Data protection in AWS Transfer Family - AWS Transfer Family

Data protection in AWS Transfer Family

The AWS shared responsibility model applies to data protection in AWS Transfer Family (Transfer Family). As described in this model, AWS is responsible for protecting the global infrastructure that runs all of the AWS Cloud. You are responsible for maintaining control over your content that is hosted on this infrastructure. This content includes the security configuration and management tasks for the AWS services that you use. For more information about data privacy, see the Data privacy FAQ. For information about data protection in Europe, see the AWS shared responsibility model and GDPR blog post on the AWS Security Blog.

For data protection purposes, we recommend that you protect AWS account credentials and set up individual user accounts with AWS IAM Identity Center. That way 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. We support TLS 1.2.

  • 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.

  • If you require FIPS 140-2 validated cryptographic modules when accessing AWS through a command line interface or an API, use a FIPS endpoint. For more information about the available FIPS endpoints, see Federal information processing standard (FIPS) 140-2.

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 Transfer Family or other AWS services using the console, API, AWS CLI, or AWS SDKs. Any configuration data that you enter into Transfer Family service configuration, or other services' configurations, 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.

In contrast, data from upload and download operations into and out of Transfer Family servers is treated as completely private and never exists outside of encrypted channels—such as an SFTP or FTPS connection. This data is only ever accessible to authorized persons.

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