Create Key

kms_create_key

R Documentation

Creates a unique customer managed KMS key in your Amazon Web Services account and Region

Description

Creates a unique customer managed KMS key in your Amazon Web Services account and Region. You can use a KMS key in cryptographic operations, such as encryption and signing. Some Amazon Web Services services let you use KMS keys that you create and manage to protect your service resources.

A KMS key is a logical representation of a cryptographic key. In addition to the key material used in cryptographic operations, a KMS key includes metadata, such as the key ID, key policy, creation date, description, and key state. For details, see Managing keys in the Key Management Service Developer Guide

Use the parameters of create_key to specify the type of KMS key, the source of its key material, its key policy, description, tags, and other properties.

KMS has replaced the term customer master key (CMK) with KMS key and KMS key. The concept has not changed. To prevent breaking changes, KMS is keeping some variations of this term.

To create different types of KMS keys, use the following guidance:

Symmetric encryption KMS key

By default, create_key creates a symmetric encryption KMS key with key material that KMS generates. This is the basic and most widely used type of KMS key, and provides the best performance.

To create a symmetric encryption KMS key, you don't need to specify any parameters. The default value for KeySpec, SYMMETRIC_DEFAULT, the default value for KeyUsage, ENCRYPT_DECRYPT, and the default value for Origin, AWS_KMS, create a symmetric encryption KMS key with KMS key material.

If you need a key for basic encryption and decryption or you are creating a KMS key to protect your resources in an Amazon Web Services service, create a symmetric encryption KMS key. The key material in a symmetric encryption key never leaves KMS unencrypted. You can use a symmetric encryption KMS key to encrypt and decrypt data up to 4,096 bytes, but they are typically used to generate data keys and data keys pairs. For details, see generate_data_key and generate_data_key_pair.

Asymmetric KMS keys

To create an asymmetric KMS key, use the KeySpec parameter to specify the type of key material in the KMS key. Then, use the KeyUsage parameter to determine whether the KMS key will be used to encrypt and decrypt or sign and verify. You can't change these properties after the KMS key is created.

Asymmetric KMS keys contain an RSA key pair, Elliptic Curve (ECC) key pair, or an SM2 key pair (China Regions only). The private key in an asymmetric KMS key never leaves KMS unencrypted. However, you can use the get_public_key operation to download the public key so it can be used outside of KMS. Each KMS key can have only one key usage. KMS keys with RSA key pairs can be used to encrypt and decrypt data or sign and verify messages (but not both). KMS keys with NIST-recommended ECC key pairs can be used to sign and verify messages or derive shared secrets (but not both). KMS keys with ECC_SECG_P256K1 can be used only to sign and verify messages. KMS keys with SM2 key pairs (China Regions only) can be used to either encrypt and decrypt data, sign and verify messages, or derive shared secrets (you must choose one key usage type). For information about asymmetric KMS keys, see Asymmetric KMS keys in the Key Management Service Developer Guide.

HMAC KMS key

To create an HMAC KMS key, set the KeySpec parameter to a key spec value for HMAC KMS keys. Then set the KeyUsage parameter to GENERATE_VERIFY_MAC. You must set the key usage even though GENERATE_VERIFY_MAC is the only valid key usage value for HMAC KMS keys. You can't change these properties after the KMS key is created.

HMAC KMS keys are symmetric keys that never leave KMS unencrypted. You can use HMAC keys to generate (generate_mac) and verify (verify_mac) HMAC codes for messages up to 4096 bytes.

Multi-Region primary keys

Imported key material

To create a multi-Region primary key in the local Amazon Web Services Region, use the MultiRegion parameter with a value of True. To create a multi-Region replica key, that is, a KMS key with the same key ID and key material as a primary key, but in a different Amazon Web Services Region, use the replicate_key operation. To change a replica key to a primary key, and its primary key to a replica key, use the update_primary_region operation.

You can create multi-Region KMS keys for all supported KMS key types: symmetric encryption KMS keys, HMAC KMS keys, asymmetric encryption KMS keys, and asymmetric signing KMS keys. You can also create multi-Region keys with imported key material. However, you can't create multi-Region keys in a custom key store.

