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Use envelope encryption: encrypt selected field values with data-encryption keys (DEKs), protect those DEKs with a key-encryption key (KEK) held in a key-management service (KMS) or key vault, and preserve the metadata needed to decrypt each value later. Then control access to the KMS, monitor key operations, and test rotation and recovery before relying on the data in production.
What field-level encryption protects—and what it does not
Field-level encryption encrypts selected values at the application or client layer. It is different from storage encryption, which a database or cloud provider may separately apply to disks, snapshots, and backups. Storage encryption can protect underlying media, but it does not automatically make chosen fields unreadable to database processes or application components that can access them.
Field encryption also does not guarantee that plaintext never appears in an authorized or compromised client. The application must handle plaintext to use it, so access to the process, its identity, and its logs remains part of the security boundary. Encryption can also affect queries: deterministic encryption or queryable-encryption features have specific constraints and may expose information through supported query behavior. Decide which fields need protection, which components need plaintext, and what queries must continue to work before choosing an implementation.
How envelope encryption organizes the keys
Envelope encryption separates the key that encrypts data from the key that protects that data key:
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- DEK: Encrypts the field value. Use a cryptographically secure random generator and a vetted library that supports authenticated encryption; do not design a cipher or key format yourself.
- KEK or customer-managed key (CMK): Wraps, or encrypts, the DEK. Keep it in a remote KMS or key vault where the deployment supports one, rather than alongside application data.
- Wrapped DEK and metadata: Store the encrypted field, its wrapped DEK, and the key identifier or version needed to find the right wrapping key later. Never store the plaintext DEK with the data.
Google Cloud’s envelope-encryption guidance describes keeping the KEK in Cloud KMS while storing encrypted data and the wrapped DEK with the data. It recommends generating DEKs locally and encrypting stored DEKs at rest; its described pattern generates a new DEK on each write. Treat that as provider-specific guidance, not a universal rule for key granularity. Choose the scope of a DEK—such as per record, tenant, or another boundary—based on sensitivity, volume, and recovery needs. Keep keys for distinct purposes independent.
How to set up key management
- Map fields and access paths. Identify sensitive fields, every application component that needs their plaintext, and the reads, writes, searches, and indexes that must work. Define what the encryption design should protect without assuming it hides all metadata or access patterns.
- Select an encryption library and key hierarchy. Use a supported authenticated-encryption configuration from a vetted library. Select DEK scope deliberately, then use a KEK to wrap each DEK. Google’s example recommends AES-256-GCM, but use a configuration supported by your platform and applicable requirements rather than copying an algorithm choice without checking.
- Choose a KMS or key vault. Match the service to your database, driver, application-side encryption library, workload identity, availability and recovery requirements, governance, and regional needs. MongoDB’s Client-Side Field Level Encryption (CSFLE) documentation for Database Manual v7.0 lists AWS KMS, Azure Key Vault, Google Cloud KMS, and KMIP-compatible systems as remote-provider options; it identifies the local key provider as for testing.
- Grant only the needed permissions. Give the workload identity only the cryptographic operations it needs, such as wrapping and unwrapping keys. Where feasible, separate routine application use from key administration and destructive actions. Keep plaintext keys and secrets out of source code, build artifacts, binaries, container images, and ordinary configuration files.
- Persist decryption metadata with the encrypted data. Retain the wrapped DEK and a stable key identifier or version reference so reads, migrations, and restores can select the correct historical key. Changing the active KEK does not, by itself, update existing records.
- Document the operating procedure. Specify who can create, use, rotate, recover, and retire keys; how changes are approved; how KMS activity is reviewed; and what the application does when the KMS is unavailable. Verify the policy, service identity, audit trail, cross-account access, regional placement, and recovery arrangements.
What key rotation changes—and what it does not
Rotation is not one operation. Decide whether the objective is to change the wrapping key, move existing DEKs to a new wrapping key, or replace DEKs and re-encrypt field values. Those choices have different effects on ciphertext and on the old key versions you must retain.
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| Operation | What changes | Effect on existing data |
|---|---|---|
| Rotate a KEK or CMK | A replacement wrapping-key version becomes active. | Existing wrapped DEKs may still depend on the prior version. A new active version does not necessarily rewrap them. |
| Rewrap DEKs | The DEKs are unwrapped and wrapped under a different KEK. | The DEKs and the ciphertext they protect remain unchanged. |
| Replace a DEK | Field data is encrypted again using a new DEK. | This is a data migration; the ciphertext must change to use the replacement DEK. |
| Retire or destroy an old key version | The version is removed from future use or made unavailable, depending on the provider’s lifecycle operation. | Any live data or backup that still requires it may become unreadable. |
Set a documented schedule and event-based triggers based on your threat model, data sensitivity, algorithm, provider behavior, and applicable requirements. OWASP notes that suitable cryptoperiods depend on factors such as key size, data sensitivity, and threat model; there is no universal rotation interval established by the cited guidance. Rotate or replace keys after suspected compromise or when a cryptographic migration requires it.
Google Cloud’s rotation guidance says creating a new key version does not automatically re-encrypt existing data or destroy old versions. OWASP advises rewrapping DEKs before retiring a KEK; replacing a DEK for existing ciphertext requires re-encrypting that data. MongoDB documents rewrapManyDataKey for CSFLE, available in mongosh version 1.5 and later, to re-encrypt selected data keys under a specified CMK and update the key vault. Confirm behavior against the exact server, driver, shell, and provider versions in use.
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How to protect recovery and avoid permanent data loss
A backup is useful only if the required keys and metadata can still decrypt it. Keep ciphertext and key metadata consistent in backups, and maintain a secure, tested recovery path for key material and key-service configuration. Before production, rehearse restoring a backup in a clean environment, retrieving the necessary key versions, unwrapping DEKs, and decrypting representative fields.
- Retain old key versions while any live record, replica, export, or backup still needs them.
- Restrict and review key destruction actions; record approvals for manual rotations and retirements.
- Monitor normal and unusual KMS operations, including access and destruction requests, and define an incident-response path for suspected compromise.
- Test availability and recovery procedures for the KMS or vault, including the effect of an outage on application reads and writes.
Loss of a required key can make encrypted data unrecoverable. Google Cloud warns that destroying a key version still in use can cause permanent data loss. MongoDB likewise warns that deleting a DEK makes every field encrypted with that DEK permanently unreadable. Do not retire a version or delete a DEK until you have established that no retained data or recovery copy depends on it.
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Provider-specific considerations
For MongoDB CSFLE, DEKs are held in a key vault collection. The v7.0 documentation describes alternate names for dynamic references and requires a partial unique index before alternate names are used. These are MongoDB-specific implementation details, not general requirements for field-level encryption. Check the current documentation for the exact MongoDB server, driver, shell, and key-provider configuration you deploy.
When comparing KMS or vault options, evaluate integration compatibility, workload identity and policy controls, audit events, availability and recovery, data residency, customer control, rotation semantics, and operational burden. The documented choices do not establish a neutral current price or service-level comparison. Confirm current official service documentation for the exact region, key type, and integration before selecting a provider.
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