Data Protection in AWS Snowball - AWS Snowball

This guide is in the process of being deprecated and will no longer be updated.

The first-generation 80 TB Snowball device is no longer available. Use the Snowball Edge storage optimized devices for all data transfer jobs. For Snowball Edge documentation, see the AWS Snowball Edge Developer Guide.

Data Protection in AWS Snowball

AWS Snowball conforms to the AWS shared responsibility model, which includes regulations and guidelines for data protection. AWS is responsible for protecting the global infrastructure that runs all the AWS services. AWS maintains control over data hosted on this infrastructure, including the security configuration controls for handling customer content and personal data. AWS customers and APN partners, acting either as data controllers or data processors, are responsible for any personal data that they put in the AWS Cloud.

Topics

For data protection purposes, we recommend that you protect AWS accountcredentials and set up individual users with AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM), so that each user is given only the permissions necessary to fulfill their job duties. We also recommend that you secure your data in the following ways:

  • Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) with each account.

  • Use SSL/TLS to communicate with AWS resources.

  • Set up API and user activity logging with AWS CloudTrail.

  • Use AWS encryption solutions, along with all default security controls within AWS services.

  • Use advanced managed security services such as Amazon Macie, which assists in discovering and securing personal data that is stored in Amazon S3.

We strongly recommend that you never put sensitive identifying information, such as your customers' account numbers, into free-form fields such as a Name field. This includes when you work with AWS Snowball or other AWS services using the console, API, AWS CLI, or AWS SDKs. Any data that you enter into AWS Snowball or other services might get picked up for inclusion in diagnostic logs. When you provide a URL to an external server, don't include credentials information in the URL to validate your request to that server.

For more information about data protection, see the AWS Shared Responsibility Model and GDPR blog post on the AWS Security Blog.