This operation supports multi-Region keys, an KMS feature that lets you create multiple interoperable KMS keys in different Amazon Web Services Regions. Because these KMS keys have the same key ID, key material, and other metadata, you can use them interchangeably to encrypt data in one Amazon Web Services Region and decrypt it in a different Amazon Web Services Region without re-encrypting the data or making a cross-Region call. For more information about multi-Region keys, see Multi-Region keys in KMS in the Key Management Service Developer Guide.

To import your own key material into a KMS key, begin by creating a KMS key with no key material. To do this, use the Origin parameter of create_key with a value of EXTERNAL. Next, use get_parameters_for_import operation to get a public key and import token. Use the wrapping public key to encrypt your key material. Then, use import_key_material with your import token to import the key material. For step-by-step instructions, see Importing Key Material in the Key Management Service Developer Guide .

You can import key material into KMS keys of all supported KMS key types: symmetric encryption KMS keys, HMAC KMS keys, asymmetric encryption KMS keys, and asymmetric signing KMS keys. You can also create multi-Region keys with imported key material. However, you can't import key material into a KMS key in a custom key store.

To create a multi-Region primary key with imported key material, use the Origin parameter of create_key with a value of EXTERNAL and the MultiRegion parameter with a value of True. To create replicas of the multi-Region primary key, use the replicate_key operation. For instructions, see Importing key material into multi-Region keys. For more information about multi-Region keys, see Multi-Region keys in KMS in the Key Management Service Developer Guide.

Custom key store

A custom key store lets you protect your Amazon Web Services resources using keys in a backing key store that you own and manage. When you request a cryptographic operation with a KMS key in a custom key store, the operation is performed in the backing key store using its cryptographic keys.

KMS supports CloudHSM key stores backed by an CloudHSM cluster and external key stores backed by an external key manager outside of Amazon Web Services. When you create a KMS key in an CloudHSM key store, KMS generates an encryption key in the CloudHSM cluster and associates it with the KMS key. When you create a KMS key in an external key store, you specify an existing encryption key in the external key manager.

Some external key managers provide a simpler method for creating a KMS key in an external key store. For details, see your external key manager documentation.

Before you create a KMS key in a custom key store, the ConnectionState of the key store must be CONNECTED. To connect the custom key store, use the connect_custom_key_store operation. To find the ConnectionState, use the describe_custom_key_stores operation.

To create a KMS key in a custom key store, use the CustomKeyStoreId. Use the default KeySpec value, SYMMETRIC_DEFAULT, and the default KeyUsage value, ENCRYPT_DECRYPT to create a symmetric encryption key. No other key type is supported in a custom key store.

To create a KMS key in an CloudHSM key store, use the Origin parameter with a value of AWS_CLOUDHSM. The CloudHSM cluster that is associated with the custom key store must have at least two active HSMs in different Availability Zones in the Amazon Web Services Region.

To create a KMS key in an external key store, use the Origin parameter with a value of EXTERNAL_KEY_STORE and an XksKeyId parameter that identifies an existing external key.

Some external key managers provide a simpler method for creating a KMS key in an external key store. For details, see your external key manager documentation.

Cross-account use: No. You cannot use this operation to create a KMS key in a different Amazon Web Services account.

Required permissions: kms:CreateKey (IAM policy). To use the Tags parameter, kms:TagResource (IAM policy). For examples and information about related permissions, see Allow a user to create KMS keys in the Key Management Service Developer Guide.

Related operations:

• describe_key

• list_keys

• schedule_key_deletion

Eventual consistency: The KMS API follows an eventual consistency model. For more information, see KMS eventual consistency.

Usage

kms_create_key(Policy, Description, KeyUsage, CustomerMasterKeySpec,
  KeySpec, Origin, CustomKeyStoreId, BypassPolicyLockoutSafetyCheck, Tags,
  MultiRegion, XksKeyId)

Arguments

Policy

The key policy to attach to the KMS key.

If you provide a key policy, it must meet the following criteria:

• The key policy must allow the calling principal to make a subsequent put_key_policy request on the KMS key. This reduces the risk that the KMS key becomes unmanageable. For more information, see Default key policy in the Key Management Service Developer Guide. (To omit this condition, set BypassPolicyLockoutSafetyCheck to true.)

