4.2 Ensure AES encryption key size used to encrypt files stored in internal stages is set to 256 bits

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Information

All ingested data stored in Snowflake tables is encrypted using 256-bit long AES encryption keys. However, data uploaded to internal stages is by default encrypted with 128-bit long AES encryption keys.

The field of cryptanalysis is continuously advancing and new vulnerabilities and attacks are discovered that obsolete cryptographic primitives that once were considered secure.

The 128-bit long AES encryption keys are still considered secure today and there are no strong reasons to believe this will change soon. Usage of the 256-bit long AES encryption keys today is generally recommended out of an abundance of caution.

Solution

Programmatically:

To set the length of the AES encryption keys used to encrypt data uploaded to internal stages, run the following command:

ALTER ACCOUNT
SET CLIENT_ENCRYPTION_KEY_SIZE=256;

Impact:

None.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/14781