponding external key store on AWS changing state to connected
or disconnected
. The transient states of connecting
and disconnecting
display during the transition. Consult AWS Key Management Service Deployment Guide for details on the allowed operations associated with these states.
Creating Keys for the External Custom Key Store
After configuring external custom key stores in both CCKM and AWS, you can create the keys necessary to perform cryptographic operations in response to AWS KMS. This is described in Creating Hold Your Own Key (HYOK) Keys.
Block or Unblock an External Custom Key Store
Blocking and unblocking an external custom key store is a way to temporarily suspend and restore AWS KMS's access to the key store and its keys.
Open the Cloud Key Manager application.
In the left pane, click Containers > AWS KMS Accounts. The AWS KMS Accounts page is displayed.
Click the name of the account that owns the key store. The account details page is displayed.
Under External Custom Key Stores, find the desired external custom key store name.
From the External Key Stores display, click the ellipsis icon associated with the desired external custom key store.
Click Block or Unblock, depending on whether the key store is in a blocked or unblocked state.
You are asked to confirm the action. Click Block or Unblock again.
The status in the Blocked column updates on the table.
Rotate Credentials
Periodically rotating credentials for the external custom key store is a security best practice. CCKM retains and recognizes the number of credentials set as the Max Credentials for the key store, which is between 2 and 20 credentials (default 20 credentials). Once a key store reaches the maximum number of credentials, the oldest credential is deleted. At this time, AWS only retains one set of credentials for each external key store.
Caution
When you create a new credential for an unlinked key store, you must immediately copy the secret access key string or download the credentials file containing this string. There will not be another opportunity to retrieve this value. You must manually provide the credentials in AWS console.
Open the Cloud Key Manager application.
In the left pane, click Containers > AWS KMS Accounts. The AWS KMS Accounts page is displayed.
Click the name of the account that owns the key store. The account details page is displayed.
Under External Custom Key Stores, find and click the desired external custom key store name.
The details page of the external custom key store is displayed.
Check that the key store is unblocked. For linked key stores, also check that the state is either connected or disconnected. If the state is in one of the transient states of
connecting
ordisconnecting
, wait until the transition is completed before proceeding to the next step.Click Add Credential to add a new credential.
Click Download to download the file containing the new credentials, including the Access key ID and Secret access key.
Caution
This credentials file includes a secret access key string which you cannot access again. You must download the file, or copy the secret access key string before closing the Add Credential dialog, or you cannot add the credentials to AWS console.
A new credential is displayed.
If you have a linked key store, connect the key store.
If you have an unlinked key store, edit the corresponding external key store on AWS console to upload the new credentials as described in AWS Key Management Service Deployment Guide.
If desired, you can delete existing credentials with the Delete Credential button. CCKM will no longer accept requests using these older credentials.
Delete an External Custom Key Store
Warning
Deleting an external custom key store is a irreversible operation which permanently deletes unique identifiers required by the corresponding AWS KMS external key store.
You must delete all HYOK keys in an external custom key store before you can delete the external custom key store.
Open the Cloud Key Manager application.
In the left pane, click Containers > AWS KMS Accounts. The AWS KMS Accounts page is displayed.
Click the name of the account that owns the key store. The account details page is displayed.
Under External Custom Key Stores, find the desired external custom key store name.
From the External Key Stores display, click the ellipsis icon associated with the desired external custom key store.
Click Delete Store.
You are asked to confirm the action. Enable the I wish to delete this Key Store checkbox and click Delete.
Update General Information for an External Custom Key Store
You can update the following attributes of all external custom key store:
Key Store Name
XKS Location
You can update the following attributes for local external custom key stores only:
Health Check Key
Max Credentials
You cannot edit health check key or max credentials for a remote type external custom key stores, which can appear after refreshing external custom key stores for an AWS account.
The steps to update this information depends on whether the external custom key store is linked or unlinked.
To update the key store
Open the Cloud Key Manager application.
In the left pane, click Containers > AWS KMS Accounts. The AWS KMS Accounts page is displayed.
Click the name of the account that owns the key store. The account details page is displayed.
Under External Custom Key Stores, find and click the desired external custom key store name.
The details page of the external custom key store is displayed.
Check that the state is unblocked. For linked key stores, also check that the state is disconnected.
In the General Info section, enter a new Key Store Name, if desired.
Change the XKS Location settings if desired to update networking details.
- Select Amazon VPC, if you will use an Amazon VPC to connect to the key store. Then enter the VPC Endpoint Service Name and the XKS Proxy URI Endpoint.
Caution
To avoid interruption in service, configure VPC endpoints in AWS before updating Amazon VPC details on an external custom key store in CCKM.
- Select Public, if you will use the Internet to connect to the key store. Enter the XKS Proxy URI Endpoint.
Select a new Health Check Key, if desired.
The health check key must be a symmetric AES-256 key.
The health check key must come from the key store's existing Key Source Container, CipherTrust Manager or Luna HSM connection.
Select a new number of Max Credentials, if desired. Valid values are between 2-20.
Click Update to apply the new settings.
If you have a linked key store, connect the key store.
Refresh All External Custom Key Stores and Keys for an AWS Account
This operation detects and imports all external key stores and external keys present on the KMS account.
This can include external key stores that don't have an external custom key store on the local CCKM. These could be associated with an external custom key store on another CCKM that is not clustered to the local CCKM, or to another vendor's external key manager. These key stores are display with the type Remote.
Refreshing all external custom key stores can set unlinked external custom key stores to a linked state. This happens when CCKM detects a corresponding KMS external key store for an local unlinked external custom key store. This operation can also set unlinked HYOK keys to a linked state.
Open the Cloud Key Manager application.
In the left pane, click Containers > AWS KMS Accounts. The AWS KMS Accounts page is displayed.
Click the name of the account that owns the key store. The account details page is displayed.
Next to the External Custom Key Store table, click Refresh All.
The This may take a while... message is displayed.
Click Refresh All to continue.
A message Refresh started... is displayed on the screen. To cancel the refresh, click Cancel Refresh.