• Each statement in the key policy must contain one or more principals. The principals in the key policy must exist and be visible to KMS. When you create a new Amazon Web Services principal, you might need to enforce a delay before including the new principal in a key policy because the new principal might not be immediately visible to KMS. For more information, see Changes that I make are not always immediately visible in the Amazon Web Services Identity and Access Management User Guide.

If you do not provide a key policy, KMS attaches a default key policy to the KMS key. For more information, see Default key policy in the Key Management Service Developer Guide.

The key policy size quota is 32 kilobytes (32768 bytes).

For help writing and formatting a JSON policy document, see the IAM JSON Policy Reference in the Identity and Access Management User Guide .

Description

A description of the KMS key. Use a description that helps you decide whether the KMS key is appropriate for a task. The default value is an empty string (no description).

Do not include confidential or sensitive information in this field. This field may be displayed in plaintext in CloudTrail logs and other output.

To set or change the description after the key is created, use update_key_description.

KeyUsage

Determines the cryptographic operations for which you can use the KMS key. The default value is ENCRYPT_DECRYPT. This parameter is optional when you are creating a symmetric encryption KMS key; otherwise, it is required. You can't change the KeyUsage value after the KMS key is created.

Select only one valid value.

• For symmetric encryption KMS keys, omit the parameter or specify ENCRYPT_DECRYPT.

• For HMAC KMS keys (symmetric), specify GENERATE_VERIFY_MAC.

• For asymmetric KMS keys with RSA key pairs, specify ENCRYPT_DECRYPT or SIGN_VERIFY.

• For asymmetric KMS keys with NIST-recommended elliptic curve key pairs, specify SIGN_VERIFY or KEY_AGREEMENT.

• For asymmetric KMS keys with ECC_SECG_P256K1 key pairs specify SIGN_VERIFY.

• For asymmetric KMS keys with SM2 key pairs (China Regions only), specify ENCRYPT_DECRYPT, SIGN_VERIFY, or KEY_AGREEMENT.

CustomerMasterKeySpec

Instead, use the KeySpec parameter.

The KeySpec and CustomerMasterKeySpec parameters work the same way. Only the names differ. We recommend that you use KeySpec parameter in your code. However, to avoid breaking changes, KMS supports both parameters.

KeySpec

Specifies the type of KMS key to create. The default value, SYMMETRIC_DEFAULT, creates a KMS key with a 256-bit AES-GCM key that is used for encryption and decryption, except in China Regions, where it creates a 128-bit symmetric key that uses SM4 encryption. For help choosing a key spec for your KMS key, see Choosing a KMS key type in the Key Management Service Developer Guide .

The KeySpec determines whether the KMS key contains a symmetric key or an asymmetric key pair. It also determines the algorithms that the KMS key supports. You can't change the KeySpec after the KMS key is created. To further restrict the algorithms that can be used with the KMS key, use a condition key in its key policy or IAM policy. For more information, see kms:EncryptionAlgorithm, kms:MacAlgorithm or kms:Signing Algorithm in the Key Management Service Developer Guide .

Amazon Web Services services that are integrated with KMS use symmetric encryption KMS keys to protect your data. These services do not support asymmetric KMS keys or HMAC KMS keys.

KMS supports the following key specs for KMS keys:

• Symmetric encryption key (default)

  • SYMMETRIC_DEFAULT

• HMAC keys (symmetric)

  • HMAC_224

  • HMAC_256

  • HMAC_384

  • HMAC_512

• Asymmetric RSA key pairs (encryption and decryption -or- signing and verification)

  • RSA_2048

  • RSA_3072

  • RSA_4096

• Asymmetric NIST-recommended elliptic curve key pairs (signing and verification -or- deriving shared secrets)

  • ECC_NIST_P256 (secp256r1)

  • ECC_NIST_P384 (secp384r1)

  • ECC_NIST_P521 (secp521r1)

• Other asymmetric elliptic curve key pairs (signing and verification)

  • ECC_SECG_P256K1 (secp256k1), commonly used for cryptocurrencies.

