Cloud Encryption Keys Management (KMS) Questions and Answers for Viva

Answer-1: KMS is a managed service that enables the creation, storage, and management of encryption keys used to secure data in the cloud.

Answer-2: KMS ensures data confidentiality and integrity by encrypting data with keys managed securely.

Answer-3: The main types include Customer Managed Keys (CMKs), Customer Supplied Keys (CSKs), and AWS-managed or platform-managed keys.

Answer-4: A CMK is a key created and managed by the customer in the KMS system, offering full control over key usage and rotation.

Answer-5: It's a feature that allows cryptographic keys to be automatically rotated at scheduled intervals to enhance security.

Answer-6: It encrypts data using a data key, which is then encrypted using a master key stored in KMS.

Answer-7: Symmetric keys use the same key for encryption and decryption, while asymmetric keys use a key pair (public/private).

Answer-8: AWS (AWS KMS), Azure (Azure Key Vault), Google Cloud (Cloud KMS), and others offer KMS services.

Answer-9: A key alias is a friendly name that maps to a specific key, making it easier to reference and manage keys.

Answer-10: There?s a soft limit of 100

Answer-11: Access is controlled via IAM policies, key policies, and grants.

Answer-12: Grants are permissions that allow AWS services or users to use a CMK without changing the key policy.

Answer-13: A key policy is a JSON document that defines who can use or manage a KMS key.

Answer-14: No, KMS enforces a waiting period of 7 to 30 days before a key can be deleted.

Answer-15: It is the process of disabling or deleting a key to prevent further use in encryption or decryption.

Answer-16: Any attempts to encrypt or decrypt data with that key will fail until it's re-enabled.

Answer-17: KMS encrypts stored data on disks or databases to ensure it is protected even when not in transit.

Answer-18: It provides audit logging, centralized control, and encryption key management aligned with compliance standards like HIPAA, GDPR, and PCI-DSS.

Answer-19: Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) allows customers to import their encryption keys into the cloud provider's KMS for use in securing data.

Answer-20: Hold Your Own Key (HYOK) means the keys are stored outside the cloud provider's infrastructure, typically on-premises.

Answer-21: Yes, most KMS systems allow importing customer-supplied keys for greater control.

Answer-22: KMS integrates with cloud storage, databases, compute, and analytics services to transparently encrypt/decrypt data.

Answer-23: It involves creating, activating, rotating, disabling, and deleting encryption keys securely over time.

Answer-24: KMS integrates with logging services (like AWS CloudTrail) to track key usage and detect unauthorized access.

Answer-25: A key is a string of bits used in encryption algorithms to convert plaintext into ciphertext and vice versa.

Answer-26: If the key is lost or deleted without backup, any encrypted data becomes permanently inaccessible.

Answer-27: These are encryption keys that are synchronized across multiple cloud regions for low-latency and high availability.

Answer-28: A Hardware Security Module (HSM) is a physical device used to generate and protect cryptographic keys; KMS often relies on HSMs behind the scenes.

Answer-29: It requires approval from two authorized users before a sensitive action, like deleting a key, can be completed.

Answer-30: Typically, large data is not encrypted directly with KMS keys; instead, data keys are generated and used for actual encryption.

Answer-31: A data key encrypts actual data, while a CMK is used to encrypt the data key in envelope encryption.

Answer-32: Yes, through key policies and grants, KMS keys can be shared with other accounts securely.

Answer-33: It defines who can use the key for cryptographic operations like encrypt, decrypt, sign, or verify.

Answer-34: Managed KMS offers easier setup, better integration, automated rotation, and centralized control.

Answer-35: AWS KMS is a fully managed service with shared HSMs, while CloudHSM gives dedicated HSMs with full customer control.

Answer-36: By using audit logs, metrics dashboards, and alert systems integrated with monitoring tools.

Answer-37: Tags are metadata labels attached to keys for organizing and controlling access using tag-based policies.

Answer-38: CMK aliasing allows users to change the key a service uses without modifying the application code.

Answer-39: Key wrapping is the process of encrypting one key with another key for secure key distribution.

Answer-40: Managed KMS services replicate keys across multiple availability zones for fault tolerance and high availability.

Answer-41: Most providers support AES-256 for symmetric encryption and RSA/ECC for asymmetric encryption.

Answer-42: In Azure, Key Vault is a secure store for keys, secrets, and certificates used in cloud apps and services.

Answer-43: It means granting users only the permissions they need to perform their specific tasks.

Answer-44: With strict access policies, audit logs, role separation, and encryption of key material at rest.

Answer-45: Yes, it supports hybrid architectures through APIs and key import/export features.

Answer-46: It is a cloud-provider-generated key automatically used by services when no customer key is specified.

Answer-47: It refers to managing all encryption keys from a single interface or control plane to ensure security and compliance.

Answer-48: Yes, KMS can be integrated and managed using Infrastructure-as-Code tools like Terraform, AWS CloudFormation, etc.

Answer-49: It is the practice of deleting keys to make encrypted data irretrievable, used in secure data destruction.

Answer-50: The future includes tighter integrations with AI, real-time policy enforcement, zero-trust models, and more cross-cloud key interoperability.