Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) encryption ensures data security, compliance, and performance with minimal effort. Below is a detailed, step-by-step guide to encrypting EBS volumes using AWS CLI, complete with an explanation of each command and parameter.

1️⃣ Create a New Encrypted EBS Volume

Command:

aws ec2 create-volume --size 10 --region us-east-1 --volume-type gp3 --encrypted --kms-key-id alias/aws/ebs

Breakdown of the command:

aws ec2 create-volume → This tells AWS to create a new EBS volume.
--size 10 → The size of the volume in GiB (gigibytes).
--region us-east-1 → Specifies AWS region where the volume will be created.
--volume-type gp3 → Defines the EBS volume type. Options include gp2, gp3, io1, io2, etc.
--encrypted → This enables encryption for the volume.
--kms-key-id alias/aws/ebs → Specifies the KMS key used for encryption. You can replace it with a custom KMS key ID if needed.

Example Output:

{
    "VolumeId": "vol-0a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h",
    "Size": 10,
    "VolumeType": "gp3",
    "Encrypted": true
}

✅ Result: A 10 GiB encrypted gp3 volume is created successfully.

2️⃣ Create a Snapshot of an Existing Volume

Command:

aws ec2 create-snapshot --volume-id vol-0a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h --description "Snapshot for encryption"

Breakdown of the command:

aws ec2 create-snapshot → This tells AWS to create a snapshot of an existing EBS volume.
--volume-id vol-0a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h → Specifies which volume to take a snapshot of.
--description "Snapshot for encryption" → Adds a description for easier identification.

Example Output:

{
    "SnapshotId": "snap-1234567890abcdef0",
    "State": "pending",
    "VolumeId": "vol-0a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h",
    "Encrypted": false
}

✅ Result: A snapshot of the unencrypted volume is created.

3️⃣ Copy the Snapshot and Enable Encryption

Command:

aws ec2 copy-snapshot --source-region us-east-1 --source-snapshot-id snap-1234567890abcdef0 --encrypted --kms-key-id alias/aws/ebs

Breakdown of the command:

aws ec2 copy-snapshot → This tells AWS to copy an existing snapshot.
--source-region us-east-1 → Specifies the region where the snapshot is stored.
--source-snapshot-id snap-1234567890abcdef0 → Identifies the snapshot to copy.
--encrypted → Enables encryption for the new snapshot.
--kms-key-id alias/aws/ebs → Specifies the KMS key for encryption.

Example Output:

{
    "SnapshotId": "snap-abcdef1234567890"
}

✅ Result: A new encrypted snapshot is created.

4️⃣ Create an Encrypted Volume from the Encrypted Snapshot

Command:

aws ec2 create-volume --snapshot-id snap-abcdef1234567890 --region us-east-1 --volume-type gp3 --encrypted

Breakdown of the command:

aws ec2 create-volume → This tells AWS to create a new EBS volume.
--snapshot-id snap-abcdef1234567890 → Specifies the encrypted snapshot to restore from.
--region us-east-1 → Defines the AWS region where the volume will be created.
--volume-type gp3 → Sets the volume type (gp3, gp2, io1, etc.).
--encrypted → Ensures the new volume is encrypted.

Example Output:

{
    "VolumeId": "vol-abcdef1234567890",
    "Size": 10,
    "VolumeType": "gp3",
    "Encrypted": true
}

✅ Result: A new encrypted volume is created.

5️⃣ Attach the Encrypted Volume to an EC2 Instance

Command:

aws ec2 attach-volume --volume-id vol-abcdef1234567890 --instance-id i-0987654321 --device /dev/xvdf

Breakdown of the command:

aws ec2 attach-volume → This tells AWS to attach an EBS volume to an EC2 instance.
--volume-id vol-abcdef1234567890 → Specifies the volume ID of the encrypted EBS volume.
--instance-id i-0987654321 → Defines the EC2 instance where the volume will be attached.
--device /dev/xvdf → Specifies the device name under which the volume will appear in the EC2 instance.

Example Output:

{
    "State": "attaching"
}

✅ Result: The encrypted volume is attached to the EC2 instance.

6️⃣ Enable Default Encryption for All New Volumes

Command:

aws ec2 modify-ebs-default-kms-key-id --kms-key-id alias/aws/ebs

Breakdown of the command:

aws ec2 modify-ebs-default-kms-key-id → Configures default encryption for new EBS volumes.
--kms-key-id alias/aws/ebs → Uses AWS-managed KMS key for encryption.

Example Output:

{
    "EbsDefaultKmsKeyId": "alias/aws/ebs"
}

✅ Result: All new EBS volumes will be encrypted by default.

Summary of CLI Commands for EBS Encryption

Command	Purpose
`aws ec2 create-volume`	Create a new encrypted EBS volume.
`aws ec2 create-snapshot`	Take a snapshot of an existing volume.
`aws ec2 copy-snapshot`	Copy and encrypt an existing snapshot.
`aws ec2 create-volume --snapshot-id`	Create an encrypted volume from a snapshot.
`aws ec2 attach-volume`	Attach the encrypted volume to an EC2 instance.
`aws ec2 modify-ebs-default-kms-key-id`	Enable default encryption for all future volumes.

✅ By using these commands, you can fully manage EBS encryption with AWS CLI.

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