• SM2 key pairs (encryption and decryption -or- signing and verification -or- deriving shared secrets)

  • SM2 (China Regions only)

Origin

The source of the key material for the KMS key. You cannot change the origin after you create the KMS key. The default is AWS_KMS, which means that KMS creates the key material.

To create a KMS key with no key material (for imported key material), set this value to EXTERNAL. For more information about importing key material into KMS, see Importing Key Material in the Key Management Service Developer Guide. The EXTERNAL origin value is valid only for symmetric KMS keys.

To create a KMS key in an CloudHSM key store and create its key material in the associated CloudHSM cluster, set this value to AWS_CLOUDHSM. You must also use the CustomKeyStoreId parameter to identify the CloudHSM key store. The KeySpec value must be SYMMETRIC_DEFAULT.

To create a KMS key in an external key store, set this value to EXTERNAL_KEY_STORE. You must also use the CustomKeyStoreId parameter to identify the external key store and the XksKeyId parameter to identify the associated external key. The KeySpec value must be SYMMETRIC_DEFAULT.

CustomKeyStoreId

Creates the KMS key in the specified custom key store. The ConnectionState of the custom key store must be CONNECTED. To find the CustomKeyStoreID and ConnectionState use the describe_custom_key_stores operation.

This parameter is valid only for symmetric encryption KMS keys in a single Region. You cannot create any other type of KMS key in a custom key store.

When you create a KMS key in an CloudHSM key store, KMS generates a non-exportable 256-bit symmetric key in its associated CloudHSM cluster and associates it with the KMS key. When you create a KMS key in an external key store, you must use the XksKeyId parameter to specify an external key that serves as key material for the KMS key.

BypassPolicyLockoutSafetyCheck

Skips ("bypasses") the key policy lockout safety check. The default value is false.

Setting this value to true increases the risk that the KMS key becomes unmanageable. Do not set this value to true indiscriminately.

For more information, see Default key policy in the Key Management Service Developer Guide.

Use this parameter only when you intend to prevent the principal that is making the request from making a subsequent put_key_policy request on the KMS key.

Tags

Assigns one or more tags to the KMS key. Use this parameter to tag the KMS key when it is created. To tag an existing KMS key, use the tag_resource operation.

Do not include confidential or sensitive information in this field. This field may be displayed in plaintext in CloudTrail logs and other output.

Tagging or untagging a KMS key can allow or deny permission to the KMS key. For details, see ABAC for KMS in the Key Management Service Developer Guide.

To use this parameter, you must have kms:TagResource permission in an IAM policy.

Each tag consists of a tag key and a tag value. Both the tag key and the tag value are required, but the tag value can be an empty (null) string. You cannot have more than one tag on a KMS key with the same tag key. If you specify an existing tag key with a different tag value, KMS replaces the current tag value with the specified one.

When you add tags to an Amazon Web Services resource, Amazon Web Services generates a cost allocation report with usage and costs aggregated by tags. Tags can also be used to control access to a KMS key. For details, see Tagging Keys.

MultiRegion

Creates a multi-Region primary key that you can replicate into other Amazon Web Services Regions. You cannot change this value after you create the KMS key.

For a multi-Region key, set this parameter to True. For a single-Region KMS key, omit this parameter or set it to False. The default value is False.

This operation supports multi-Region keys, an KMS feature that lets you create multiple interoperable KMS keys in different Amazon Web Services Regions. Because these KMS keys have the same key ID, key material, and other metadata, you can use them interchangeably to encrypt data in one Amazon Web Services Region and decrypt it in a different Amazon Web Services Region without re-encrypting the data or making a cross-Region call. For more information about multi-Region keys, see Multi-Region keys in KMS in the Key Management Service Developer Guide.

This value creates a primary key, not a replica. To create a replica key, use the replicate_key operation.

You can create a symmetric or asymmetric multi-Region key, and you can create a multi-Region key with imported key material. However, you cannot create a multi-Region key in a custom key store.

XksKeyId

Identifies the external key that serves as key material for the KMS key in an external key store. Specify the ID that the external key store proxy uses to refer to the external key. For help, see the documentation for your external key store proxy.

This parameter is required for a KMS key with an Origin value of EXTERNAL_KEY_STORE. It is not valid for KMS keys with any other Origin value.

The external key must be an existing 256-bit AES symmetric encryption key hosted outside of Amazon Web Services in an external key manager associated with the external key store specified by the CustomKeyStoreId parameter. This key must be enabled and configured to perform encryption and decryption. Each KMS key in an external key store must use a different external key. For details, see Requirements for a KMS key in an external key store in the Key Management Service Developer Guide.

Each KMS key in an external key store is associated two backing keys. One is key material that KMS generates. The other is the external key specified by this parameter. When you use the KMS key in an external key store to encrypt data, the encryption operation is performed first by KMS using the KMS key material, and then by the external key manager using the specified external key, a process known as double encryption. For details, see Double encryption in the Key Management Service Developer Guide.

Value

A list with the following syntax:

list(
  KeyMetadata = list(
    AWSAccountId = "string",
    KeyId = "string",
    Arn = "string",
    CreationDate = as.POSIXct(
      "2015-01-01"
    ),
    Enabled = TRUE|FALSE,
    Description = "string",
    KeyUsage = "SIGN_VERIFY"|"ENCRYPT_DECRYPT"|"GENERATE_VERIFY_MAC"|"KEY_AGREEMENT",
    KeyState = "Creating"|"Enabled"|"Disabled"|"PendingDeletion"|"PendingImport"|"PendingReplicaDeletion"|"Unavailable"|"Updating",
    DeletionDate = as.POSIXct(
      "2015-01-01"
    ),
    ValidTo = as.POSIXct(
      "2015-01-01"
    ),
    Origin = "AWS_KMS"|"EXTERNAL"|"AWS_CLOUDHSM"|"EXTERNAL_KEY_STORE",
    CustomKeyStoreId = "string",
    CloudHsmClusterId = "string",
    ExpirationModel = "KEY_MATERIAL_EXPIRES"|"KEY_MATERIAL_DOES_NOT_EXPIRE",
    KeyManager = "AWS"|"CUSTOMER",
    CustomerMasterKeySpec = "RSA_2048"|"RSA_3072"|"RSA_4096"|"ECC_NIST_P256"|"ECC_NIST_P384"|"ECC_NIST_P521"|"ECC_SECG_P256K1"|"SYMMETRIC_DEFAULT"|"HMAC_224"|"HMAC_256"|"HMAC_384"|"HMAC_512"|"SM2",
    KeySpec = "RSA_2048"|"RSA_3072"|"RSA_4096"|"ECC_NIST_P256"|"ECC_NIST_P384"|"ECC_NIST_P521"|"ECC_SECG_P256K1"|"SYMMETRIC_DEFAULT"|"HMAC_224"|"HMAC_256"|"HMAC_384"|"HMAC_512"|"SM2",
    EncryptionAlgorithms = list(
      "SYMMETRIC_DEFAULT"|"RSAES_OAEP_SHA_1"|"RSAES_OAEP_SHA_256"|"SM2PKE"
    ),
    SigningAlgorithms = list(
      "RSASSA_PSS_SHA_256"|"RSASSA_PSS_SHA_384"|"RSASSA_PSS_SHA_512"|"RSASSA_PKCS1_V1_5_SHA_256"|"RSASSA_PKCS1_V1_5_SHA_384"|"RSASSA_PKCS1_V1_5_SHA_512"|"ECDSA_SHA_256"|"ECDSA_SHA_384"|"ECDSA_SHA_512"|"SM2DSA"
    ),
    KeyAgreementAlgorithms = list(
      "ECDH"
    ),
    MultiRegion = TRUE|FALSE,
    MultiRegionConfiguration = list(
      MultiRegionKeyType = "PRIMARY"|"REPLICA",
      PrimaryKey = list(
        Arn = "string",
        Region = "string"
      ),
      ReplicaKeys = list(
        list(
          Arn = "string",
          Region = "string"
        )
      )
    ),
    PendingDeletionWindowInDays = 123,
    MacAlgorithms = list(
      "HMAC_SHA_224"|"HMAC_SHA_256"|"HMAC_SHA_384"|"HMAC_SHA_512"
    ),
    XksKeyConfiguration = list(
      Id = "string"
    )
  )
)

