# Security in VM Import/Export
Cloud security at Amazon is the highest priority. As an Amazon customer, you benefit from data centers and network architectures that are built to meet the requirements of the most security-sensitive organizations.
Security is a shared responsibility between Amazon and you. The [shared responsibility model](https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/shared-responsibility-model/) describes this as security *of* the cloud and security *in* the cloud:
+ **Security of the cloud** – Amazon is responsible for protecting the infrastructure that runs Amazon services in the Amazon Web Services Cloud. Amazon also provides you with services that you can use securely. Third-party auditors regularly test and verify the effectiveness of our security as part of the [Amazon Compliance Programs](https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/programs/). To learn about the compliance programs that apply to VM Import/Export, see [Amazon Services in Scope by Compliance Program](https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/services-in-scope/).
+ **Security in the cloud** – Your responsibility is determined by the Amazon service that you use. You are also responsible for other factors including the sensitivity of your data, your company’s requirements, and applicable laws and regulations
This documentation helps you understand how to apply the shared responsibility model when using VM Import/Export. It shows you how to configure VM Import/Export to meet your security and compliance objectives. You also learn how to use other Amazon services that help you to monitor and secure your VM Import/Export resources.
**Topics**
+ [
# Data protection in VM Import/Export
](data-protection.md)
+ [
# Compliance validation for VM Import/Export
](compliance-validation.md)
+ [
# Resilience in VM Import/Export
](disaster-recovery-resiliency.md)
+ [
# Infrastructure security in VM Import/Export
](infrastructure-security.md)
For more information about security and EC2 instances, Amazon Machine Images (AMI), and EBS volumes, see [Security in Amazon EC2](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/ec2-security.html) in the *Amazon EC2 User Guide*.
# Data protection in VM Import/Export
The Amazon [shared responsibility model](https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/shared-responsibility-model/) applies to data protection in . As described in this model, Amazon is responsible for protecting the global infrastructure that runs all of the Amazon Web Services Cloud. You are responsible for maintaining control over your content that is hosted on this infrastructure. You are also responsible for the security configuration and management tasks for the Amazon Web Services services that you use. For more information about data privacy, see the [Data Privacy FAQ](https://www.amazonaws.cn/compliance/data-privacy-faq/).
For data protection purposes, we recommend that you protect Amazon Web Services account credentials and set up individual users with Amazon IAM Identity Center or Amazon Identity and Access Management (IAM). 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 Amazon resources. We require TLS 1.2 and recommend TLS 1.3.
+ Set up API and user activity logging with Amazon CloudTrail. For information about using CloudTrail trails to capture Amazon activities, see [Working with CloudTrail trails](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/awscloudtrail/latest/userguide/cloudtrail-trails.html) in the *Amazon CloudTrail User Guide*.
+ Use Amazon encryption solutions, along with all default security controls within Amazon Web Services services.
+ Use advanced managed security services such as Amazon Macie, which assists in discovering and securing sensitive data that is stored in Amazon S3.
+ If you require FIPS 140-3 validated cryptographic modules when accessing Amazon 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) 140-3](https://www.amazonaws.cn/compliance/fips/).
We strongly recommend that you never put confidential or sensitive information, such as your customers' email addresses, into tags or free-form text fields such as a **Name** field. This includes when you work with or other Amazon Web Services services using the console, API, Amazon CLI, or Amazon SDKs. Any data that you enter into tags or free-form text fields used for names may be used for billing or diagnostic logs. If you provide a URL to an external server, we strongly recommend that you do not include credentials information in the URL to validate your request to that server.
## Encryption at rest
VM Import/Export does not store your data at rest.
## Encryption in transit
VM Import/Export encrypts your data while performing import tasks. To ensure that the destination AMI or snapshot is encrypted, specify the `--encrypted` parameter when you call the [import-image](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/cli/latest/reference/ec2/import-image.html) or [import-snapshot](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/cli/latest/reference/ec2/import-snapshot.html) command.
When performing an import task, VM Import/Export stores data temporarily in an intermediate EBS volume. Each task gets a separate EBS volume. When an import task is completed, VM Import/Export deletes its intermediate EBS volume.
# Compliance validation for VM Import/Export
Third-party auditors assess the security and compliance of VM Import/Export as part of multiple Amazon compliance programs. These include SOC, PCI, FedRAMP, HIPAA, and others.
For a list of Amazon services in scope of specific compliance programs, see [Amazon Services in Scope by Compliance Program](https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/services-in-scope/). For general information, see [Amazon Compliance Programs](https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/programs/).
You can download third-party audit reports using Amazon Artifact. For more information, see [Downloading Reports in Amazon Artifact](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/artifact/latest/ug/downloading-documents.html).
Your compliance responsibility when using VM Import/Export is determined by the sensitivity of your data, your company's compliance objectives, and applicable laws and regulations. Amazon provides the following resources to help with compliance:
+ [Security and Compliance Quick Start Guides](https://www.amazonaws.cn/quickstart/?awsf.quickstart-homepage-filter=categories%23security-identity-compliance)[Security and Compliance Quick Start Guides](https://aws.amazon.com/quickstart/?awsf.quickstart-homepage-filter=categories%23security-identity-compliance) – These deployment guides discuss architectural considerations and provide steps for deploying security- and compliance-focused baseline environments on Amazon.
+ [Architecting for HIPAA Security and Compliance on Amazon Web Services](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/whitepapers/latest/architecting-hipaa-security-and-compliance-on-aws/architecting-hipaa-security-and-compliance-on-aws.html) – This whitepaper describes how companies can use Amazon to run HIPAA-compliant workloads.
+ [Amazon Compliance Resources](https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/resources/) – This collection of workbooks and guides might apply to your industry and location.
+ [Evaluating Resources with Rules](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/config/latest/developerguide/evaluate-config.html) in the *Amazon Config Developer Guide* – Amazon Config; assesses how well your resource configurations comply with internal practices, industry guidelines, and regulations.
+ [Amazon Security Hub CSPM](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/securityhub/latest/userguide/what-is-securityhub.html) – This Amazon service provides a comprehensive view of your security state within Amazon that helps you check your compliance with security industry standards and best practices.
# Resilience in VM Import/Export
The Amazon global infrastructure is built around Amazon Regions and Availability Zones. Regions provide multiple physically separated and isolated Availability Zones, which are connected through low-latency, high-throughput, and highly redundant networking. With Availability Zones, you can design and operate applications and databases that automatically fail over between zones without interruption. Availability Zones are more highly available, fault tolerant, and scalable than traditional single or multiple data center infrastructures.
For more information about Amazon Regions and Availability Zones, see [Amazon Global Infrastructure](https://www.amazonaws.cn/about-aws/global-infrastructure/).
# Infrastructure security in VM Import/Export
As a managed service, VM Import/Export is protected by Amazon global network security. For information about Amazon security services and how Amazon protects infrastructure, see [Amazon Cloud Security](https://www.amazonaws.cn/security/). To design your Amazon environment using the best practices for infrastructure security, see [Infrastructure Protection](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/wellarchitected/latest/security-pillar/infrastructure-protection.html) in *Security Pillar Amazon Well‐Architected Framework*.
You use Amazon published API calls to access VM Import/Export through the network. Clients must support the following:
+ Transport Layer Security (TLS). We require TLS 1.2 and recommend TLS 1.3.
+ Cipher suites with perfect forward secrecy (PFS) such as DHE (Ephemeral Diffie-Hellman) or ECDHE (Elliptic Curve Ephemeral Diffie-Hellman). Most modern systems such as Java 7 and later support these modes.