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Chapter 6. Encrypting etcd data

6.1. About etcd encryption
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By default, etcd data is not encrypted in OpenShift Container Platform. You can enable etcd encryption for your cluster to provide an additional layer of data security. For example, it can help protect the loss of sensitive data if an etcd backup is exposed to the incorrect parties.

When you enable etcd encryption, the following OpenShift API server and Kubernetes API server resources are encrypted:

  • Secrets
  • Config maps
  • Routes
  • OAuth access tokens
  • OAuth authorize tokens

When you enable etcd encryption, encryption keys are created. These keys are rotated on a weekly basis. You must have these keys in order to restore from an etcd backup.

6.2. Enabling etcd encryption
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You can enable etcd encryption to encrypt sensitive resources in your cluster.

Warning

It is not recommended to take a backup of etcd until the initial encryption process is complete. If the encryption process has not completed, the backup might be only partially encrypted.

Prerequisites

  • Access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.

Procedure

  1. Modify the APIServer object: 

    $ oc edit apiserver
    Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

  2. Set the encryption field type to aescbc: 

    spec:
  encryption:
    type: aescbc
    1
    Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap
    1
    The aescbc type means that AES-CBC with PKCS#7 padding and a 32 byte key is used to perform the encryption.

  3. Save the file to apply the changes.

    The encryption process starts. It can take 20 minutes or longer for this process to complete, depending on the size of your cluster.

  4. Verify that etcd encryption was successful.

    1. Review the Encrypted status condition for the OpenShift API server to verify that its resources were successfully encrypted: 

      $ oc get openshiftapiserver -o=jsonpath='{range .items[0].status.conditions[?(@.type=="Encrypted")]}{.reason}{"\n"}{.message}{"\n"}'
      Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

      The output shows EncryptionCompleted upon successful encryption: 

      EncryptionCompleted
All resources encrypted: routes.route.openshift.io, oauthaccesstokens.oauth.openshift.io, oauthauthorizetokens.oauth.openshift.io
      Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

      If the output shows EncryptionInProgress, this means that encryption is still in progress. Wait a few minutes and try again.

    2. Review the Encrypted status condition for the Kubernetes API server to verify that its resources were successfully encrypted: 

      $ oc get kubeapiserver -o=jsonpath='{range .items[0].status.conditions[?(@.type=="Encrypted")]}{.reason}{"\n"}{.message}{"\n"}'
      Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

      The output shows EncryptionCompleted upon successful encryption: 

      EncryptionCompleted
All resources encrypted: secrets, configmaps
      Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

      If the output shows EncryptionInProgress, this means that encryption is still in progress. Wait a few minutes and try again.

6.3. Disabling etcd encryption
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You can disable encryption of etcd data in your cluster.

Prerequisites

  • Access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.

Procedure

  1. Modify the APIServer object: 

    $ oc edit apiserver
    Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

  2. Set the encryption field type to identity: 

    spec:
  encryption:
    type: identity
    1
    Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap
    1
    The identity type is the default value and means that no encryption is performed.

  3. Save the file to apply the changes.

    The decryption process starts. It can take 20 minutes or longer for this process to complete, depending on the size of your cluster.

  4. Verify that etcd decryption was successful.

    1. Review the Encrypted status condition for the OpenShift API server to verify that its resources were successfully decrypted: 

      $ oc get openshiftapiserver -o=jsonpath='{range .items[0].status.conditions[?(@.type=="Encrypted")]}{.reason}{"\n"}{.message}{"\n"}'
      Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

      The output shows DecryptionCompleted upon successful decryption: 

      DecryptionCompleted
Encryption mode set to identity and everything is decrypted
      Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

      If the output shows DecryptionInProgress, this means that decryption is still in progress. Wait a few minutes and try again.

    2. Review the Encrypted status condition for the Kubernetes API server to verify that its resources were successfully decrypted: 

      $ oc get kubeapiserver -o=jsonpath='{range .items[0].status.conditions[?(@.type=="Encrypted")]}{.reason}{"\n"}{.message}{"\n"}'
      Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

      The output shows DecryptionCompleted upon successful decryption: 

      DecryptionCompleted
Encryption mode set to identity and everything is decrypted
      Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

      If the output shows DecryptionInProgress, this means that decryption is still in progress. Wait a few minutes and try again.

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