Request syntax

svc$create_key(
  Policy = "string",
  Description = "string",
  KeyUsage = "SIGN_VERIFY"|"ENCRYPT_DECRYPT"|"GENERATE_VERIFY_MAC"|"KEY_AGREEMENT",
  CustomerMasterKeySpec = "RSA_2048"|"RSA_3072"|"RSA_4096"|"ECC_NIST_P256"|"ECC_NIST_P384"|"ECC_NIST_P521"|"ECC_SECG_P256K1"|"SYMMETRIC_DEFAULT"|"HMAC_224"|"HMAC_256"|"HMAC_384"|"HMAC_512"|"SM2",
  KeySpec = "RSA_2048"|"RSA_3072"|"RSA_4096"|"ECC_NIST_P256"|"ECC_NIST_P384"|"ECC_NIST_P521"|"ECC_SECG_P256K1"|"SYMMETRIC_DEFAULT"|"HMAC_224"|"HMAC_256"|"HMAC_384"|"HMAC_512"|"SM2",
  Origin = "AWS_KMS"|"EXTERNAL"|"AWS_CLOUDHSM"|"EXTERNAL_KEY_STORE",
  CustomKeyStoreId = "string",
  BypassPolicyLockoutSafetyCheck = TRUE|FALSE,
  Tags = list(
    list(
      TagKey = "string",
      TagValue = "string"
    )
  ),
  MultiRegion = TRUE|FALSE,
  XksKeyId = "string"
)

Examples

## Not run: 
# The following example creates a symmetric KMS key for encryption and
# decryption. No parameters are required for this operation.
svc$create_key()

# This example creates a KMS key that contains an asymmetric RSA key pair
# for encryption and decryption. The key spec and key usage can't be
# changed after the key is created.
svc$create_key(
  KeySpec = "RSA_4096",
  KeyUsage = "ENCRYPT_DECRYPT"
)

# This example creates a KMS key that contains an asymmetric elliptic
# curve (ECC) key pair for signing and verification. The key usage is
# required even though "SIGN_VERIFY" is the only valid value for ECC KMS
# keys. The key spec and key usage can't be changed after the key is
# created.
svc$create_key(
  KeySpec = "ECC_NIST_P521",
  KeyUsage = "SIGN_VERIFY"
)

# This example creates a 384-bit symmetric HMAC KMS key. The
# GENERATE_VERIFY_MAC key usage value is required even though it's the
# only valid value for HMAC KMS keys. The key spec and key usage can't be
# changed after the key is created.
svc$create_key(
  KeySpec = "HMAC_384",
  KeyUsage = "GENERATE_VERIFY_MAC"
)

# This example creates a multi-Region primary symmetric encryption key.
# Because the default values for all parameters create a symmetric
# encryption key, only the MultiRegion parameter is required for this KMS
# key.
svc$create_key(
  MultiRegion = TRUE
)

# This example creates a symmetric KMS key with no key material. When the
# operation is complete, you can import your own key material into the KMS
# key. To create this KMS key, set the Origin parameter to EXTERNAL.
svc$create_key(
  Origin = "EXTERNAL"
)

# This example creates a KMS key in the specified AWS CloudHSM key store.
# The operation creates the KMS key and its metadata in AWS KMS and
# creates the key material in the AWS CloudHSM cluster associated with the
# custom key store. This example requires the CustomKeyStoreId  and Origin
# parameters.
svc$create_key(
  CustomKeyStoreId = "cks-1234567890abcdef0",
  Origin = "AWS_CLOUDHSM"
)

# This example creates a KMS key in the specified external key store. It
# uses the XksKeyId parameter to associate the KMS key with an existing
# symmetric encryption key in your external key manager. This
# CustomKeyStoreId, Origin, and XksKeyId parameters are required in this
# operation.
svc$create_key(
  CustomKeyStoreId = "cks-9876543210fedcba9",
  Origin = "EXTERNAL_KEY_STORE",
  XksKeyId = "bb8562717f809024"
)

## End(Not run)