Create a cryptographic module with external key wrapping

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 1 minute to read
  • Create a cryptographic module that uses external Amazon Web Services Key Management System (AWS KMS) key wrapping to encrypt ServiceNow data.

    Before you begin

    Roles required: admin, security_admin, and sn_kmf.cryptographic_manager

    About this task

    A cryptographic module with external key wrapping generates encryption keys that are wrapped (encrypted) by your AWS KMS key in addition to ServiceNow's internal key management. ServiceNow can't decrypt your data without access to your external AWS key.

    Procedure

    1. Navigate to All > System Security > Field Encryption Modules.
    2. Select New.
    3. Enter a name for the module in the Name field.
    4. Select the External wrap key check box.
      Important:
      If Externally Wrap Key isn't selected, the module uses ServiceNow key wrapping, which doesn't use your AWS KMS key.
    5. In the External KMS Configuration field, enter or use the search function to select your EKMS configuration.Enable the External Wrap Key option on a cryptographic module and select your External Key Management Service (EKMS) configuration.
    6. Select Submit to save the cryptographic module.

    Result

    The cryptographic module is created and ready to be used for encrypting Field Encryption data.

    When you enable external key wrapping on an existing cryptographic module, all keys for this module are automatically rewrapped with your External Key Encryption Key (EKEK). This protects them with your EKMS key. Both existing keys and future keys you create will be externally wrapped.

    A security task is created to track the rewrapping process. To monitor the status, navigate to All > Security Center > Security Task Manager and look for the task with description 'Module key rewrap process for crypto module [module_id]'. See Security Tasks.

    What to do next

    Next steps: